{"id":189186,"date":"2021-10-15T12:34:19","date_gmt":"2021-10-15T19:34:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=189186"},"modified":"2021-10-15T13:32:42","modified_gmt":"2021-10-15T20:32:42","slug":"dont-bet-on-draftkings-buying-circa-says-stevens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/dont-bet-on-draftkings-buying-circa-says-stevens\/","title":{"rendered":"Derek Stevens Refutes DraftKings\/Circa Takeover Rumor in Twitter Kerfuffle"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Circa Sports founder and CEO Derek Stevens took to Twitter earlier today to refute speculation his company is for sale, calling the rumor \u201cpure BS.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_189187\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-189187\" data-style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-189187 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/DS.jpg\" alt=\"DraftKings Circa\" width=\"1200\" height=\"852\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/DS.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/DS-142x101.jpg 142w, https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/DS-1024x727.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/DS-768x545.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption  id=\"caption-attachment-189187\"class=\"text-description\">Circa Casino owner Derek Stevens probably isn&#8217;t looking to sell. He called rumors about DraftKings buying Circa &#8220;BS.&#8221; (Image: <em>Las Vegas Review-Journal<\/em>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In highlighting tidbits from the firm&#8217;s most recent sports betting monitor report, Eilers &amp; Krejcik analyst Chris Krafcik pondered the possibility of DraftKings (NASDAQ:DKNG) potentially purchasing a Nevada casino, noting that Circa Las Vegas is rumored to be a target.<\/p>\n<p>Stevens quickly refuted the rumor.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Hey Chris. You maybe a great person for the Gaming and Sports industries but your credibility is questionable. I don\u2019t understand why you would tweet point #2. Pure BS. You never reached out and just started a rumor. I don\u2019t know you and you clearly don\u2019t know me. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/RVmrNZhC26\">https:\/\/t.co\/RVmrNZhC26<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Derek Stevens (@DerekJStevens) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DerekJStevens\/status\/1449060253950115842?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 15, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The 777-room Circa, the first new from-the-ground-up integrated resort to be constructed in downtown Las Vegas in four decades, opened its doors in October 2020. It has since become the only venue in that part of Sin City to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/circa-las-vegas-receives-coveted-aaa-hotel-rating-first-for-downtown\/\">receive the prestigious AAA Four Diamond<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Stevens is widely viewed as the godfather of downtown Las Vegas, and in addition to Circa, which some industry insiders say is his \u201cbaby,\u201d his company&#8217;s portfolio includes D Las Vegas, Golden Gate Hotel &amp; Casino, and Downtown Las Vegas Events Center.<\/p>\n<p>A request for comment from Circa wasn&#8217;t replied to prior to publication of this article. Krafcik said in a subsequent tweet that the rumor comes from a source considered \u201creliable,\u201d and he acknowledges that he didn&#8217;t check in with Stevens prior to sending the initial tweet.<\/p>\n<h2>DraftKings Wants Nevada Access<\/h2>\n<p>While it appears unlikely DraftKings will acquire Circa, it&#8217;s not up for debate that the online sportsbook operator is expanding in Nevada.<\/p>\n<p>Earlier this month, the company announced it&#8217;s moving to a new 90,000-square-foot space in the southwest area of Las Vegas and that it will employ more than 1,000 people in the region. That makes the Sin City office its second-largest after its Boston headquarters. In March, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/draftkings-buys-las-vegas-based-sports-broadcasting-network-vsin\/\">the company announced<\/a> the acquisition of Vegas Sports Information Network (VSiN).<\/p>\n<p>Interestingly, VSiN&#8217;s broadcast studio is located inside Circa Las Vegas. But that appears to be the only tie between DraftKings and the casino operator.<\/p>\n<div class=\"callout\">\n<p>Other points indicate long odds of DraftKings moving on Circa. First, the company is an asset-light online enterprise with no holdings in brick-and-mortar casinos. Second, if it&#8217;s Nevada access the company is after, a pending acquisition may deliver that. DraftKings purchase of Golden Nugget Online Gaming (NASDAQ:GNOG), announced in August, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/draftkings-could-finally-get-nevada-access-through-gnog-acquisition\/\">could help the operator<\/a> get into the US gaming mecca.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>In a presentation to investors on the buyout, DraftKings discusses market access, though stops short of specifically mentioning Nevada.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cPreferred market access rates through existing Golden Nugget casinos. Retail sportsbooks at current and future Golden Nugget casinos to be rebranded as DraftKings,\u201d<\/strong> <strong>according to the presentation.<\/strong><\/p>\n<h2>DraftKings Has Other Fish to Fry<\/h2>\n<p>In addition to the remote likelihood that Stevens is a seller &#8212; he&#8217;s not &#8212; there&#8217;s another reason DraftKings may not be imminently pursuing Circa or any other Nevada operator.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The company is attempting to acquire Entain Plc (OTC:GMVHY) in what would be the largest sports wagering takeover on record. DraftKings reportedly floated a $22.4 billion cash and equity bid after a prior offer was rejected, and the suitor has until Oct. 19 to formalize a proposal.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>That transaction has a slew of moving parts, not the least of which is Entain&#8217;s 50 percent stake in BetMGM. MGM Resorts International (NYSE:MGM) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/mgm-ceo-hornbuckle-resolute-on-draftkings-entain-merger-possibility\/\">controls the other half<\/a>, and that company must approve any deal that involves Entain being acquired and folded into what could become a competing business. DraftKings hasn&#8217;t publicly said if it&#8217;s courting Entain for technology and access to foreign markets, or if it&#8217;s angling to control BetMGM as well.