Hard Rock International (HRI) has been granted regulatory approval from the Nevada Gaming Commission to acquire the Las Vegas-based The Mirage Hotel & Casino from MGM Resorts International for USD 1.075 billion, HRI said in a press release Monday.
The 3,044-room hotel will continue its daily operations under its current name until the rebranding to HRI is finalised. Under the agreement, the seller will retain The Mirage name and brand, licensing it to Hard Rock royalty-free for up to three years until the rebrand is complete.
Hard Rock is set to reveal more information about the details, design, and development timeline at the end of next year. According to unnamed sources familiar with the matter, the new owner intends to reshape the property at the centre of the Strip casino by replacing its volcano attraction with a guitar-shaped hotel tower.
Furthermore, the Hard Rock chairman Jim Allen officially declined media rumours about upcoming staff changes. Allen added that the hotel’s 3,500 employees would join Hard Rock’sRock’s 45,000-member workforce. In addition, the Mirage will continue its pre-planned entertainment program, including Cirque Du Soleil’sSoleil’s The Beatles LOVE, through 2023.
“We are excited to create an integrated resort on the Strip that will make this legendary entertainment community proud,” Allen said.
HRI has signed a long-term lease agreement with the experiential real estate investment trust VICI for the real estate property of the hotel. In April, VICI completed the USD 17.2 billion acquisition of MGM Growth Properties, it said in a press release. VICI owns properties in the hospitality sector and leases them back to entertainment operators.
The Seminole Tribe-owned Hard Rock is known worldwide for its cafes, hotels, casinos, and concert venues. Its new property in Sin City is set to become the first on the Las Vegas Strip to be operated by a Native American tribe.
The Connecticut-based Mohegan Tribe operates a casino east of the Strip. The venue opened last year at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas after Virgin purchased and rebranded the place, once named Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, in 2018. The Palms casino is west of the Strip. An affiliate of the California-headquartered San Manuel Band of Mission Indians owns and operates it.
The Polynesian-themed Mirage Hotel and Casino was built by the former casino mogul Steve Wynn and played an essential role in transforming Las Vegas from a gambling hub into an ultra-luxury holiday destination. The property opened in 1989, long before its current competitors Bellagio and others. For many years, it was home to the Siegfried & Roy taming white tigers. It currently hosts the Cirque du Soleil show set to a Beatles soundtrack.
The transaction is the latest change of ownership on the Strip. In September, the Rhode Island-based Bally’s Corp acquired DoubleTree Tropicana for USD 148 million. Also, Fertitta Entertainment bought the 125-room Travelodge Las Vegas Center Strip for USD 141.5 million in June.
In the past two years, the hotel sales volume in Las Vegas reached USD 16.8 billion, representing 17% of the total US hotel sales volume, CoStar estimated.
