The Mirage facts for kids
Quick facts for kids The Mirage |
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The Mirage in 2012
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| Location | Paradise, Nevada, U.S. |
| Address | 3400 South Las Vegas Boulevard |
| Opening date | November 22, 1989 |
| Closing date | July 17, 2024 |
| Theme | Polynesian |
| No. of rooms | 3,044 |
| Total gaming space | 90,548 sq ft (8,412.2 m2) |
| Permanent shows | Siegfried & Roy (1990–2003) Love (2006–2024) Center Stage Comedy |
| Signature attractions | Volcano Siegfried & Roy's Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat Aquarium lobby |
| Notable restaurants | Renoir (1999–2004) B.B. King's Blues Club (2009–2012) Tom Coliccio's Heritage Steak Osteria Costa The Still Crafts, Drafts & Eats Otoro |
| Casino type | Land-based |
| Owner | Mirage Resorts (1990–2000) MGM Resorts International (2000–2016) MGM Growth Properties (2016–2022) Vici Properties (final owner) |
| Operating license holder | Hard Rock International (2022–2024) |
| Architect | Joel Bergman |
| Renovated in | 1995, 2002, 2004–2006, 2008 |
| Coordinates | 36°07′16″N 115°10′31″W / 36.12111°N 115.17528°W |
The Mirage was a famous hotel and casino on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. It was known for its fun, tropical theme. The resort covered 65 acres and had a large casino along with 3,044 hotel rooms.
The Mirage opened on November 22, 1989. It was the most expensive resort ever built at the time, costing $630 million. Its success helped start a building boom for other big resorts in Las Vegas during the 1990s.
The resort offered many unique attractions. These included animal habitats for dolphins and tigers. It also had an indoor tropical forest. The most famous attraction was an artificial volcano that erupted every night.
In 1990, the famous magic duo Siegfried & Roy started their show at The Mirage. They performed there for almost 14 years. The resort also hosted Cirque du Soleil's first Las Vegas show, Nouvelle Expérience, in 1992. Cirque du Soleil returned in 2006 with Love, a show featuring music by the Beatles.
The Mirage closed its doors on July 17, 2024. It is now being completely renovated and will reopen as Hard Rock Las Vegas in late 2027. A new guitar-shaped hotel tower will replace the volcano attraction.
Contents
Building The Mirage
How The Mirage Started
The land where The Mirage was built had a long history. Part of it was once a nightclub called the Red Rooster, which opened in 1930. Later, it became the Grace Hayes Lodge. Another part of the land had a hotel-casino called the Castaways.
Casino owner Steve Wynn bought the Castaways and other land in 1986. He planned to build a new, exciting resort. The Castaways and other buildings were taken down to make space for The Mirage. Wynn sold another one of his resorts to help pay for this big new project.
Choosing the Name
Many names were considered for Wynn's new resort. These included Bombay and even "Wynn." But Wynn wanted a name that fit the resort's South Seas theme.
In December 1988, the name "The Mirage" was announced. It was chosen to make the resort seem like an amazing oasis in the Nevada desert. To avoid confusion, Wynn bought the rights to the name from two other local businesses. They were paid to change their names.
Building the Resort
Construction of The Mirage began in November 1987. It cost $630 million to build, making it the most expensive hotel-casino in the world at that time. This huge project was largely paid for by selling special bonds. The Mirage was the first Las Vegas resort to use this kind of financing.
Bobby Baldwin worked closely with Steve Wynn on the project. He later became the president of The Mirage. Before opening, the team spent almost a year visiting many companies to get ideas and advice. The Mirage hired nearly 6,400 employees. They all went through a month of training to provide excellent customer service.
Life at The Mirage
Opening Day and Early Success
The Mirage opened its doors at noon on November 22, 1989. Steve Wynn wanted The Mirage to be a popular place for boxing matches. On opening day, a customer won a $4.6 million jackpot on a slot machine!
The resort had many unique features that were not common in Las Vegas casinos. Wynn believed these attractions would be the main draw, not just the casino games. The artificial volcano was a huge hit, offering free entertainment. Other attractions included a dolphin habitat and a beautiful indoor jungle. Siegfried & Roy's white tigers were also on display when they weren't performing.
The Mirage quickly became very popular. It was the first new resort on the Strip in 16 years and the first "megaresort." Its success led to many other large resorts being built in the 1990s. Tourism in Las Vegas grew a lot after The Mirage opened.