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Circa Sports founder and CEO Derek Stevens took to Twitter earlier today to refute speculation his company is for sale, calling the rumor \u201cpure BS.\u201d In highlighting tidbits from the firm&#8217;s most recent sports betting monitor report, Eilers &amp; Krejcik analyst Chris Krafcik pondered the possibility of DraftKings (NASDAQ:DKNG) potentially purchasing a Nevada casino, noting [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":46,"featured_media":189187,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[62,1],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Don&#039;t Bet On DraftKings Buying Circa, Says Stevens<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Circa founder Derek Stevens took to Twitter today to refute rumors DraftKings wants to buy his company.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/dont-bet-on-draftkings-buying-circa-says-stevens\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Don&#039;t Bet On DraftKings Buying Circa, Says Stevens\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Circa founder Derek Stevens took to Twitter today to refute rumors DraftKings wants to buy his company.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/dont-bet-on-draftkings-buying-circa-says-stevens\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-10-15T19:34:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-10-15T20:32:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/DS.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"852\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Todd Shriber\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@etfgodfather\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Todd Shriber\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/dont-bet-on-draftkings-buying-circa-says-stevens\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/dont-bet-on-draftkings-buying-circa-says-stevens\/\",\"name\":\"Don't Bet On DraftKings Buying Circa, Says Stevens\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/dont-bet-on-draftkings-buying-circa-says-stevens\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/dont-bet-on-draftkings-buying-circa-says-stevens\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/DS.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-10-15T19:34:19+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-10-15T20:32:42+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/f4cecf70a5032bc4e60eb73fc86d4a85\"},\"description\":\"Circa founder Derek Stevens took to Twitter today to refute rumors DraftKings wants to buy his company.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/dont-bet-on-draftkings-buying-circa-says-stevens\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/dont-bet-on-draftkings-buying-circa-says-stevens\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/dont-bet-on-draftkings-buying-circa-says-stevens\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/DS.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/DS.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":852,\"caption\":\"Circa Casino owner Derek Stevens. He says Las Vegas should be one of the host cities for the first round of the College Football Playoff (CFP).(Image: Las Vegas Review-Journal)\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/dont-bet-on-draftkings-buying-circa-says-stevens\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"News\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Commercial Gaming\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/commercial-gaming\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Derek Stevens Refutes DraftKings\/Circa Takeover Rumor in Twitter Kerfuffle\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/\",\"name\":\"Casino.org\",\"description\":\"Latest Casino and Gaming News\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/f4cecf70a5032bc4e60eb73fc86d4a85\",\"name\":\"Todd Shriber\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-11-96x96.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-11-96x96.png\",\"caption\":\"Todd Shriber\"},\"description\":\"Todd Shriber is a senior news reporter covering gaming financials, casino business, stocks, and mergers and acquisitions for Casino.org. 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He says Las Vegas should be one of the host cities for the first round of the College Football Playoff (CFP).(Image: Las Vegas Review-Journal)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/dont-bet-on-draftkings-buying-circa-says-stevens\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"News","item":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Commercial Gaming","item":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/commercial-gaming\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Derek Stevens Refutes DraftKings\/Circa Takeover Rumor in Twitter Kerfuffle"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/","name":"Casino.org","description":"Latest Casino and Gaming News","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/f4cecf70a5032bc4e60eb73fc86d4a85","name":"Todd Shriber","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-11-96x96.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-11-96x96.png","caption":"Todd Shriber"},"description":"Todd Shriber is a senior news reporter covering gaming financials, casino business, stocks, and mergers and acquisitions for Casino.org. Todd got his start in financial markets as a reporter with Bloomberg News. Later, he became a trader at a Southern California-based long\/short hedge fund, where he specialized in the trading sector and international ETFs leading up to and during the financial crisis. He joined Casino.org in 2019. Currently, Todd analyzes, researches, and writes on ETFs for various web-based publications and financial services firms. Shriber has been featured and quoted in Barron's, CNBC.com, and The Wall Street Journal. His work can also be found on Benzinga, ETF Daily News, ETF Trends, MarketWatch, Fox Business, and Nasdaq.com. He currently resides in Las Vegas, where he enjoys golf and taking his black lab to the dog park. He's also an avid sports fan and likes to wager on college football and the NBA. You can also find him at the three-card poker and roulette table, even though he knows better. 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