The volcano attraction in front of the Mirage Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada erupted on July 16, 2024. Hard Rock International (HRI) will close the resort on July 17, 2024 and begin construction projects to transform the hotel into the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino and Guitar Hotel Las Vegas by 2027.
Ethan Miller | Getty Images
This is the end of an era. The Mirage Hotel is closing after 35 years in business to make way for Hard Rock’s new Guitar Hotel.
Las Vegas’ latest turnover marks a new chapter for a destination city where sports and entertainment are more attractive to tourists than gambling.
Jim Allen, chairman of Hard Rock International, told CNBC he was honored and lucky to be able to reinvent the legendary integrated resort.
“When Steve and Elaine Wynn opened the Mirage in December 1989, it not only changed Las Vegas, it changed the way people looked at gambling. It became a true destination,” Allen said.
The Mirage was Wynns’ first large-scale resort and the largest hotel in the world at the time. This week, Steve Wynn penned a tribute to the groundbreaking property, according to The Wall Street Journal . las vegas review magazine.
“In the past 16 years, no new hotels have been built in Las Vegas,” Wynn wrote. “Yet, in the decade following Mirage’s arrival in 1989, our town nearly doubled in capacity and became the fastest-growing city in the United States. To call Mirage a catalyst would be an understatement.”
The themed resorts that followed made one feel like they were in another place and time. Excalibur, Luxor and New York-New York now cater mainly to budget travelers and families.
Paris Las Vegas offers views of the Eiffel Tower replica. The Venetians lure tourists with replica canals and gondolas. Caesars Palace, with its replica of Michelangelo’s David statue, opened in 1966 and set an early standard for themed resorts.
A sign at the Mirage Hotel and Casino reads a message thanking employees and the local community on July 16, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Hard Rock International (HRI) will close the resort on July 17, 2024 and begin construction projects to transform the hotel into the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino and Guitar Hotel Las Vegas by 2027.
Ethan Miller | Getty Images
But the future lies in luxury touchpoints, high-end dining, brag-worthy entertainment and high-priced sports packages.
Hard Rock International has extensive experience providing such services in Florida; Atlantic City, NJ; New York; – and in 70 countries worldwide.
The gambling and entertainment company, owned by the Seminole Tribe of Florida, acquired the Mirage Hotel from MGM Resorts in December 2022.
Weixi Real Estateis a gaming real estate investment trust and the largest real estate owner on the Las Vegas Strip that owns the Mirage buildings and land and said it will work with Hard Rock to bring life to the new resort.
Rendering of a proposed guitar-shaped hotel tower for the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.
Image source: Rendering provided by Hard Rock International
The Hard Rock Hotel will be renovated in Las Vegas based on the highly successful Guitar Hotel at the Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood Hotel in South Florida. Across the Sunshine State, Hard Rock has a virtual monopoly on gambling.
But in Las Vegas, competition is fierce. Staying relevant to the Strip requires frequent room renovations, amenities upgrades and new amenities to attract not just bachelorette parties and girls’ weekenders, but also the midweek bread-and-butter session crowd.
“In our opinion,” Susquehanna gaming analyst Joe Stauff wrote on Monday. MGM is increasing its investment in Las Vegas to maximize the benefits of positioning its portfolio around all sports venues.
In the same article, Stov criticized caesar downgraded Caesars stock to negative from neutral due to its stingy investment in Las Vegas Strip real estate.
Caesars Hotels is scheduled to release its second-quarter earnings on July 30.
When the Mirage ceases operations on Wednesday, 3,000 employees will lose their jobs.
Allen told CNBC he hopes to rehire many of those people once the new resort opens. The company plans to reopen in spring 2027.
“I think the world is going to be shocked by some of the artists we’re already in talks with for long-term residencies,” Allen said.
Rendering of a proposed guitar-shaped hotel tower for the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.
Image source: Rendering provided by Hard Rock International
While Hard Rock’s arrival on the Strip could bring stiff new competition when it reopens, a simultaneous closure could give its neighbors a boost.
CBRE analyst John DeCree estimates that the Mirage closure will take nearly 1 million room nights out of circulation each year.
The Strip will lose another 400,000 room nights a year when the Tropicana closes in April and is expected to be demolished to make way for a new integrated resort and ballpark to host Major League Baseball The A team.
Overall, 4.9% of available rooms are temporarily missing as room rates and traffic continue to set records.
