Las Vegas Boulevard was briefly blocked on Wednesday to allow the former entry arch to The Mirage to make its journey down the street it stood on for 34 years. Its destination was the Neon Museum, located five miles north. This escorted passage marked the arch’s transition from an iconic landmark to a historic artifact.
The museum agreed to accept the 30-foot arch from the Seminole Tribe of Florida, which owns the Hard Rock brand and purchased the rights to The Mirage for $1.075 billion from MGM Resorts in 2021. Also making their way to the museum are the 17-foot sculpture of Siegfried & Roy with one of their tigers, as well as the 27-foot-long Mirage sign that once adorned the volcano’s lagoon.
The Seminole Tribe is transforming the groundbreaking Steve Wynn property into the second Hard Rock Las Vegas. Scheduled to open in 2027, the new casino resort’s centerpiece will be a 660-foot guitar-shaped hotel, set to rise on the site of the current volcano show, which itself stands atop the location of the very first casino licensed on the Las Vegas Strip.
The Mirage arch, adorned with hundreds of twinkling LED lamps, will find a place of honor outdoors in the Neon Museum’s esteemed Neon Boneyard. It will be displayed alongside signs from the Stardust, Moulin Rouge, Riviera, and other historic relics that have fallen prey to developers focused more on shareholder profits than preserving Las Vegas’ vibrant cultural history.
The journey for the Mirage arch isn’t over yet. It is set to relocate once the Neon Museum implements its plan to move from its current location to the Arts District by 2027, a move that will nearly triple its display space.
In other developments, Hard Rock officials have requested that The Mirage’s gaming license remain active during its transformation. They applied for a two-year waiver with the Clark County Business License Department on July 11, six days before they shuttered the property, with the possibility of two additional six-month extensions. The transformation into the Hard Rock is expected to take three years.
Clark County code stipulates that gambling licenses be suspended for licensees who don’t meet their requirements for more than 30 consecutive days unless they can demonstrate good cause. The Clark County Liquor and Gaming Licensing Board is set to review the application at its August 20 meeting.
