Rocking on With the Show as Iconic Las Vegas Mirage Closes
Author:
Roy Brindley
Las Vegas said goodbye to one of its iconic strip properties on Wednesday, July 17, when the reels and wheels inside The Mirage Casino span for the final time. The resort, which opened in 1989 featuring a Polynesian theme, was the Las Vegas Strip’s first mega-resort. Its appearance spurred a building boom on the famous boulevard throughout the 1990s.
The volcano outside of The Mirage was a Las Vegas signature attraction. ?Getty
Earlier this year, another Las Vegas casino, The Tropicana, closed after 67 years of operation. It is currently being demolished with its 22 stories due to be imploded in October. The site will be used to build a $1.5 billion baseball stadium that will become the home of the Oakland A’s, which is relocating from California.
A New Tower to Strike a Chord
The Mirage, whose closure was announced two months ago, has been spared a complete demolition. Instead, its owners, Hard Rock International, plan to “re-imagine every aspect of the resort”. The transformation means The Mirage’s famous volcano attraction will be replaced with a 660-foot guitar-shaped tower containing 600 rooms.
The new venue, set to open in 2027, will be called the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino and Guitar Hotel Las Vegas. At the time of its closure, The Mirage housed over 2,300 slot machines and 115 table games – such as Blackjack and Roulette. However, its famous poker room never re-opened following the Covid pandemic. Card players will be hoping the new casino will cater to their needs.
Bringing @HardRockHotels to the Las #Vegas Strip.#ClarkCounty Commissioners just approved permits and designs for the plan on the current site of the @TheMirageLV volcano.
The existing tower will remain and a new 660 feet tall guitar shaped tower with 600 suites will be built. pic.twitter.com/wFdlNZn7Gh
— Clark County Nevada (@ClarkCountyNV) March 22, 2023
A Catalyst in Las Vegas’ 90s Boom
When it opened, The Mirage was the world’s most expensive resort and one of its largest hotels. It cost $630 million to build. Until this week, the property boasted 3,044 rooms, with 90,550 square feet of gaming space to gamble. Las Vegas’ Treasure Island, Monte Carlo, and Mandalay Bay resorts later copied the building’s Y-shape design.
Former casino mogul Steve Wynn was responsible for The Mirage construction. Days ahead of its closure, he said: “To call The Mirage a catalyst would be an understatement.” Its completion ushered in a virtual doubling of the resort capacity over the next decade – more than 30,000 hotel rooms – making Las Vegas one of the fastest-growing cities in America.
The Mirage opened with non-traditional attractions such as habitats for dolphins and tigers and an indoor tropical forest display. Its volcano, free to the public and visible to pedestrians, quickly became a signature attraction for Las Vegas. A 20,000-gallon saltwater tank featuring a coral reef housing approximately 450 fish was later placed in The Mirage’s check-in area.
Home to the Greatest Shows
However, The Mirage will be forever remembered for the residency of illusionists Siegfried & Roy. Their show, featuring white lions, white tigers and an elephant, ran for 13 years starting in 1990. Siegfried & Roy’s initial five-year contract with The Mirage cost casino owner Steve Wynn $58 million.
Never missing one of their twice-daily six-days-a-week shows, the pair performed at The Mirage over 5,700 times. They are considered the most famous magicians since Houdini. Their unique show is regularly listed among the greatest Las Vegas has ever hosted – placing them alongside performers such as Liberace and Elvis Presley.
History also shows Cirque du Soleil performed its first Las Vegas production, Nouvelle Expérience, at The Mirage in 1992. When Siegfried & Roy’s Mirage tenure ended, it was replaced with Cirque du Soleil’s ‘Love’. The circus-based artistic and athletic stage performance with a Beatles music backdrop debuted in 2006 and ran until ten days before The Mirage’s closure.
