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Derek Stevens is a reminder that American capitalism still produces risk-takers who build real things, not just financial instruments. The self-made owner of Circa, the Golden Gate and The D has quietly assembled a downtown Las Vegas empire and Forbes pegs his net worth in the billionaire range.
What Stevens built at Circa is unapologetically big and unapologetically American: a billion-dollar project with the world’s largest sportsbook and a jaw-dropping Stadium Swim complete with a 143-foot screen and heated pools for year-round attraction. The scale and spectacle bring thousands of visitors downtown and prove that bold investments still pay off.
Stevens did this the old-fashioned way — buying every parcel on a city block, owning the dirt, and putting skin in the game with hundreds of millions of his own dollars alongside debt financing to get Circa open on time. That decision to own property instead of leasing it is more than nostalgia; it’s sound business, and it kept him in control when the market turned uncertain.
The results speak for themselves: Circa’s gaming and hospitality operations helped drive Downtown’s resurgence, contributing meaningfully to the area’s revenue and drawing a largely American crowd back to Fremont Street. When national and international travel stuttered, Stevens’ bet on domestic customers and bold amenities paid off.
Contrast that with the Wall Street model that separated operations from ownership: too many big operators sold the dirt and now answer to REITs and quarterly spreadsheet worshipers. Stevens’ insistence on owning the land and reinvesting in his properties is a direct rebuke to the short-term thinking that hollowed out so many industries.
His properties have also become a gathering spot for high-profile visitors, underscoring that real private investment still attracts power and attention; Circa even hosted President Trump after his 2025 inauguration, a sign that American entrepreneurs remain central to civic and cultural life. The man has faced bumps too — from regulatory fines to a brazen theft plot against his operation — and he handled them like a businessman, not a bureaucrat.
If conservatives want to rebuild a pro-growth America, we should celebrate and protect people like Derek Stevens — the kind of entrepreneur who puts capital on the line, creates jobs, and revitalizes neighborhoods without waiting for permission from distant elites. Support for ownership, sensible regulation, and lower barriers to investment will keep the next generation of moguls building and renewing our towns and cities.
