Las Vegas becomes a World Cup destination despite not hosting a match

LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Las Vegas does not have a match on the World Cup schedule, but that has not stopped international soccer fans from making the city part of their U.S. experience.

At Circa Resort & Casino, the tournament has turned a traditionally slower stretch of the Las Vegas calendar into a packed sports scene. Fans from Europe and beyond have filled sportsbooks, casinos and Stadium Swim to watch matches on massive screens, even when the games are being played in other cities.

WATCH: Taylor Rocha hears from Circa's owner and international fans who have flocked to Las Vegas:

“We were very excited about the World Cup, but we really underestimated how great this is,” Circa owner Derek Stevens said.

Stevens said the tournament has delivered sellouts for Mexico and U.S. matches at the sportsbook and Stadium Swim, with strong crowds for Brazil, England, Argentina and Spain games.

“This is going to create such a massive difference in our second quarter and our third quarter numbers in jobs,” Stevens said. “I mean, it's a pretty slow time in Vegas, but this has been a tremendous boost for what we've seen in Las Vegas.”

The tournament has also fueled a broader fascination with American culture. German soccer fan Freddy, known on X as @FreddyLA7, went viral during his cross-country trip for his enthusiastic posts about Waffle House, Walmart, Taco Bell, Buc-ee’s and American hospitality.

That online attention reached Stevens, who offered to fly Freddy and his friends to Las Vegas on Circa’s private jet.

“We made a pretty good offer,” Stevens said. “We didn't hear from him, though. We didn't hear from him. But what we did see is we did see a lot of people want to come, want to come out to Vegas and watch the World Cup.”

For Stevens, the message was bigger than one fan.

“If you're coming to the states, Vegas is, you know, a top city you have to come and visit,” Stevens said.

John Locher/AP Photo/John Locher

Some international visitors already agree.

Kim Markwat, visiting from the Netherlands, said Las Vegas was an easy choice despite not hosting games.

“We said, OK, let's go to Vegas, watch some games here on the screens, because you know in the end the ticket prices are quite expensive,” Markwat said. “And then here you can see all the games, do some gambling, so yeah, it's nice.”

Markwat said the scale of Las Vegas stands out.

“In Europe, everything is small,” Markwat said. “Here is everything like extra large.”

Stevens said that reaction is part of what makes this tournament unique.

“There are a lot of these things that have become normal to us that are really, really amazing for people from around the world,” Stevens said. “It kind of makes you realize, boy, America's got a few other things that are pretty spectacular.”

And for fans worried about Vegas keeping up with the crowds, Stevens offered one guarantee.

“Vegas will not run out of beer,” he said.