Canadian tourists took advantage of a limited-time deal that allowed every Canadian dollar to be spent like a U.S. dollar at Circa, the D, and Golden Gate casinos in downtown Las Vegas, according to co-owner Derek Stevens.
Stevens announced that more than 120,000 Canadian visitors took advantage of the “At Par” promotion that ran from January through the end of August.
“That’s up 80 percent from last year,” Stevens said in a video message released on Monday. “So Canadians came through in a real big way.”
The initiative generated more than $20 million in slot coin-in and over 8,000 hotel room nights. Stevens noted that the room nights were more than double what they would normally do at their three downtown Las Vegas properties.
“There were many nights on Fremont Street where it felt completely taken over by Canadians and we loved every minute of it,” Stevens said.
Stevens’s successful efforts to lure Canadian tourists to downtown Las Vegas came amid increased trade tensions between the U.S. and Canada.
As trade talks fell apart earlier this month, the Trump administration hit Canada with 50% tariffs on about $28 billion worth of Canadian exports to the U.S. Prime Minister Mark Carney followed that up with announcing dollar-for-dollar tariffs on U.S. good beginning Sept. 8.
Since the trade talks collapsed, Trump has taken to insulting Canada on social media. He also renamed Lake Ontario “Lake America,” a decision that was quickly criticized by Ontario Premier Doug Ford.
Stevens did address the ongoing trade tensions between the U.S. and Canada.
“The leaders of our countries are still going at it. That hasn’t changed,” Stevens said. “I want to let everybody know that I really appreciate the Canadians who come and visit with us … and tell you that you’re welcome here. Canada and the U.S. are still best friends. We’re still best allies and this spat between our leaders isn’t going to last forever.”
