Vegas casino to pay out $1.6M cash before it closes

Nearly 35 years after The Mirage hotel and casino opened in Las Vegas, it’s set to begin transformation Wednesday into a new life as Hard Rock Hotel & Casino and Guitar Hotel Las Vegas.

For its last day of operations as The Mirage, the hotel was finishing up a promotion created to dole out $1.6 million in cash prizes to casino-goers. That “Mirage Progressive Hot Seat Cash Drawings” promotion began July 9.

According to the casino website, players at slot machines or gaming tables were surprised every 30 minutes with a cash prize from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. From the first day through July 11, $200,000 in cash prizes were expected to be awarded each day. Then, $250,000 in cash prizes were expected to be awarded each day on July 12 and July 13.

During the final day, $100,000 in cash prizes were expected to be handed out.

Casinos have to create a plan to pay out their progressive jackpots before they close, according to the Nevada Gaming Control Board, as cited by USA Today.

“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,” said a report from Las Vegas Review-Journal. It also credited the project (overseen by real estate developer Steve Wynn) for kicking off a mega-resort boom in Las Vegas.

Famous magicians Siegfried and Roy became one of The Mirage’s well-known acts, per The Guardian. They performed with white tigers and in 2003 one attacked Roy Horne on stage. While Horne survived the attack, he was left with serious injuries.

In 2022, the hotel revealed in a press release that the Hard Rock International (HRI) regulatory approval from the Nevada Gaming Commission for its acquisition of The Mirage Hotel & Casino from MGM Resorts International. It assumed regulations control of the property late that year and paid more than $1 billion in cash for the operating assets of the hotel and casino.

This May, another press release announced that The Mirage Hotel & Casino would cease operations as of July 17.

“Hard Rock will develop a new integrated resort featuring a nearly 700 ft. guitar-shaped hotel towering prominently in the center of the famous Las Vegas Strip,” it said.

Once The Mirage remerges as the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino and Guitar Hotel (HRHCLV) it is expected to have double the current number of jobs at the existing property. More than 2,500 construction jobs are also expected to be created as the new hotel takes shape.

“Hard Rock will pay approximately $80 million in severance packages for eligible union and non-union employees remaining with the property through cessation of operations,” said the press release.