The Mirage Hotel & Casino Las Vegas
The Mirage was a landmark casino resort on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, widely regarded as the first modern megaresort to open on the Strip. Developed by Steve Wynn of Golden Nugget, Inc. at a cost of $630 million, it opened on 22 November 1989 with 3,044 rooms across a 65-acre property. The Mirage pioneered the integration of non-gaming attractions — including an erupting artificial volcano, dolphin and tiger habitats, and a tropical atrium — into the Las Vegas casino model, triggering a building boom of large-scale resorts through the 1990s. The property closed in July 2024 for a major redevelopment as Hard Rock Las Vegas.
At a glance
- Type
- Hotel and casino resort (closed for redevelopment from July 2024)
- Period
- Opened November 22, 1989; closed July 17, 2024
- Style
- South Seas tropical resort architecture
- Location
- 3400 S Las Vegas Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89109, USA
- Coordinates
- 36.1216° N, 115.1749° W
Overview
The Mirage occupied a prominent mid-Strip position between Caesars Palace and Treasure Island, and its white-and-gold tower was a defining feature of the Las Vegas skyline for three and a half decades. Owned by Vici Properties and operated for most of its life by MGM Resorts International, the property was the world’s most expensive resort at opening. Its volcano — erupting nightly with fire and sound — offered free entertainment visible from across the Strip and set a new standard for spectacle in Las Vegas hospitality.
History
Steve Wynn’s company Golden Nugget, Inc. purchased the land in 1986; a smaller hotel called the Castaways was demolished to clear the site. Construction took two years and the resort opened to extraordinary fanfare in November 1989, the world’s most expensive hotel at the time. The Mirage pioneered junk-bond financing for casino construction, a model later adopted across the industry. Wynn departed in 2000 when MGM Grand acquired his company. In 2022 Vici Properties acquired the real estate. Hard Rock International announced plans to rebrand and redevelop the site; the resort closed on 17 July 2024 for transformation into a new Hard Rock Las Vegas.
What you see
At its height, The Mirage’s defining exterior feature was the artificial volcano on the Strip frontage, erupting on a timed schedule every evening with pyrotechnic bursts, water and audio effects. The lobby featured a 20,000-gallon coral-reef aquarium behind the registration desk and a vast climate-controlled atrium filled with tropical plants. The casino covered 90,548 square feet and included a high-limit salon. The Siegfried & Roy theater hosted the celebrated magic duo for nearly 14 years from 1990, and the property was the first Las Vegas venue for Cirque du Soleil (Nouvelle Expérience, 1992).
Cultural significance
The Mirage is credited with transforming Las Vegas from a mid-century gambling town into a global entertainment destination. It demonstrated that a resort could attract visitors through spectacle, dining and performance rather than gaming margins alone, and its financial success inspired the wave of megaresorts — Luxor, MGM Grand, New York–New York, Bellagio — built in the 1990s. Architectural and urban scholars cite The Mirage as the turning point in the “Disneyfication” of the Las Vegas Strip.
Practical information
- Address
- 3400 S Las Vegas Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89109, USA
- Status
- Closed July 17, 2024; redevelopment as Hard Rock Las Vegas ongoing — check official website for reopening dates
- Website
- hardrocklasvegas.com
Getting there
The Las Vegas Monorail stops at the Harrah’s/The LINQ station, approximately 0.4 miles (0.6 km) north along the Strip. The SDX bus runs the full length of Las Vegas Boulevard. Harry Reid International Airport is approximately 3.5 miles (5.6 km) south; taxis and ride-share services cover the journey in under 15 minutes outside peak hours. The site is currently under active redevelopment and public access is restricted.