The Mirage in Las Vegas closes to make way for Hard Rock Guitar Hotel

It’s the end of an era. The Mirage is closing after 35 years to make way for Hard Rock’s new Guitar Hotel.

Las Vegas’ latest sales figures mark a new chapter for a tourist city where sports and entertainment have become a bigger draw for visitors than gambling.

Hard Rock International Chairman Jim Allen told CNBC the company feels honored and fortunate to be able to rebuild 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 Wynn’s first mega-resort and the largest hotel in the world at the time, and this week Steve Wynn paid tribute to the groundbreaking property, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.

“No new hotels had been built in Las Vegas for the previous 16 years,” Wynn wrote, “but in the decade after the Mirage opened in 1989, Las Vegas virtually doubled its capacity, making it the fastest-growing city in America. To call the Mirage a catalyst would be an understatement.”

The theme resorts that followed evoked another place and time: Excalibur, Luxor, and New York New York now cater mainly to budget tourists and families.

Paris Las Vegas offers views of a replica Eiffel Tower, the Venetian attracts tourists with its replica canals and gondolas, and Caesars Palace, with its replica of Michelangelo’s David, set an early standard for theme resorts when it opened in 1966.

But the future lies in luxury touchpoints, access to fine dining restaurants, bragging rights entertainment and pricey sports packages.

Hard Rock International has extensive experience providing this service in Florida, Atlantic City, New Jersey, New York and 70 countries around the world.

The gambling and entertainment company, owned by the Seminole Tribe of Florida, acquired the Mirage from MGM Resorts in December 2022.

VICI PropertiesHard Rock, the Las Vegas Strip’s largest property owner and a gambling real estate investment trust that owns the Mirage building and land, said it would partner with Hard Rock to bring the new resort to fruition.

Hard Rock will model its Las Vegas makeover after its wildly successful Guitar Hotel at Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood in South Florida, where Hard Rock enjoys a near monopoly on gambling throughout the state.

But competition is fierce in Las Vegas, and to stay relevant on the Strip, hotels must frequently renovate rooms, upgrade fixtures and add new amenities to attract not only bachelorette parties and girls’ nights, but also weekday convention-goers.

“In our opinion, MGM The company is increasing its investment in Las Vegas to maximize the benefits of its portfolio positioning encompassing a full range of sports venues.”

In the same memo, Stauff criticized: Caesars It downgraded Caesars shares to negative from neutral, citing the company’s reluctance to invest in Strip properties.

Caesars is scheduled to report second-quarter results on July 30. MGM Resorts International is due to release its results the following day.

When Mirage ceases service on Wednesday, 3,000 employees will lose their jobs.

Allen told CNBC that he hopes to rehire many of the staff once the new resort opens, which the company plans to reopen in spring 2027.

“I think some of the artists we’re already negotiating with for long-term residencies are going to be shocking to the world,” Allen said.

Hard Rock’s expansion to the Las Vegas Strip could pose a formidable new challenge when it reopens, but its closures in the meantime could be a boon for nearby venues.

CBRE analyst John DeCree estimates that the Mirage’s closure could result in the loss of nearly 1 million hotel room nights per year.

The closure of the Tropicana in April and its slated demolition to make way for a new integrated resort and ballpark that will be home to Major League Baseball’s Athletics has caused the Strip to lose another 400,000 room nights per year.

In total, 4.9% of available rooms have temporarily disappeared while room rates and visitor numbers continue to break records.