To commemorate the end of an iconic era in Las Vegas history, The Mirage Hotel & Casino will host a ceremonial event on July 17 before it closes for good. 

The Mirage to Close Ahead of Schedule to Make Way for Hard Rock’s Ambitious Plans

Starting at 9 a.m., speeches will be given by gaming industry luminaries Jim Allen, chairman of Hard Rock International and CEO of Seminole Gaming, Joe Lupo, president of The Mirage, and Alan Feldman with UNLV International Gaming Institute.

The closure will come at 11 a.m. the same day and signals the end of the first megaresort on the Las Vegas Strip. It is in stark contrast to April’s unheralded closing of the Tropicana Las Vegas. 

Hard Rock International, which bought The Mirage from MGM Resorts International for $1 billion in December 2022, has vowed to honor its history-making.

Josh Swissman, founding partner at GMA Consulting, said The Mirage changed everything about Las Vegas, as reported by CDC Gaming. He listed the volcano and atrium shows, Siegfried & Roy shows and the aquarium as revolutionary attractions that redefined the Strip together. Swissman said this is a new era led by a tribally owned and operated gaming enterprise.

Oliver Lovat, CEO of Denstone Group, said The Mirage was “the big one” that paved the way for more 3,000-room resorts like Bellagio and MGM Grand.

But even with its success still buoyed by customers who have been loyal to it for nearly three decades, The Mirage is closing ahead of schedule to accommodate Hard Rock’s ambitious plans for its redevelopment.

The Mirage’s Demise Marks the Beginning of a New Era on the Strip

The Hard Rock redevelopment project will include a 700-foot guitar-shaped hotel tower along with another theater, additional retail and convention space, and a significant expansion of the casino floor space. It is expected to double employment from what exists at The Mirage today during construction alone while keeping thousands more workers long-term after completion.

In the final days leading up to its closure, The Mirage has been a hive of activity with a six-day, $1.6 million cash giveaway, attracting thousands of visitors. Guests have been enjoying their last moments at the property, and gaming activities will officially cease around midnight on July 17.

After closure, memorabilia from the resort will be auctioned off in mid-August for employees to bid on, while some of the resort’s iconic signage may be preserved by the Neon Museum.

Hard Rock Las Vegas expects to open its doors in spring 2027 with the new Guitar Hotel, which promises an energetic new chapter for The Mirage site. This transformation aims to improve Las Vegas tourism and bring another wave of freshness to the Strip’s offerings.

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The Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana announced a groundbreaking ceremony for the expansion of its Coushatta Casino Resort, a casino complex near Kinder. The ceremony is set to take place on March at 10 am and will celebrate the construction of a new eight-story hotel.

According to the announcement, the new hotel will sport some 204 rooms and 100 suites and will be connected to the casino. This will provide visitors with easy access to the gaming area, allowing them to enjoy the tribe’s gaming offerings.

For reference, the casino offers some 2,000 slot games and over 55 table games, meaning that in addition to cutting-edge slots, visitors can enjoy games, such as poker and bingo. The casino resort is also equipped with a sportsbook, allowing visitors to place wagers on sporting events.

By boosting the capacity of the resort, the Coushatta Tribe will be able to accommodate more guests, while creating new jobs for people in the locale. The new luxury hotel will bring the total capacity of the Coushatta Casino Resort to more than 1,000 rooms.

The Tribe Wants to Provide Guests with Premium Lodging

The groundbreaking ceremony will be attended by many notable representatives of the Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana, including Coushatta Tribal Council chairman Jonathan Cernek and Coushatta Casino Resort general manager Todd Stewart. In addition, the event will welcome representatives of TBE Architects, Yates Construction and the Wenaha Group.

The ceremony will be held at the Sculpture Garden in front of the Seven Clans Hotel. The program will include Coushatta Tribe dancers and drummers and a cake-cutting ceremony. The event will be open to the public.

Jonathan Cernek, chairman of the Coushatta Tribal Council, expressed his excitement about the upgrade, saying that he is looking forward to the completion of the new hotel and to welcoming its first guests. He said that the tribe’s goal is to offer an elevated gaming experience to players by providing them with high-quality lodging and premium dining options.

Cernek added:

The Coushatta Tribe is leading the way in building an unsurpassed resort destination, both in the local market and in the entire region.

Jonathan Cernek, chair, Coushatta Tribal Council

Speaking of tribal gaming, tribal organizations recently held the 4th Annual Tribal Cybersecurity Summit. During the event, experts raised the problem of the human element being the greatest vulnerability faced by tribes.

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The Cordish Companies is set to begin construction on its new Louisiana property in two weeks. The groundbreaking ceremony for Live! Casino & Hotel Louisiana is set to take place on December 13 and will see the company’s chairman and president personally take part.

The new $270 million property will mark The Cordish Companies’ gambling foray into Louisiana. The Pelican State represents the third commercial gaming state for the company.

Live! Casino & Hotel Louisiana will replace the former DiamondJacks Casino Resort in Bossier City. The property was acquired by The Cordish Companies from Foundation Gaming for an undisclosed price earlier this year. By securing the property, Cordish also secured the venue’s gambling license, allowing it to launch its own operations.

The DiamondJacks Casino Resort is one of Louisiana’s riverboat properties. Because of a number of devastating hurricanes and storms, the state, which originally only allowed gambling on riverboats, allowed them to move on land.

However, the resort closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the end, the former owner of the property, Peninsula Pacific Entertainment, decided to move to another location. After failing to get a project approved, the company sold DiamondJacks to Foundation Gaming.

The Refurbished Property Will Create Jobs and Generate Millions in Taxes

Now that brick-and-mortar gaming is okay in Louisiana, The Cordish Companies will reimagine the gambling venue as a land-based casino. In the meantime, the developer will redevelop and modernize the hotel, turning the property into a cutting-edge resort.

The groundbreaking ceremony on December 13 will be attended by Cordish chair David Cordish and Cordish’s Gaming Group and Live! Casinos president Rob Norton.

The redeveloped casino is expected to open in early 2025. In an interview with gambling news outlet Casino.org, The Cordish Companies said that the renovated property should generate more than $35 million in gaming taxes for the city and over $168 million in gaming taxes for the state within five years of operation.

The renewed casino resort will feature a 500-room hotel with several restaurants. Live! Casino & Hotel Louisiana should thus create approximately 750 new jobs and will also provide contract opportunities to local businesses.

The Cordish Companies currently operates a number of gambling properties, including Live! Casino & Hotel Maryland, Live! Casino & Hotel Philadelphia and Live! Casino Pittsburgh.

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