Foundation for Hard Rock Las Vegas Guitar Hotel Rises from Ashes of Mirage Volcano

• Construction of the new Hard Rock Guitar Hotel is progressing on the Las Vegas Strip
• The replacement for the former Mirage is scheduled to be completed in 2027
• Created by Steve Wynn, the Mirage is credited with transforming the Strip and ushering in the era of modern-day casino resorts

The foundation for the 36-story Guitar Hotel tower has been laid on the construction site where the beloved Mirage is transforming into Las Vegas’ second Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. (The first became Virgin Hotels Las Vegas in 2021.)

Once the $4-$5 billion transformation is complete in 2027, only the outer shell and guts of the Y-shaped Mirage tower, housing the former casino and 3K rooms, will remain — as well as its former villas. The Mirage’s atrium was removed last month.

Frank Cassella, the senior VP of finance for HR Las Vegas LLC, told the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) last month that work has proceeded nonstop since the Mirage closed its doors in July.

“It’s going to be a full redesign of the 3,000-room Mirage tower, full redesign of the casino, a redesign of the pool,” Cassella said, noting that everything was still on budget and on time. “There will be an additional pool for the guitar tower.

“We’re looking forward to that.”

The Mirage That Saved Vegas

In the mid-1980s, Las Vegas had lost its way. Once-glittering casino hotels the Dunes, Desert Inn, and Riviera were aging badly. The Strip had become a national punchline — a place to lose money while barely being placated by cheap, second-rate entertainment and cheaper third-rate buffets.

The 1987 “Black Monday” stock-market crash and resulting global recession ate into visitor numbers as well — as did the Atlantic City, which offered East Coasters the same unimpressive experience closer to home.

A radical new vision was required to transform Las Vegas’ image and attract new interest and investment.

That vision would come from Steve Wynn, the intractable Golden Nugget owner who sold the Atlantic City outpost of that casino resort, for $440 million, just to help will his vision into reality.

Before then, Vegas tourism basically involved picking a hotel and spending most of your vacation casino-hopping along the Strip.

Guests would enter Wynn’s new resort, which would open as the largest in the world, through a rainforest atrium with huge palm trees, exotic plants, and water features. They would look out onto a pool area with waterfalls and lagoons. And when they checked in, 450 fish from 80 species would swim around a 20K-gallon saltwater tank behind the clerk’s head.

The simulated volcano out front would erupt every 15 minutes from dusk until midnight, giving passersby their first free Las Vegas Strip show.

Today, Wynn’s vision is credited with transforming Las Vegas into a destination for world-class amenities, superstar residencies, and fine dining — along with prices to match.

Most new Strip casinos resorts that followed The Mirage followed its formula as well — from the new MGM Grand in 1993 to the Monte Carlo in 1997, Wynn’s own Bellagio in 1998, Mandalay Bay in 1999, Paris Las Vegas and the Aladdin in 2000, the Palms in 2001, Wynn Las Vegas in 2005, the Cosmopolitan in 2010, Resorts World in 2021, and the Fontainebleau in 2023.