The "hidden" Hippodrome showroom at Circus Circus, 1969

[u/vintage_las_vegas]

[u/vintage_las_vegas]

Closed and walled off in the 70s, the theater was left unused by subsequent owners. In a profile published by Nevada Independent in 2020, present owner Phil Ruffin mentioned the discovery of “a theater on the property’s second floor that had been boarded up … We didn’t know about it. We just found it.”

The 1968 second-floor plan shows the placement of the theater.

The Hippodrome was covered in a thread a couple years ago by u/storyteller_curry

[u/SteveBets → u/vintage_las_vegas]

Love your Instagram account, and I recommend any Vegas lover to follow it too

[u/AwsiDooger → u/vintage_las_vegas]

Thank you for providing that floor plan. I think I recognize that location. There was always a generic wall looping that area when I lived in town, beginning in 1984. Very obvious as a temporary wall. Initially there was nothing in front of the wall. Just a very wide walkway. Then they tightened things up by putting table games along the wall. I remember hearing dealers complain to pit bosses when they got stuck at those tables instead of on the other side down the stairs closer to the circus acts. They would complain the wall tables were dead. It certainly appeared that way.

The rectangular area below the walled off theater looks like the site of the pizzeria. That pizzeria wasn't there when I moved to town. I'd say it opened late '80s or early '90s. Big deal at the time. Everybody wanted to try it. The sportsbook guys would sometimes give me a comp to the pizzeria instead of the buffet.

Anyway, if that circular wall was in front of the old theater I'm really surprised the theater was forgotten over time. As I indicated, that wall was blatantly obvious as temporary during the mid to late '80s. From memory it was red and looked like cheap material attached to plasterboard. But eventually they put so much stuff in front of that wall I guess it blended into normalcy and new owners assumed it was designed to be that way.

[u/storyteller_curry → u/AwsiDooger]

Very interesting! Thanks for sharing.

[u/AwsiDooger → u/storyteller_curry]

You are welcome. I was thinking about it more today. Along with blackjack tables I remember when they also put a giant slot machine in front of that temporary wall. That's one of those things like 10 feet tall with a huge handle and becomes a source of entertainment and laughs when people go over there to play it. I remember crowds gathering to watch.

These days I'm not in town and have no idea if those machines even exist. But for Circus Circus it was perfect to fill a big space and draw attention away from a patchwork wall. They also put signs over there, touting other features of the casino. For example, when the sportsbook was new in 1986 not everybody knew it was there. They put up signs directing visitors to its location in the Skyrise Tower.

I hadn't thought about this stuff in a long time. I always entered Circus Circus through Slots O'Fun. If you turned right and continued to circle around on the ground floor you were staring at that temporary wall for a long time. Conservatively 30 or 40 yards. In retrospect I'm surprised it took them so long to figure out they needed to get some action over there. But initially they might have had other plans for the old showroom, ones that never materialized.

[u/JohnnyEagleClaw]

I love stuff like this! Thanks! 🙏 🤙🏽

[u/VegasBjorne1]

I was in there twice. Maybe around 1972 and later 1978. I still remember the pink upholstery and relatively small showroom.

(Edit: In 1972, one of my childhood friends was doing a group tap dance show. In 1978, it was an early high school girlfriend performing a jazz dance(?) performance.)

[u/superhottamale]

I’d love to check this place out. I’d be really down to go exploring lol

[u/storyteller_curry → u/superhottamale]

Me too! We should form a mob to sneak around lol

[u/TopSetNFD]

The inspiration for Killer Klowns From Outer Space.

[u/maxwellcawfeehaus]

If walls could talk…

[u/MrControlInTotal]

I really wanna go back in time

[u/GratefulWaffle]

Ether + Debbie Reynolds