The Mirage will close on July 17, 2024, for its transition to Hard Rock Hotel in 2027. The Mirage opened on November 22, 1989. It was the world’s most expensive resort, completed for $630 million. It was also among the world’s largest hotels. The Mirage was the first megaresort to open on the Las Vegas Strip, and its success prompted a building boom in the 1990s for other large resorts along the Strip.
he Mirage opened with several non-traditional attractions for a Las Vegas casino, including animal habitats for dolphins and tigers, and an indoor tropical forest display. Its primary attraction is an artificial volcano that erupts nightly, providing free entertainment in front of the resort. In 1990, the Mirage debuted a magic show by Siegfried & Roy, who performed there for nearly 14 years. The resort also hosted Cirque du Soleil’s first Las Vegas show, Nouvelle Expérience, which opened in 1992. Cirque du Soleil would return to the property in 2006, with the debut of Love, a show featuring music by the Beatles.
Wynn departed the property in 2000 when his company was acquired by MGM Grand. Hard Rock International took over operations in December 2022, becoming the first tribal gaming operator on the Strip. The company intends to rebrand the resort as Hard Rock Las Vegas. The property will receive a complete renovation and expansion which will include a new guitar-shaped hotel tower, taking the place of the volcano attraction. The Mirage will close on July 17, 2024, and is expected to reopen with its new name by May 2027.
Hard Rock also intends to construct a guitar-shaped hotel tower on the property, like the Seminole Hard Rock in Florida. The new tower will replace the Mirage’s volcano, prompting a change petition to save the attraction from demolition. This effort was unsuccessful, and the volcano will be demolished once construction begins on the Hard Rock transition. The guitar tower is expected to rise 660 feet. Hard Rock’s previous proposal for a 998-foot tower was rejected by the county. The redesigned tower would add 596 rooms for a new total of 3,640. Construction is expected to take two and a half years. The casino and convention facilities will also be expanded.
Hard Rock’s purchase was finalized on December 19, 2022, making it the first tribal gaming operator on the Las Vegas Strip. Under the new ownership, additional slot machines and table games were soon added to increase gaming revenue. Stages were also added to two bars for nightly entertainment, consistent with Hard Rock’s music theme.
The Mirage was expected to continue operating throughout the renovation and expansion project, with completion by early 2028. However, in May 2024, Hard Rock announced that the Mirage would permanently close on July 17, 2024, to expedite the project. Hard Rock Las Vegas is expected to open by the end of May 2027.