Hard Rock International has completed the acquisition of The Mirage Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. The firm, owned by the Seminole Tribe, received on Friday regulatory approval from the Nevada Gaming Commission for the purchase of the property from MGM Resorts International. HRI assumed operations control of the casino as of 6 am Monday, December 19.
Under terms of the transaction, Hard Rock paid $1.075 billion in cash for the operating assets of The Mirage. Additionally, the Florida-based casino and entertainment giant has entered into a long-term lease agreement with real estate investment trust (REIT) VICI Properties for the real estate property of the asset.
The 3,044-room casino resort will continue to operate as The Mirage Hotel & Casino until the renovation and rebranding of the property to Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Las Vegas is completed, announced the company. The process is anticipated “to take an extended period,” noted HRI, but ultimately is expected to “dramatically reimagine every aspect of the resort.”
Welcome to a new era of The Mirage. pic.twitter.com/Ni7FadC5mR
— The Mirage (@TheMirageLV) December 19, 2022
One of the major changes guests will encounter once renovation completes will modify the way the Las Vegas skyline looks. The company plans to reshape the property, at the center of the Las Vegas Boulevard casino corridor, by replacing its volcano attraction with the addition of a guitar-shaped hotel tower. An infinity pool deck will be built adjacent to the tower.
“Today, we’d like to officially welcome the 3,500 team members at The Mirage to the 45,000 global Hard Rock family and express our gratitude to the Nevada Gaming Control Board and the Nevada Gaming Commission for approving the gaming license for us to operate The Mirage Hotel & Casino,” said Jim Allen, Chairman, Hard Rock International. “We are excited to create an integrated resort on The Strip that will make this legendary entertainment community proud.”
Allen also added that Hard Rock anticipates spending “billions” of dollars to develop a new destination resort on the Strip, as reported by The Nevada Independent. During a nearly three-hour presentation, Allen told the control board The Mirage would be stripped down to its concrete shell. Many of the surrounding spaces, such as the pool areas and outside grounds along the 77-acre site, will be demolished and reconfigured.
Hard Rock's Jim Allen
However, much of that will occur in the longer term. As for now, daily operations of the famed Las Vegas resort are set to continue under The Mirage brand for the foreseeable future, and all room reservations and group bookings will be honored “with no action required by guests or group organizers,” explained the company.
Plans ultimately call for the remodeled Hard Rock to have 3,700 rooms and suites, a 174,000-square-foot casino, an additional 50,000 to 85,000 square feet of convention space, 21 restaurants and a new Hard Rock Live entertainment space. Allen said The Mirage villas would remain but be remodeled and modernized.
But in the meantime, The Mirage will continue to offer its existing entertainment and dining options, including Cirque Du Soleil’s The Beatles LOVE through 2023. “There are no plans to close The Mirage or to lay off any of the team members,” added the firm, which has absorbed the property’s 3,500 employees.
Rendering for Hard Rock Las Vegas
While much will remain the same for the near future, one change is set to be introduced soon. “Casino players and guests will now enjoy Unity by Hard Rock, a global loyalty program unlike any other,” announced the company. The program enables patrons to earn and redeem rewards at participating Hard Rock hotels, cafes and casinos worldwide.
Prior to 2020, Hard Rock International had no previous operational involvement with the former Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas at the off-strip location, noted the firm in a press statement. “HRI purchased the licensing and naming rights for Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Las Vegas in May 2020 and vowed to bring the iconic brand to the Las Vegas Strip when the right opportunity presented itself,” it further added.
Hard Rock and MGM first announced plans for the operational takeover about a year ago. “We’re thrilled to welcome Hard Rock to the neighborhood and wish them all the very best,” Bill Hornbuckle, CEO and president of casino giant MGM Resorts International, said in a statement following Friday’s special Nevada Gaming Commission meeting.
Rendering for Hard Rock Las Vegas
The sale marks the end of an era for a Polynesian-themed property built by former casino mogul Steve Wynn and credited with helping transform Las Vegas from a gambling hub into an ultra-luxury resort destination with broader appeal.
It opened in November 1989, with a sidewalk-side volcano spewing fire years before gondoliers began plying canals at the Venetian and fountains started dancing at the Bellagio, recalls Associated Press. And for years, The Mirage hosted Siegfried & Roy taming white tigers.
But while the change of hands brings an era to an end, it also marks the start of a new story: the more than 3,000-room hotel on 80 acres now becomes the first on the Las Vegas Strip to be run by a Native American tribe.
Original article: https://www.yogonet.com/international/news/2022/12/20/65471-las-vegas-hard-rock-completes-acquisition-of-the-mirage-from-mgm-resorts
