The Mirage
On this date, November 22, 1989 the Mirage Resort & Casino, initially scheduled for an opening in early December 1989, was opened early on November 22, 1989. At the time of its opening, The Mirage was the largest hotel in the world, with 3,044 rooms. The hotel tower, standing 29 stories, was built out in a Y-shape design, a concept that was later copied by Las Vegas’ Treasure Island, Monte Carlo, and Mandalay Bay resorts. The hotel’s top five floors were used exclusively for high roller rooms and penthouse suites.
The Mirage was proposed with an initial cost of $565 million. Financier Michael Milken helped finance the project by selling $525 million worth of mortgage bonds. The Mirage was the first resort that was built with the money of Wall Street through the use of junk bonds. The project went over budget, and was the most expensive hotel-casino in history, with a construction cost of US $630 million. The Mirage was the first new resort to be built on the Las Vegas Strip in 16 years, after the completion of the MGM Grand in 1973. The Mirage was the first casino to use security cameras full-time on all table games.
Panoramic Photo of the Mirage in 1999
On May 31, 2000, the Golden Nugget, The Mirage (and all of Steve Wynn’s other properties) were sold to Kirk Kerkorian; the consolidated corporation was known as MGM Mirage and has been the largest casino corporation in Las Vegas since that date. The property is currently owned and operated by MGM Resorts International.
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