Changes Over Time
Steve Wynn left The Mirage in 2000 when his company was bought by MGM Grand. The hotel rooms were updated in 2002. A big renovation happened from 2005 to 2006 to help The Mirage compete with newer resorts. This included new restaurants and a nightclub. Another $100 million renovation updated the casino and rooms in 2008.
In 2016, ownership of The Mirage moved to MGM Growth Properties. Vici Properties then bought MGM Growth in 2022, becoming the final owner.
The Hard Rock Era and Closure
In 2021, MGM Resorts International decided to sell The Mirage's operations. They wanted to focus on other resorts. In December 2021, Hard Rock International agreed to buy The Mirage's operations for over $1 billion. Hard Rock planned to rename the resort Hard Rock Las Vegas.
The plan was to completely renovate The Mirage. A new guitar-shaped hotel tower will be built, replacing the famous volcano. Many people signed a petition to save the volcano, but it was not successful.
Hard Rock took over operations on December 19, 2022. They added more slot machines and table games. They also added stages for live music, fitting Hard Rock's music theme.
In May 2024, Hard Rock announced that The Mirage would close permanently two months later. The hotel closed on July 15, 2024. Gaming operations ended on July 17, 2024, and the entire resort closed that day. Many people visited in its final days. Hard Rock plans to give $80 million in severance pay to the 3,000 workers who lost their jobs.
The closing ceremony included speeches and a final eruption of the volcano. Steve Wynn, the original builder, wrote a tribute to the resort. Experts said The Mirage "changed the image Las Vegas projected to the rest of the world."
Work on the Hard Rock project began the day after The Mirage closed. The volcano was among the first things to be taken down. Some of The Mirage's signs were given to the Neon Museum for preservation. The new Hard Rock Las Vegas is expected to open in late 2027.
Design and Plant Life
The Mirage was designed by Joel Bergman and his team. Steve Wynn and his wife, Elaine Wynn, were very involved in every design choice. They wanted to combine the best features of other Las Vegas resorts.
The Mirage had a South Seas and Polynesian theme. Wynn wanted something different from the usual neon lights of Las Vegas. He said, "Think of the harsh Southern Nevada desert, and then you see a waterfall, something out of the South Pacific." He was inspired by the 1958 movie South Pacific.
The exterior had 10 acres of landscaped lawns and pools. It featured 1,000 palm trees and 40,000 shrubs. The resort had 60 gardeners to care for all the plants. Inside, a nine-story domed atrium covered a tropical rainforest display. It had both fake and real plants, including orchids and 70-foot palm trees.
By 2019, some of the tropical theme had been reduced. In 2024, the atrium was taken down as part of the Hard Rock changes.
Cool Features
The Mirage was one of the world's largest hotels when it opened. Its 29-story hotel tower was shaped like a Y. This design became popular and was copied by other Las Vegas resorts. The top floors had special rooms and suites for important guests. The exterior windows were made with 18-karat gold.
Since it opened, the hotel had a $1.2 million aquarium tank behind the check-in desk. It was designed to relax guests while they waited. The aquarium held hundreds of fish and was a popular attraction.
The Mirage's casino was 90,548 sq ft (8,412.2 m2). It opened with 2,300 slot machines and 115 table games. It was the first Las Vegas casino to use security cameras on all table games all the time. The resort also had 300,000 sq ft (28,000 m2) of convention space.
The Mirage also had a tram that traveled between it and the nearby Treasure Island Hotel and Casino.
The Volcano Show
The Mirage's artificial volcano was a signature attraction. It was free to the public and erupted regularly each night. Gas jets created flames, and water flowed down its sides into a lagoon. The lagoon had a special system to make it look like it was on fire. Red lights made the whitewater look like lava.
Originally, the lagoon was just going to have a dormant volcano. But a lighting designer suggested making it erupt. Steve Wynn approved the idea after seeing a model. A piña colada scent was added to cover the smell of the gas.
In 2008, the volcano got a $25 million upgrade. It now shot water 12 feet (3.7 m) high. One hundred twenty flamethrowers created huge flames on the lagoon. The show was choreographed to music by Mickey Hart and Zakir Hussain.
In 2024, for the Super Bowl LVIII, the volcano and lagoon were temporarily changed. They became an Alpine-themed mountain, looking like the Paramount Pictures mountain logo.
