The Las Vegas Strip skyline is about to undergo a major transformation following Clark County commissioners’ unanimous approval of plans for Hard Rock International to replace the beloved volcano at the Mirage with a 36-story hotel tower shaped like a guitar. This striking attention magnet will feature six light beams shooting more than 20,000 feet into the sky, extending the strings beyond the guitar’s cropped-short neck. Scheduled to open in 2025, the 600-room tower will overshadow all adjacent Strip resorts.
The Seminole Tribe of Florida, which purchased the operating rights to The Mirage from MGM Resorts International for $1.1B in 2022, will continue to rent the land from Vici Properties while transitioning to the Hard Rock brand. During this time, MGM will retain The Mirage name and brand, although it will be licensed to Hard Rock on a royalty-free basis for up to three years.
In addition to the new tower, plans include renovating the entire Mirage, including its existing 3,044 hotel rooms, and adding a theater with nearly 3,000 seats, restaurants, shops and pools. A construction timeline is expected to be released later this year.
The demolition of the volcano has been met with some disapproval from those who view it as an affront to Las Vegas history. However, this was not the first indignity to befall the site; the volcano was built in 1987 on the same spot where the last remaining Las Vegas Strip residence and a Mobil station once stood. This also marks the place where the first licensed casino on the Strip opened in 1931. Thus, the Hard Rock’s guitar tower is being constructed from the very foundations of the Las Vegas Strip.
