The Mirage

"Mirage's Marquee"

"The Mirage is a 3,044 room hotel and casino resort located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada (though like most hotels on the Strip, it uses a Las Vegas mailing address). The casino is owned by MGM MIRAGE.

The Mirage is connected by a free tram to Treasure Island, its sister property immediately to the north. The marquee in front of The Mirage is the largest free standing marquee in the world.

The Mirage was built by developer Steve Wynn and opened in November 1989 on the former grounds of the Castaways hotel and casino, and was owned by Wynn's company Mirage Resorts (later MGM Mirage). It was the first resort that was built with the money of Wall Street through the use of junk bonds.

The Mirage was the most expensive hotel/casino in history, with a construction cost of $630 million. The hotel's distinctive gold windows get their color from actual gold used in the tinting process. It was reported that the resort would have to bring in a million dollars a day to pay off a 7-year construction loan. But in fact The Mirage did so well, the loan was paid off in just 18 months.

Its construction is also considered very noteworthy in that Wynn had set a new standard for Vegas resorts, and is widely considered to be the father of today's Las Vegas. Prior to the Mirage's opening, the city was experiencing a decline in tourism that began in the 70s, especially around the time the state of New Jersey legalized gambling and tourists (in particular those on the East Coast) began to frequent the casinos of Atlantic City.

Also, this was a time when Las Vegas was no longer considered a fashionable destination, so a new, high-profile, project was necessary to jump-start the ailing industry. When it opened, The Mirage was the first casino to use security cameras full time on all table games."

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