A volcanic change is coming to the Strip.
MGM Resorts International said Monday that it will sell the operations of the Mirage hotel and casino in Las Vegas — home of the 90-foot erupting volcano — to Hard Rock International for roughly $1.08 billion. The all-cash deal is expected to close later next year.
MGM Resorts acquired the Polynesian-themed property in 2000, when it bought Steve Wynn’s Mirage Resorts for some $4.4 billion. Opened in 1989, the 3,044-room was the first new resort on the Las Vegas Strip in 16 years. The Mirage’s legacy includes housing Sin City’s first Siegfried & Roy show, hosting headliner Danny Gans for nearly a decade and staging Cirque du Soleil show The Beatles Love since 2006.
The Hard Rock Hotel in Vegas closed for renovations early last and is being rebranded as Virgin Hotels Las Vegas. MGM Resorts International is leasing the Mirage name and brand royalty-free to Hard Rock International for as long as three years, while the latter works on its plan to rebrand the property.
MGM Resorts International also owns or runs several other Las Vegas Strip resorts, including the MGM Grand, Bellagio, Mandalay Bay, Luxor, Excalibur and New York-New York. The company also has a 42.5% stake in T-Mobile Arena, home of the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights.