Circus Circus and Bellagio To Be Sold

Above, The Beast at Circus Circus RV Park in 2015. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

MGM Resorts has agreed to sell two of its Las Vegas properties: Circus Circus and Bellagio.

TravelPulse reported:

MGM Resorts International announced Tuesday it had reached an agreement to sell Circus Circus Las Vegas for $825 million to an affiliate of Treasure Island owner Phil Ruffin. 

The deal includes $662.5 million paid in cash and a $162.5 million note due 2024. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2019.

MGM Resorts originally acquired Circus Circus Las Vegas in 2005 and the property features 2,300 employees, a five-acre Adventuredome indoor amusement park, a 10-acre RV park and a 37-acre festival grounds. 

In another deal announced Tuesday, MGM Resorts revealed an agreement with Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust that values the real estate of Bellagio at $4.25 billion, which represents a purchase price multiple of 17.3 times rent.

The joint venture will acquire the Bellagio real estate and lease it back to a subsidiary of MGM Resorts for an initial annual rent of $245 million.

The only questions I have concerning Circus Circus are: Will it be renovated (it looked a bit "long in the tooth" the last time I was there in 2015)? Will it be torn down? Will the RV park remain?

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