The Mirage made the walk along Las Vegas Boulevard part of the resort experience. Its artificial volcano, lagoon and tropical planting drew attention before visitors reached the casino. Steve Wynn’s hotel-casino opened on November 22, 1989, bringing a South Seas setting to a much larger development than the roadside properties that had preceded it.
Before the Mirage: the Strip Castaways
Part of the land had been occupied by the Strip’s Castaways Hotel and Casino. That earlier property was demolished before the Mirage opened; the change was a redevelopment of the site, not simply a new name on the Castaways building. The Strip Castaways should also be distinguished from the later Castaways name used by the former Showboat elsewhere in Las Vegas.
A stage for Siegfried & Roy
Siegfried & Roy became central to the Mirage’s identity, but their show did not open with the hotel. The Neon Museum records a delayed premiere on February 1, 1990. Their long residency ended after Roy Horn was injured by a tiger during the October 3, 2003 performance. The difference between the hotel’s opening and its headline show’s debut is an important part of the chronology.
New ownership and a renewed volcano
Corporate ownership changed on May 31, 2000, when MGM Grand completed its acquisition of Mirage Resorts. The Mirage continued as the same hotel-casino. Its entertainment and public frontage also evolved: The Beatles LOVE arrived in 2006, and a redesigned volcano premiered in December 2008, combining WET’s fire effects with music by Mickey Hart and Zakir Hussain.
Hard Rock takes over operations
Hard Rock International assumed operations on December 19, 2022. Its acquisition covered the operating assets, while a long-term lease with VICI Properties covered the real estate. An early statement said there were no plans to close the Mirage; that operating plan changed. LOVE ended in July 2024, and the resort closed on July 17.
A closed resort and a changing site
The next phase combines renovation and new construction. The former hotel was to be remodeled and rebranded as Hard Rock, with a guitar-shaped tower replacing the volcano area. This differs from demolishing the entire Mirage, and from moving the former off-Strip Hard Rock hotel to this address. As checked in October 2026, the new operator still describes Hard Rock Las Vegas as coming soon. The illustration and historical photograph depict the Mirage before closure, not an attraction visitors can enter today.
Read the full history ↗ Sources and context
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Nevada State Museum, November 22, 2021: November 22, 1989 opening and South Pacific theme. Promotional superlatives and disputed room totals are not adopted.
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UNLV, Castaways Photograph Collection PH-00270: earlier Castaways and San Souci site, demolition for Mirage. The collection’s purchase-year account is not used to settle acquisition timing; no image reuse permission inferred.
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UNLV Showboat company collection MS-00983: Las Vegas Showboat sold in 2000 and renamed Castaways, distinct from the earlier Strip property. No uninterrupted relocation or alias merge.
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The Neon Museum: resort opening November 22, 1989; delayed show premiere February 1, 1990; October 3, 2003 injury and end of the act. No cause of the animal incident is inferred.
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MGM MIRAGE 2000 Form 10-K, Item 1 and Note 1: May 31, 2000 acquisition; contemporary descriptions of Mirage and adjacent Treasure Island. Corporate transaction, not a new property opening.
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MGM Mirage release, December 9, 2008: redesigned volcano premiered Monday December 8; WET fire effects, Mickey Hart/Zakir Hussain soundtrack, LOVE introduced in 2006. Describes that period, not present shows.
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Apple Corps/The Beatles, July 8, 2024: retrospective farewell after 18 years. Main account uses July 2024 because producer pages distinguish July 6 and July 7 differently.
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Hard Rock, January 16, 2023: operations assumed December 19, 2022; operating-asset purchase and VICI lease. Then-current no-closure statement was superseded in 2024. Also distinguishes former off-Strip Hard Rock involvement.
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Janna Karel, July 17, 2024: actual closure that morning, 3400 South Las Vegas Boulevard, existing hotel to be remodeled rather than entirely demolished, volcano area for guitar tower. Future plans are not proof of completed work.
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Current operator page checked October 20, 2026: Hard Rock Las Vegas coming soon; future grand-opening announcement. No exact opening date, booking availability or completed-construction claim.
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Way 33957359: pre-closure version 23, May 9, 2024, and current version 34, January 20, 2026. Representative point 36.12135, -115.17525 within mapped building area. Outline needs updating; not a surveyed parcel or entrance. Current node coordinates do not create a complete period map.
The map uses an approximate building-area point. OpenStreetMap’s outline carries an update warning; historical way references plus current node coordinates are not a complete period survey.
The Strip Castaways predecessor is distinct from Showboat’s later Castaways name. Exact former Castaways walls and acquisition timing are not settled by this account.
LOVE’s producer pages give July 6 and July 7 differently for its final bow. This account uses July 2024, supported by the July 8 retrospective, without assigning one exact last-performance date.
Early Hard Rock statements said the Mirage would stay open. That plan was superseded by the July 2024 closure. Conversion plans and a coming-soon website do not establish an opening date or completion of every proposed feature.
The illustration adapts a pre-closure view; the dated historical photograph documents that earlier period. Neither describes a current visitor entrance, show schedule or surviving attraction.
