One Last Stroll Through The Mirage in Las Vegas

Las Vegas casinos come and go. But it wasn’t until Hard Rock International announced it was closing The Mirage that any casino closures over the past decade mattered much to me.

I’m not young but also not old enough to have distinct memories of any other Las Vegas casinos shutting down, at least not one that I have an emotional attachment to.

Being part of Generation X means I missed the heyday of some of the most recent Las Vegas casino closures. The Tropicana, Riviera, and original Sahara meant nothing to me. They’re Boomer-era casinos.

The Mirage will live in infamy thanks to the 1997 movie Vegas Vacation.

I was too young to visit Las Vegas then, but I've probably watched the movie a hundred times.

Fast forward 27 years and I’ve likely spent more time inside The Mirage than I have watching Vegas Vacation. Unlike the other casinos, I had to visit The Mirage one last time before it closed.

I have great memories at The Mirage and can’t wait to see what the Hard Rock Las Vegas will bring when it opens in 2028. Many friends are sad that The Mirage is closing. Not me. The fond memories will live on, and hopefully new ones will be added after this space is reimagined.

That said, I had to take one last walk through the property that changed Las Vegas into what we know it as today. 

My visit was on a Wednesday, around 8 am -- not the most active time for any casino, but it gave me the space and solitude to reflect, a week before The Mirage was scheduled to close.

Love Down Memory Lane

Yes, I took a pic of the garage wall because “Love” was so popular over the years.

Since I live in Las Vegas now, I drove to The Mirage from home. I was surprised to see as many cars in the garage at 8 am on a weekday as I would normally see on a Friday or Saturday night. ly saw at 8 am on a weekday.

It was also surprising to see a few people checking into The Mirage this early. Walking through the casino for an hour or so I saw quite a few people arriving with luggage. It's no surprise that I'm not the only person who wanted one last glimpse at The Mirage.

The Lobby Bar at The Mirage always had a great happy hour. Hopefully, Hard Rock will have multiple bars with happy hour specials when it opens.

My main memory at this bar was playing video poker here to test MGM’s new drink monitoring system in 2016. This was the first MGM property to test the system that many Las Vegas casinos have implemented over the years.

The lagoon and volcano in front of The Mirage are beautiful and iconic. This will be missed as Hard Rock has plans to build a new guitar-shaped hotel tower on this part of the property.

My parents were so in awe of the volcano that they watched almost every show every night the one time they visited me in Las Vegas. They could hear the show starting from their hotel room at Harrah's.

Heading back into The Mirage I was greeted by the Beatles “Love” bus and the two mermaid statues. The statues are the gatekeepers of my favorite part of The Mirage.

Please, Hard Rock, keep this!

The atrium between the hotel lobby, casino entrance, and gaming floor is one of the most beautiful features I’ve ever seen in a casino. It’s sensory overload and one of my favorite casino design elements.

Years ago I wrote a research paper for an architecture firm looking to expand into casinos. The Mirage was one of the major topics in the paper.

Walking into the atrium you’re hit with bright light from the skies above. Your nose will quickly notice the signature Tropical Coco Mango scent. The calm sound of the waterfall goes away quickly since it’s only about 20 steps to the slot machines.

I’d estimate that 70% of The Mirage slot machines were turned off during my visit. One reason I decided on a morning visit was that the limited number of slot machines available made the progressive jackpot drawings in the afternoon and evening were a bit too chaotic for me.

This picture of a fully operational Wheel of Fortune slot machine outside of the vacant Beatles Shop and theater summed up the current state of The Mirage. The casino is closing but it’s not closed yet!

I doubled back to visit one of my favorite sportsbooks in Las Vegas. The size of the space and openness to the casino created huge, loud, and memorable crowds for big games. Few Vegas Strip sportsbooks could match the energy at The Mirage.

I’ve spent so much time in this sportsbook working, watching, and/or wagering on games that I’ll never forget it. There’s a lot of history in this sportsbook that someone should write a book.

The Mirage sportsbook had two spaces. The current bleacher area used to be a dedicated space for watching and wagering on horse racing. Hence, this iconic horsehead separates the sports and race areas.

So long, farewell.

After wandering around the casino for an hour or so I made one last stop at the Unity Rewards desk before heading out. I got to say goodbye to the mermaids one last time on the way back to my car.

I’m emotional about The Mirage closing but not sad. There are so many positive memories from The Mirage that it’s difficult not to smile.

I’m grateful The Mirage was here for most of my Las Vegas life and can’t wait to see what the future holds when the Hard Rock opens in a few years.

(All images by Marc Meltzer for Casinos.com)