(updated) It was recently announced that MGM Resorts sold the iconic Mirage Resort to Hard Rock International (The Seminole Tribe of Florida) for $1.07 Billion. The ink wasn’t even dry on the press release before the new owners let it be known that they plan to demolish the iconic volcano and replace it with a 36-story tall guitar-shaped eye-sore of a hotel.
With that news and no set timeline announced on when the volcano will go away, other than “soon”, I figured I needed to go see it one last time. As always, it did not disappoint and the crowds, of course, loved it.
In replacing the popular and iconic volcano with a neon-lit hotel tower will be known as one of the biggest marketing blunders in Las Vegas history! Looking at what they already have stated about their plans for the resort, this will not be their only blunder.
It’s been a long time since we have seen a company opening in Las Vegas that shot itself in the foot before they even have the keys to the place! But that is the subject of another Vlog!
Background
The Mirage opened on the Las Vegas Strip, on October 26, 1989. It was the first of what we now call a “Mega-Resort” with over 2,000 rooms. Steve Wynn was the man behind the resort and to say it changed the Vegas Strip is an understatement!
Steve followed the Mirage with Treasure Island (1993) and then the Bellagio (1998). In 2000, The Wynn empire was sold to MGM Resorts for $4.4 billion.
In December 2021, MGM Resorts announced that they had sold The Mirage to Hard Rock International in a $1.075 billion cash deal that is expected to close in the second half of 2022, according to a statement released by MGM.
MGM will retain the Mirage name and brand but license it back to Hard Rock for up to three years while the new owners work out a final plan for the resort’s redevelopment.
With this change of ownership, The Mirage Resort property will rebrand as the Hard Rock Las Vegas. Not only will the property get a new name, the resort will also get a new look, including a massive guitar-shaped structure similar to other Hard Rock buildings around the world. The Mirage logos on the original towers will be replaced with Hard Rock branding, as shown in renderings released by the company.
MGM International owned the operations of The Mirage, the land the resort sits on was purchased, along with other MGM properties by VICI Properties for $17.2 billion in August. VICI Properties will lease the land back to Hard Rock in a long-term agreement.
Read: Where to put the Hard Rock
It Changed Vegas
Building the Mirage was a huge gamble. No other hotel in Las Vegas came close to it in size or offerings. Steve Wynn wanted something that would stand out and say “This is Las Vegas” and the volcano was just the thing.
From the very beginning, the volcano has been a traffic stopper as well as a “Must See” Vegas attraction. Like the Bellagio Fountains, also created by Steve Wynn, the volcano has found its way into movies, video games, and marketing campaigns for Las Vegas.
See it now!
The Mirage Volcano erupts every night (weather permitting) at 8,9,10 and 11 pm
The Mirage volcano will certainly be missed!
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