MGM Resorts announced in November that it was planning to sell The Mirage Hotel and Casino to reduce its inventory on the Las Vegas Strip.
It didn’t take long to find a buyer.
Hard Rock International is buying the iconic property for $1.075 billion and has plans to drastically alter the look and feel of both the property and the most famous stretch of hotels in the world.
Hard Rock will maintain and rebrand the current hotel which sits on the back of the 77-acre parcel but will add a new neon purple, guitar-shaped hotel as well.
Hard Rock didn’t specify where the new structure will go, but an artist’s rendering of the project shows it at the front of the property, directly on Las Vegas Boulevard between Caesars Palace and Treasure Island.
Start Of Modern Las Vegas
The Mirage is a landmark property in Las Vegas, considered the first mega-resort on the Strip to usher in a new era for the city. When it opened in 1989, it was the largest resort in the world with more than 3,500 rooms spread across its 29-floor structure.
“The Mirage is the casino, more than any other one, that’s inspired what Las Vegas is right now,” David Schwartz, University of Nevada Las Vegas ombudsman and gaming historian, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “The fact that that brand is going away means quite a bit.”
Michael Green, an associate professor of history at UNLV, said The Mirage set a template for the Strip.
“The theme, the elegance, the special attractions,” Green told USA Today. “While The Mirage was not unique in having any of these ideas, it was unique at the time in putting them all together. And from there, it isn’t a long step to a yellow brick road or a pyramid or canals.”
The Mirage has been home to some of the top entertainment on the Strip through the decades. It was the permanent home for Siegfried and Roy for nearly 14 years, and has been home to Cirque de Soleil’s The Beatles Love since 2006.
Details Of The Purchase
“This transaction is a significant milestone for MGM Resorts, and for Las Vegas,” MGM CEO Bill Hornbuckle said in a release. “As part of the team that opened The Mirage in 1989, I know firsthand how special it is, and what a great opportunity it presents to the Hard Rock team.”
The transaction, which will be finalized in the latter part of 2022, is part of a shuffling of Strip properties that has taken place over the past year. MGM purchased the Cosmopolitan and took full control of Aria during the year, giving it 10 hotels on The Strip.
After those moves, MGM said it wanted to trim its roster and put The Mirage on the market. Hard Rock was quick to move in.
Hard Rock And Las Vegas
“We are honored to welcome The Mirage’s 3,500 team members to the Hard Rock family,” Jim Allen, chairman of Hard Rock International, said in a release. “When complete, Hard Rock Las Vegas will be a fully integrated resort welcoming meetings, groups, tourists, and casino guests from around the world.”
Hard Rock may be new to The Strip, but it isn’t new to Las Vegas. The Hard Rock Hotel had been located for more than 20 years just east of the Strip near the UNLV campus, but it closed in 2018. Richard Branson bought that property and reopened the 1,500-room hotel and casino this year as Virgin Hotels.
