Las Vegas, Nevada, is full of large, expansive casino properties that take hours to explore and often take too long to tour in a day. So, for some, the alternative of a more intimate, cheery environment that celebrates the history and evolution of slot machines may seem like a refreshing escape on the Las Vegas Strip. And for a dose of coin-operated slot nostalgia in Las Vegas, look no further than Circus Circus Hotel and Casino. The property, which started as just a casino, has been a Vegas fixture for over five decades, making it a must-visit in the heart of America’s top summer destination.
Located on the northern end of the high-rise casinos on Las Vegas Boulevard, Circus Circus sits directly across from the new Fontainebleau Las Vegas. Open since 1968, its hotel development followed shortly after in 1972. Since then, the property has been known for its extravagant retro circus decor and a particularly unique slots room: Slots-A-Fun, a gaming experience that brings back a quirky, childlike fun to gaming that’s often lost in some of the more established casino floors in Sin City.
Exploring Las Vegas’ vintage Slots-A-Fun casino
So, what makes Slots-A-Fun so quirky? Well, for starters, it’s one of the last coin-operated slot machine rooms in all of Las Vegas. In an effort to preserve the nostalgia of Vegas days of old where coins went directly into the machines and back into players’ buckets, this room keeps that tradition alive.
The Slots-A-Fun building sits just steps from the hotel entrance, but remained empty for over a decade until its revitalization. The 16,000-square-foot building now uses about half of that space for its collection of over 80 coin-operated machines and a reimagined casino, where it is home to some of the lower table minimums on the Las Vegas Strip. Downtown, that title likely goes to the Downtown Grand, which is Vegas’ only casino with $1 blackjack tables…