Good Bye To Another Las Vegas Icon

 

Yes, another icon of Las Vegas is going, this time it's a hotel/casino, The Mirage. Built by Vegas Mega Developer Steve Wynn back in the 90s, it was one of the 'new' hotels that helped to remake the face of Las Vegas. The hotel took two years to build and at the time was the most expensive hotel ever to be built, at a whopping $630 million dollars. It was the first of Las Vegas's Megaresorts. 

Along with the hotel, Steve Wynn hired Siegfried and Roy to be their in-house show.  A theater was built specifically for them and for 14 years they reigned supreme with their act of magic and wild animals. In November of 1996, at a cost of $15 million dollars, the casino opened The Secret Garden of Siegfried and Roy. This was an animal habitat featuring white tigers, bengal tigers, lions, a snow leopard, a panther, and an elephant. Later a dolphin habitat was added to the attraction. The habitat received 500,000 visitors per year.

In recent years, a new magic star would be featured in the casino, the wonderful card magician Shin Lim. He is there now, and I assume he'll be there right up until July when the property closes mid-month. Shin Lim was winner of America's Got Talent as well as America's Got Talent Champions and other awards. His show of close-up magic has also featured mentalist Colin Cloud. 

The Mirage is owned by the Hard Rock Casino and will be torn down to make way for a new property, which expects to open some time in 2027. 

By all accounts, Las Vegas has shifted from a Grand Show town with Gambling to a Sports town.