Hard Rock International wants to see how a guitar-shaped hotel will play in the heart of the Las Vegas Strip. And significantly, it will do so on the site of The Mirage, marking the end of an era for a property credited with helping transform Las Vegas from a gambling hub into an ultra-luxury resort destination with broader appeal.
The US $1.1 billion sale of The Mirage by MGM Resorts International to Hard Rock International, which is owned by the Seminole Tribe of Florida, is “a significant milestone for MGM Resorts and for Las Vegas,” according to the company’s president and CEO Bill Hornbuckle, and continues the reshuffling of the MGM Resorts portfolio in the US gaming capital.
For Hard Rock it marks a return to Las Vegas which operated the former Hard Rock Hotel & Casino east of the Strip from 1995 to 2020. That property was purchased in 2018 and renovated and rebranded by Virgin Hotels Las Vegas.
Hard Rock International bought the naming rights in May 2020 with plans to eventually open a Las Vegas Strip property.
The company says its new venture will be built shape of a guitar like its signature hotel in Hollywood, Fla., near Fort Lauderdale, reflecting its rock and rock-based cultural vibe.
Located on a 32-hectare property on the strip, The Mirage was developed by former casino mogul Steve Wynn and opened in 1989 as the first mega-resort on the strip boasting over 3,000 room and a Polynesian theme.
Its iconic volcano fountain was among Las Vegas’s first strip-side attractions, pre-dating the Venetian’s canals and the Bellagio’s fountains, and tourists could see Siegfried and Roy taming white tigers or a Cirque du Soleil act set to a Beatles soundtrack.
It wasn’t immediately clear if the volcano will remain at the property, which MGM Resorts acquired in 2000.
As traditional gambling industry players shift their business focus to sports betting and expand in markets in Asia and the Middle East, the sale reflects the growing presence of tribal-run enterprises on the Strip.
When the Connecticut-based Mohegan Tribe opened a casino at the new Virgin Hotels Las Vegas earlier this year, it became the first tribe to operate a Las Vegas casino. And gaming regulators are set to issue a decision on the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians’ bid to acquire the off-strip hotel-casino, The Palms.
The underlying Mirage real estate is now owned by MGM Growth Properties, which is being bought by New York-based VICI Properties in a $17.2 billion deal expected to close next year.
“This announcement marks the culmination of a series of transformational transactions for MGM Resorts during the last several years,” said Paul Salem, Chairman of the MGM Resorts board of directors.
He added: “The monetization of our entire real property portfolio, together with the addition of CityCenter and our agreement to acquire The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, will position the company with a fortress balance sheet, premier portfolio, and significant financial resources to pursue our strategic objectives.”
Jonathan Halkyard, MGM Resorts treasurer and chief financial officer, said that as the real estate owner of The Mirage, VICI Properties will be expected to reach a new lease agreement with Hard Rock.
Under the terms of the agreement, MGM Resorts will keep The Mirage name and brand, licensing it to Hard Rock royalty-free for up to three years while it finalizes its plans to rebrand the property.
The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2022, following regulatory approvals.
MGM Resorts
The sale is one of several involving MGM Resorts in recent months on Las Vegas Boulevard. The company currently operates 13 hotel-casino properties in Las Vegas and 32 worldwide.
The Las Vegas-based company said in July it would buy out its partner in the sprawling CityCenter development for $2.1 billion, take control of The Aria and Vdara resorts, and lease the property to New York private equity firm Blackstone Group for nearly $3.9 billion.
MGM Resorts still remains invested in the Strip, with properties including the Bellagio, MGM Grand, Luxor and New York-New York. The company announced in September it will buy the operations of The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas for $1.6 billion from Blackstone.