Animal Habitats
A $14 million dolphin habitat opened at The Mirage on October 19, 1990. It was meant to be an educational and research center. It also offered shows with dolphins and trainers. The facility had four pools with 2.5 million gallons of water. Visitors could take tours and even interact with the dolphins. School groups often visited.
On November 13, 1996, the Secret Garden of Siegfried & Roy opened. This outdoor attraction showed six types of animals from the magicians' show. These included Bengal tigers, white tigers, white lions, and a snow leopard. Siegfried & Roy also had a breeding program for big cats there. This $15 million attraction was next to the dolphin habitat. By 2002, the dolphin area became part of Siegfried & Roy's Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat.
The white tigers from Siegfried & Roy's magic show were also on display for free. A glass wall in a hallway allowed guests to watch the tigers. This tiger habitat opened with the resort in 1989. It closed in 2007, and the tigers moved to the Secret Garden.
Some animal-rights groups criticized the habitats. They said the dolphin habitat was more for entertainment than education. In 2017, the Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat received a certification for animal welfare.
MGM closed the Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat in September 2022. This followed three dolphin deaths that year. Hard Rock International decided not to include the attraction in its future plans. The animals were moved to new homes. Some dolphins went back to SeaWorld San Diego, and others went to the U.S. Virgin Islands. The big cats moved to animal sanctuaries in Oregon and Texas.
Restaurants
The Mirage opened with five fancy restaurants. These included the Italian-themed Ristorante Riva. It also had more casual places like the Bermuda Buffet and the 24-hour Caribe Cafe.
In 1998, The Mirage updated its restaurants and added new ones. Onda, an Italian restaurant, replaced Ristorante Riva. Renoir, a restaurant named after the French artist, opened in 1999. It won several awards for its food.
Carnegie Deli, a famous New York restaurant, opened a location at The Mirage in 2005. It was very popular but closed in 2020. B.B. King's Blues Club also opened in 2009 but closed in 2012.
Chef Tom Colicchio opened a steakhouse called Tom Colicchio's Heritage Steak in 2013. Another Italian restaurant, Osteria Costa, opened later. The resort also added a sports bar called The Still Crafts, Drafts & Eats in 2016.
Live Entertainment
The Mirage hosted many boxing matches in its early years. Famous fights included:
- Sugar Ray Leonard vs. Roberto Durán III (1989)
- Buster Douglas vs. Evander Holyfield (1990)
- Mike Tyson vs. Donovan Ruddock (1991)
Cirque du Soleil performed its first Las Vegas show, Nouvelle Expérience, at The Mirage starting in 1992. It was performed in a large, temporary tent behind the resort.
Impressionist Danny Gans began performing at The Mirage in 2000. A ballroom was turned into the 1,265-seat Danny Gans Theatre for his show. Ventriloquist Terry Fator later took over this theater and performed his popular puppet show for over 10 years.
Other entertainers at The Mirage included Paul Anka, Dennis Miller, and George Lopez. Magician Shin Lim performed there since 2019. A comedy club, Center Stage Comedy, also hosted many comedians.
Siegfried & Roy's Magic Show
Illusionists Siegfried & Roy started their show at The Mirage on February 1, 1990. They signed a $58 million contract. Their magic show featured several white tigers and took place in the Theatre Mirage. They became a top attraction for Las Vegas. A statue of them was added to the resort in 1993.
On October 3, 2003, Roy Horn was injured during a performance. One of the tigers, Mantacore, bit him and dragged him offstage. Horn suffered a stroke from the injury. He later said the tiger was trying to help him after he felt dizzy.
Horn was partly paralyzed after the stroke. The Mirage announced that the show would not continue. Siegfried & Roy had performed 5,750 shows at The Mirage. The tiger, Mantacore, became a permanent resident in the resort's Secret Garden.
In 2020, the road leading to the property was named Siegfried and Roy Drive. This honored their impact on the resort's success. In 2024, their statue was given to the city's Neon Museum.
The Beatles' Love Show
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After Siegfried & Roy's show ended, their theater was rebuilt. It became a $100 million venue for a Cirque du Soleil show based on the Beatles. This show, called Love, opened in June 2006. It featured music by the Beatles.
The revamped theater had 2,000 seats and 6,000 speakers. Giant banners advertising the show were placed on the hotel tower. Love was very successful, with eight million visitors in its first 10 years. It closed on July 7, 2024, as part of the Hard Rock changes.
See also
In Spanish: The Mirage (hotel y casino) para niños
- List of largest hotels
- List of integrated resorts
