Mirage to Become First Las Vegas Strip Casino Operated by Native American Tribe
LAS VEGAS, NV – The Mirage Las Vegas is slated to transfer operations next month from MGM Resorts International to Hard Rock, the gaming arm of the Seminole Tribe of Florida, marking the first time that a Native American tribe will run a resort casino on the famed Las Vegas Strip in its long history.
The Seminole tribe has developed extensive hotels and resorts for gaming on some of their reservations, and in 2007 the tribe bought the Hard Rock Cafe franchise for $965 million, including 124 Hard Rock Cafes, four Hard Rock Hotels, two Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Hotels, two Hard Rock Live! concert venues, and stakes in three unbranded hotels. Since then, they established the Hard Rock Cafe brand in their hotels and casinos. They now have a total of seven casinos.
Hard Rock announced that it had purchased the rights to operate The Mirage in December 2021 for an eye-opening $1.075 billion; currently, no immediate changes are anticipated, with the resort’s iconic volcano show expected to continue functioning as usual for the time being.
Once the shift in operations is complete, The Mirage will be switching from its current MGM Rewards program to Hard Rock’s Unity Rewards customer loyalty program, and eventually the name of the resort itself will be re-branded with the Hard Rock name, with extensive renovations transforming the building’s façade to the same trademark guitar-style shape as other Hard Rock resorts.
However, The Mirage will remain operating under its current moniker and form for the time being, as reports indicate that MGM has licensed the Mirage name and brand to Hard Rock for three years, royalty-free.
Despite that, it is expected that the venue may be closed for a period of time after Hard Rock takes over in order to make changes, renovations, and improvements where needed, although this has yet to be officially announced and may not prove to be the case.
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