3 Las Vegas hotels are accepting the Canadian dollar at par this year

As many Canadians are avoiding U.S. travel, a new promotion hopes to bring them back.

Three Las Vegas hotels — Cira Resort and Casino, the D Las Vegas and Golden Gate Hotel and Casino — will treat Canadian dollars as U.S. dollars across select gaming, hotel and beverage offerings now through Aug. 31, Circa Resort and Casino said in a press release.

Under the At Par program, eligible Canadian guests receive $1 USD in value for every $1 CAD spent, regardless of daily exchange rates.

The promotion aims to remove one of the biggest financial barriers to U.S. leisure travel.

Travel to the U.S. has declined. Canadian-resident return trips from the U.S. by car dropped 30.2 per cent to 1.6 million in October, while the number of return trips by air dropped 15.1 per cent compared with the same month a year earlier.

Exchange rates and political tensions are behind the decline, travel experts have said.

The Las Vegas hotels hope Canadians will return this year.

“Canada has always been a part of my story, so I feel a deep connection to our Canadian visitors here in Las Vegas,” said Derek Stevens, owner and CEO of Circa, the D and Golden Gate.

Stevens said his father went to the University of Toronto, and he was raised in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, across from Windsor.

“Growing up, we could literally hear Canada – especially during Toronto baseball games – and that stayed with me,” he said. “I loved crossing over for places like Tunnel Bar-B-Q, Don Cherry’s and Tim Hortons, and my lifelong love of hockey is part of why we created BarCanada downtown as a place to celebrate that culture year-round.”

He hopes the promotion will encourage Canadian guests to return.

“At Par is about honouring that connection and removing unnecessary barriers, making sure Canadian visitors feel just as welcome downtown as they always have, without worrying about exchange rates, fine print or doing the math at the cage,” he said.

How Canadians can benefit from the At Par program:

• Canadian guests may redeem up to $500 CAD in slot promotional play, treated at full U.S. dollar value, by visiting Club One at Circa, the D or Golden Gate and presenting a valid Canadian passport or government-issued ID.
• Canadian guests staying at Circa, the D or Golden Gate will receive the At Par rate at check-in, paying the same number shown in U.S. dollars, charged directly in Canadian dollars, with no exchange rate applied. Canadian citizenship must be verified with a valid passport or government-issued ID.
• The At Par program also extends to select beverage venues, including BarCanada at the D Las Vegas, a hockey-forward sports bar paying tribute to Canada, as well as Overhang at Circa and Bar Prohibition! at Golden Gate. Eligible Canadian guests may redeem At Par beverage pricing multiple times per visit upon verification of Canadian identification.

For more information, see the website here.

Lead photo: Abhishek Navlakha