Vegas News December 14, 2022

Las Vegas Was A Blur

Last week in Las Vegas was a blur. This week will be as well, but that’s a story for another day.

I listen to a lot of Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) meetings and they’re usually incredibly boring so I wait for them to end and listen and watch on 2x speed. That wasn’t the case for the most recent meeting.

I watched this meeting live at normal speed because I was hoping for big news. There was no disappointment.

Hard Rock Guitar Hotel

Hard Rock International was in front of the NGCB, looking for a recommendation for the Nevada Gaming Commission (NGC) to approve the company to take over operations of the Mirage.

Hard Rock received the recommendation. The NGC should approve Hard Rock to operate the Mirage during the NGC meeting on Dec. 22.

One thing was a little different during the NGCB meeting with Hard Rock. The company had a four-hour presentation with lots of information and numerous staff members. 

Unlike some presentations to NGCB, Hard Rock allowed the public to watch along and see everything. You can watch it here. The interesting parts of the Hard Rock presentation was about 45 minutes so don’t get freaked out when you see that this is an eight-hour video.  

I wrote about the meeting as it was happening. You can read about the changes coming to the Mirage/Hard Rock here. 

No Plans To Close During Construction – Hard Rock Las Vegas

Hard Rock plans to gut the property. During the meeting, Hard Rock CEO Jim Allen said there are no plans to close the property during construction. He also said that could change. 

There’s no specific timeline for construction at this time. It appears as though construction will begin until late next year or 2024. 

The plans for the Mirage are so big that I think they’ll have to close at some point. Time will tell. 

Hard Rock Guitar Hotel – Plans For The Transformation

Let’s look at some of the plans for the future of the Mirage as it transforms into the Hard Rock:

Guitar hotel: There will indeed be a guitar hotel tower on the Vegas Strip. It will have about 800 suites, its own infinity pool overlooking the Vegas Strip, and a small casino with 12 table games and 200 slot machines. There will be no regular-sized rooms in the guitar tower.

Existing hotel: The current hotel tower will receive a gut renovation. The rooms will be rebuilt from scratch. Hard Rock will keep The Villas but give them a light refresh just so they’re up to date with what guests expect from a hotel. Hard Rock is planning for a total of 3,640 hotel rooms. Lastly, the existing pool will be gutted and replaced.

Casino: Hard Rock is planning a major expansion of the casino floor. According to the plans shared during the NGCB meeting, the casino floor will grow from 94,000 square feet to 174,000 square feet. The number of slot machines will go from 864 to 1,800. Table games will increase from 51 to 212. 

Music: There will be a Hard Rock Live entertainment venue inside the property. Hard Rock will build a music memorabilia museum outside near the Guitar Tower and Treasure Island. 

I love shiny new things and can’t wait for this transformation to be finished already. The rendering still shows the Hard Rock with the atrium that offers a view of the sky at the Mirage. 

I love walking towards the casino through the atrium and look forward to seeing how Hard Rock uses this space when the property is renovated.

Let’s get to the rest of the news in and around Las Vegas.

Las Vegas Quick Hits

• Station Casinos followed through with its plan to see some of the land next to the Durango Casino. As you know this casino is currently under construction. Read more here.  
• The company also named the executive staff of Durango. Read more here.  
• Celine Dion has health issues and that Resorts World residency being rumored seems unlikely. Read more here and see Celine’s statement here.
• 10 of the Top 100 restaurants on Open Table are in Las Vegas. See the list here.  
• Encore Beach Club just started its Winter Series. Read more here.  
• Park on Fremont is closed for renovations. Read more here.
• You can now get a self-driving Uber in Las Vegas. Read more here.
• The new owners of The Venetian bonused all employees $1,500. Read more here. 
• Looks like the Guy Fieri sports bar at Bally’s/Horseshoe/Paris is closer to reality. Read more here.
• Billboard released its Top 10 Venues of the year. Las Vegas showed well with multiple venues making an appearance. See the different charts here.  
• Golden Nugget will soon have a casino in Colorado. Read more here.  
• The Las Vegas Desert Dogs lacrosse team lost its first game. Read more here.
• The team plays its first home game on Friday at Mandalay Bay. Learn more about the team here.  
• This one is for runners. The Raiders 5K will take place in March 2023. Read more here.  
• The Savannah Bananas are coming to Las Vegas next year. Read more here. Find more info here.  
• Superfrico and a show are coming to Atlantic City. Read more here.
• The City of Henderson is considering buying the land where Fiesta used to operate. Read more here.
• The Vegas Vipers XFL team debuted its uniforms this week. Check them out here and take a look at the merch available here.