Mirage hotel, casino in Las Vegas sold to Hard Rock International for $1B

LAS VEGAS — The Mirage, an iconic fixture on the Las Vegas Strip for more than three decades, is being sold by MGM Resorts International to Hard Rock International, both companies announced Monday.

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Hard Rock will pay $1.075 billion in cash to acquire the operations of The Mirage, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported. The deal is expected to close during the second half of 2022, pending regulatory approvals and conditions of closing, the newspaper reported.

MGM will retain The Mirage name and brand, but will license it to Hard Rock royalty-free for three years, according to KTNV-TV. MGM expects to earn a $815 million profit from the deal, the television station reported.

MGM has owned the property for 21 years, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The hotel and casino opened in 1989.

“This transaction is a significant milestone for MGM Resorts and for Las Vegas,” Bill Hornbuckle, CEO and president of MGM Resorts International, said in a statement.

The Mirage is best known for its 90-foot Strip-side volcano. Hard Rock announced plans to build a guitar-shaped hotel on the 77-acre property, the Review-Journal reported.

“We are honored to welcome The Mirage’s 3,500 team members to the Hard Rock family,” Jim Allen, chairman of Hard Rock International, said in a statement. “When complete, Hard Rock Las Vegas will be a fully integrated resort welcoming meetings, groups, tourists and casino guests from around the world to its nearly 80-acre center-Strip location.”

Hard Rock said it will enter into a long-term lease agreement with VICI Properties, the Review-Journal reported. VICI Properties announced a $17.2 billion deal in August to buy The Mirage’s real estate from MGM Growth Properties.

MGM operates nine other resorts on the Las Vegas Strip and will soon add The Cosmopolitan after agreeing in October to pay $1.6 billion for the resort’s operations, according to the newspaper.

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