‘I’m really going to miss this place’: Las Vegas says goodbye to Mirage — PHOTOS, VIDEO
The house band was playing “Mr. Brightside” at the center bar just after 11 p.m. and the feeling inside the Mirage casino-hotel was joyous and lighthearted. The band’s rendition of The Killers’ smash-single brought the locals-heavy crowd to its feet.
The choice of song was apropos.
“Mr. Brightside” was born in Las Vegas and known the world over. The upbeat melody eventually gives way to pangs of sadness because the lyrics are painful.
The same can be said of the mood inside The Mirage Hotel & Casino early Wednesday morning, as the staff, guests and Las Vegas locals all said their final goodbyes to the legendary property known all over the world.
Smiles and laughter gave way to tears and hugs.
After 34 years, the “Oasis in the Desert” is disappearing from the Las Vegas Strip as The Mirage closes its doors forever on Wednesday.
The Mirage is often referred to as the first mega-resort and is credited with ushering a new era of Las Vegas casinos. A focus on non-gaming amenities, such as entertainment, dining, exotic animals and free attractions, redefined the business model employed by Las Vegas casinos.
While the Mirage’s famous volcano show typically runs every hour between 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. each day, guests on Tuesday got an extra show. At exactly 11:30 p.m., the volcano erupted for one final three-minute show, and ended with a thundering applause from spectators outside the hotel porte cochere.
The iconic property is being shuttered to make way for the construction of Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Las Vegas and Guitar Hotel Las Vegas, which is tentatively scheduled to open in 2027. Hard Rock International, the South Florida-based hospitality, gaming and entertainment conglomerate owned by the Seminole Tribe, purchased The Mirage for $1.1 billion in 2022.
The decision to close The Mirage will come at a cost. More than 3,000 employees — several of whom have been at the property since it opened on Nov. 22, 1989 — will be out of work. Union employees are receiving compensation packages tied to their seniority and years of service.
Employees like Jouquin, a bartender with 28 years at The Mirage, who said he was looking forward to a vacation.
“I’m taking my family to Mexico,” he said with a huge smile.
Last call was made just before midnight. With no more alcohol available, the crowd at The Mirage started thinning out. Most table games were shut down by 12:30 a.m. Just before 1 a.m., the last craps table at The Mirage was closed.
At 1:30 a.m., casino operations staff started asking slot players to cash out. By 2:15 a.m., the gaming floor at The Mirage, once the most vibrant and lively location in all of Las Vegas, was essentially empty.
“I’m really going to miss this place,” said “Christina,” a table games dealer who did not want to use her real name because she did not have permission to speak with the media. “A lot of the people here are like family to me,” she began before starting to tear up. “I can’t believe I won’t be coming back here anymore.
The new Hard Rock casino hotel will add approximately 1.1 million square feet to the existing footprint of The Mirage. The current hotel will be completely renovated while a 660-foot-tall guitar shaped hotel will be constructed closer to Las Vegas Boulevard.
When the new property opens in three years, Hard Rock officials estimate that close to 6,000 jobs will be available.
