Casino Boss Says Canadian and US Dollars Will Be Treated Equally

Derek Stevens, owner of Circa Sports and three Las Vegas Casinos, is taking a new approach to battling a decline in international tourism.

Stevens’ casinos, which include The D Las Vegas, The Golden Gate, and Circa Las Vegas, will accept Canadian dollars at par with American dollars. That means that Canadian guests will pay the same rate as Americans without needing to exchange their dollars for the more powerful American equivalent.

Based on the exchange rate on Jan. 22, that will result in an effective 38.9 percent for Canadian travelers.

Massive discounts for Canadians

The grand reveal of Stevens’ promotion was included in a video posted on his X (formerly Twitter) account on Wednesday evening.

Currently, one Canadian dollar is worth $0.72 USD. That means that a $200 hotel room would’ve cost CA$277.78. 

Stevens’ offer brings that figure back down to $200, treating Canadian money the same as American dollars.

“If you book on our website, you book a hotel room, Canadian dollars go off as American dollars,” Stevens said in the video. “If you don’t want to stay here, you’ve got offers with another company, that’s good too, because all of the hotels behind me, they all want Canada to come back just as much as I do.”

The offer isn’t only for hotel stays. BarCanada at The D Las Vegas, a hockey-centric sports bar with a Canadian flair, Overhang at Circa and Bar Prohibition! at Golden Gate will also equate Canadian and American dollars for multiple purchases.

Additionally, Canadian guests can wager up to $500 at par. Without that, they would’ve had to purchase CA$694.45 worth of casino chips to gamble $500.

Why offer the promotion?

The new casino promotion was inspired by Stevens’ connections to Canada, which began with a view of the Canadian shore line across Lake St. Clair from the view in his childhood home in Grosse Pointe, Michigan. He also said that his father went to the University of Toronto, and he had family in multiple places in Canada.

“Canada has always been a part of my story, so I feel a deep connection to our Canadian visitors here in Las Vegas,” Stevens said.

While Stevens’ fondness for Canada is deeply-rooted, the same can’t be said about Canadian travelers and Sin City.

A recent report from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) showed that 35.4 million people came to Las Vegas during the first 11 months of 2025, marking a 7.4 percent year-over-year decrease. That included an estimated 24 percent reduction in Canadian travelers.

Hotel room revenue was also down 8.5 percent year-over-year on a per-room basis, while average daily room rates were down five percent.

Despite the disappointing numbers, there is a general belief that America’s gambling capital will rebound. The influx of major attractions in the sporting world, including the FIFA World Cup, March Madness, and F1’s Las Vegas Grand Prix, will continue to help Vegas bring more traffic back to its streets without the direct influence of casinos.