In an abrupt announcement made on Wednesday, the world-famous Mirage Hotel and Casino, which has stood tall above the Las Vegas Strip for nearly 30 years, will be shutting its doors this summer.
The world-renowned hotel revolutionized the Las Vegas Strip when it debuted in 1989, making history as the first megaresort on the strip. Its success in the ’90s spurred a construction boom for additional huge resorts, changing the game for the tourism mecca.
The 65-acre property, which was formerly Siegfried & Roy’s residence and was famous for its Beatles-themed attractions, will be replaced with a new Hard Rock Hotel & Casino.
After 34 years of service along Nevada’s Las Vegas Strip, the hotel-casino Mirage will close on July 17th. The business said that any guests whose bookings for either the hotel or the performance extend beyond the closing will be immediately canceled and given a refund.
The next step is to start a massive renovation of the land, which will include renovating the resort and building into a guitar-shaped hotel about 700 feet tall. It will mimic the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida.
The rebranded 80-acre resort is planned to open in 2027.
Hard Rock International has announced the layoff of over 3,000 workers and plans to give them severance packages totaling $80 million.
More than 2,500 individuals in the building industry will find employment during the renovation, and when the resort reopens, it will employ over 6,000 people.
When Steve Wynn built the $630 million Mirage, it was the priciest resort in the world and Wynn’s first large-scale Strip casino.
In front of the resort, guests enjoy free evening entertainment while the volcanic fountain erupts. It preceded both the canals of the Venetian and the dancing fountains of the Bellagio and was among the first sidewalk attractions.
Two years ago, Hard Rock International paid more than $1 billion to purchase the Mirage from MGM Resorts, which had acquired it from casino mogul Steve Wynn in 2000.
Hard Rock International, whose owners are the Seminole Tribe of Florida, is the first Strip property to be controlled by a Native American tribe.
