Look back: The Mirage opens on Nov. 22, 1989 — PHOTOS

Las Vegas Review-Journal

2 years ago

Within 30 minutes of its opening to the general public, an estimated 40,000 visitors entered th ... — Within 30 minutes of its opening to the general public, an estimated 40,000 visitors entered the $630 million Mirage Hotel and Casino. The opening on Nov. 22, 1989, celebrated the first new major hotel-casino on the strip in over a decade. (Jeff Schied/Las Vegas Review-Journal)

The La Mirage in 1986 near the corner of Flamingo and Paradise roads. Steve Wynn bought the name Mirage from two motels in the Las Vegas Valley to build The Mirage. The La Mirage closed in 1989. (Gary Thompson/Las Vegas Review-Journal)

A view of South Las Vegas Boulevard looking north from Caesars Palace on Aug. 15, 1987. The empty lot is the then-future site of the Mirage and the Treasure Island. A few of the major casinos visible are Castaways and the Frontier. (File/Las Vegas Review-Journal)

Sculpted dolphins greet visitors at the main entrance of The Mirage on its opening day on Nov. 22, 1989. (Wayne Kodey/Las Vegas Review-Journal)

The Mirage Volcano on its opening day on Nov. 22, 1989. (Wayne Kodey/Las Vegas Review-Journal)

Moongate, a restaurant featuring Cantonese cuisine, at The Mirage on its opening day on Nov. 22, 1989. The restaurant was replaced by Stack in 2006. (Wayne Kodey/Las Vegas Review-Journal)

The Mirage, pictured on opening day, Nov. 22, 1989. With a published price tag of $630 million, of which $565 million was financed by risky junk bonds, the Mirage had to produce an unheard of $1 million a day just to service the debt. The venture proved prophetic as The Mirage would exceed expectations and revolutionize the Las Vegas Strip. (Wayne Kodey/Las Vegas Review-Journal)

Teela Vice, 7, left, and Elky Bernal, 9, visit the dolphins at The Mirage on July 22, 1992. (John Gurzinski/Las Vegas Review-Journal)

The Las Vegas Strip looking north toward the Las Vegas Hilton and The Mirage in October 1993. (Wayne Kodey/Las Vegas Review-Journal)

Siegfried Fischbacher, left, Mirage Resorts Incorporated chairman Steve Wynn, center, and Roy Horn appear at the dedication of a new statue of Siegfried and Roy at The Mirage on Oct. 27, 1993. (Las Vegas Review-Journal file)

Fire belches from the volcano as flames dance across the surface of the water in front of The Mirage hotel-casino on the Strip on Thursday, June 21, 2007, in Las Vegas. The volcano, which has been a free attraction on the Strip since 1989, erupts nightly at the top of the hour from 8 p.m. to midnight. (K.M. Cannon/Las Vegas Review-Journal)

The Mirage is set to close this summer, but its volcano and tiger-filled legacy is one Las Vegas won’t soon forget.

When The Mirage opened on Nov. 22, 1989, the property was considered the most luxurious in town with special features like its Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat, which closed in September 2022 permanently after three dolphins died that year.

But before the resort opened, it needed a name.

Steve Wynn consulted fourth-graders at Vegas Verde Elementary School to help come up with the resort’s name. He then bought the name Mirage from two motels in the Las Vegas Valley.

Construction took two years to complete, and on its first weekend open, the hotel-casino saw about 750,000 guests visit. Crowds got so large, restrictions had to be put in place.

The completion and opening of the hotel-casino is considered the start of Las Vegas’ mega-resort boom, inspiring developers to top The Mirage’s rare white tigers and volcano show. The opening of the Luxor and MGM Grand in 1993 and Bellagio in 1998 followed in The Mirage’s footsteps — with each resort trying to outdo the last.

Siegfried and Roy’s show was synonymous with The Mirage. Running from 1990 until 2003 after Roy Horn’s tiger attack, the show was fundamental to the resort’s development. Wynn had promised the duo that he would build a 1,500-seat showroom for the two, along with giving them a $50 million multiyear contract.

The show ran with a cast and crew of 267 people and cost $30 million to produce — an expensive price tag for its time.

Roy Horn died in 2020 from COVID-19 complications, and Siegfried Fischbacher died in 2021 from pancreatic cancer.

In December 2022, Hard Rock International acquired the property for more than $1 billion with plans to add a 660-foot tall guitar-shaped tower with “brightly lit strings,” Hard Rock attorneys told county officials in planning documents.

The Mirage’s last day is July 17, and will reopen as Hard Rock Las Vegas in May 2027.