After more than three decades of operation on the Las Vegas Strip, the Mirage Las Vegas will close on July 17. The historic 3,044-room resort will undergo a three-year renovation and construction project that will transform the tropical-themed property into a Hard Rock Hotel & Casino and Guitar Hotel Las Vegas.
Scheduled to open in spring 2027, the new hotel-casino will feature a 660-foot guitar-shaped hotel tower, similar to its sister property in Hollywood, Florida
“We want to thank the Las Vegas community and team members for warmly welcoming Hard Rock back after 34 years at the Mirage,” said Jim Allen, president of Hard Rock International (HRI), in a May 15 press release announcing the closure.
The Mirage, which opened in November 1989, was the brainchild of casino magnate Steve Wynn. The first resort to feature a sidewalk attraction with its artificial volcano that erupted nightly, it was home to other Las Vegas attractions including Siegfried and Roy’s White Tiger magic show and Cirque du Soleil’s Beatles-themed “LOVE,” which will close its final show on July 7 after 18 years.
After purchasing the Mirage from Wynn in 2000, MGM Resorts sold it in December 2022 for more than $1 billion to HRI, which is owned by the Seminole Tribe of Florida. The property remained open while rebranding and renovation plans were finalized.
The resort is also a popular destination for meetings and event groups, with abundant spaces comprising a 90,000 square foot event center, a 40,000 square foot grand ballroom, two smaller ballrooms measuring 5,280 and 10,500 square feet, a 4,680 square foot event hall and a 1,829 square foot conference room.
More than 3,000 Mirage employees will be laid off starting in July, and the company will pay $80 million in severance, according to HRI officials.
THE Culinary Workers Union, Local 226 and Bartenders Union, Local 165which represents about 1,700 Mirage employees, said affected workers will receive $2,000 for each year of service, plus six months of pension and health benefits or a lesser amount while retaining their seniority rights for the duration of the property closure and 36 months of recall rights.
“The members of the Mirage Culinary Union have a strong union contract that guarantees worker protections even if the establishment closes entirely for three years, from July 2024 to May 2027,” union secretary-treasurer Ted Pappageorge said in a statement. “(We) will continue to ensure workers are protected and focused on the future of the establishment.”
The Mirage’s closure marks the second time this year that a historic Strip hotel-casino has closed its doors. On April 2, the Tropicana Las Vegas has closed its doors after 67 years to pave the way for a $1.5 billion professional baseball stadium that is expected to be the future home of the Oakland Athletics.
“We look forward to the start of an exciting journey into a new era as Hard Rock Las Vegas ignites the Strip with entertainment, innovation and world-class hospitality,” resort officials said on the Mirage’s Facebook page.
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