Derek Stevens, owner of The D, Golden Gate and the under-construction Circa Las Vegas, gave away 2,000 flights to Las Vegas to help kick-start visitation and support airline travel following the COVID-19 shutdown. Las Vegas casinos have been closed since March 18, but many will reopen on June 4, 2020. Derek Stevens, one of the owners of the D Hotel, located in down Las Vegas, revealed the name of his new hotel Thursday. The entertainment district of downtown Las Vegas will see its first casino-resort built from the ground up in more than three decades when the 777-room Circa opens in December 2020.

(the D Las Vegas)

LAS VEGAS (FOX5) -- Casino owner Derek Stevens wants people to return to Las Vegas, and he's helping people get here by giving away free flights to Vegas.

Stevens announced Wednesday morning that he is giving away 1,000 one-way flights to Las Vegas from more than 20 major U.S. cities.

According to a news release, 'Stevens' 'Keep America Flying' promotion is intended to help stimulate the tourism and airline industries while reminding the country of the fun to be had in Las Vegas.'

'Obviously, my team and I would like you to stay at one of our hotels. But if you don't, that's alright too, because Las Vegas needs you. Our community needs you. We're just trying to do our share. Keep America flying, keep Las Vegas rolling,' Stevens said in a video announcing the giveaway.

Stevens owns The D, the Golden Gate and Circa Las Vegas, which is expected to be completed later this year. The D and the Golden Gate will reopen June 4, according to a news release.

Visit https://www.thed.com/Keep-America-Flying/ for a list of offered origin cities and more information. All participants in the 'Keep America Flying' promotion must be at least 21 years of age, the release said.

“As we begin to reopen our doors across the city, we are proud to help reinvigorate travel to Las Vegas while supporting airlines in America impacted by the COVID-19 crisis,” said Stevens. “We can’t wait to safely bring visitors to the city and remind them why we’ve earned the title of ‘Entertainment Capital of the World.’ And while we’d love for visitors to stop by Downtown Las Vegas, we primarily want to get people back to Las Vegas to experience the attractions and amenities that make it one of the greatest places on Earth.”

Don your flashiest Vegas-themed earbuds, it’s another rambly installment of the Vital Vegas Podcast.

In this episode, we badger casino owner Derek Stevens into sharing some amazing stories about his new downtown resort, Circa.

Derek Stevens Casino Owner Wife

This is easily the most in-depth interview Stevens has ever given about Circa Las Vegas, which opens Oct. 28, 2020.

Stevens, who also owns The D and Golden Gate, talks about challenges his team faced during the COVID-19 crisis, as well as some first-in-Vegas innovations coming to the new casino resort.

They were originally going to name this new resort “Badass,” but that’s already a nickname of a certain Las Vegas blog.

Fun fact: One of Circa’s restaurants (8 East) won’t open along with the others, because on Oct. 28, Stevens says there will still be a construction crane going through it.

We’ve also got our perfunctory round-up of Las Vegas news, including the latest about Cirque’s bankruptcy, how Vegas botched being an NHL hub city, what’s going on with the four Station Casinos that haven’t reopened yet and the official debut of Resort World’s 100,000-square-foot video screen.

You’ll also get the latest about the reopenings of Luxor, Mandalay Bay, Delano, Aria and Waldorf Astoria, a Las Vegas hotel with a fancy name but no casino, so meh.

Derek Stevens A Las Vegas Casino Owner

We’ll also tease two new venues downtown, Discopussy and Lucky Day.

You know we’ve got a spectacularly slapped-together listicle, too, inspired by news Las Vegas could be the site of the first video game-themed Atari Hotel.

All that and less, so listen up and Vegas a little.