The Closed & Demolished History of The Mirage Resort & Volcano | Expedition Extinct
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 9 ก.พ. 2025
- Join us on a brand new Expedition Extinct as we look at the hotel that changed Las Vegas Forever and the controversial man who created it. The History of the Mirage Resort led the way to every family friendly attraction and Mega Resort that we know and love today.
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Credits -
Todd Johnson - • Frontier sign Las Vega...
Vintage Las Vegas - • 1964 - Las Vegas
Videoholicreturns - • Camera Video of the Mi...
Nadia Eimandoust - • The Mirage Hotel, Las ...
Ejbarnola - • Mirage Hotel Las Vegas...
RIKLASVEGAS - • Las Vegas Vacation in ...
Eaglevp - • dolphins at the mirage...
AccessVegas - • 1994 - Visit Fabulous ...
Raiders 1967 - • Mirage to Hard Rock Ho...
GrowinupinSinCity81 - • Siegfried and Roy at t...
www.accessvegas.com
Welcome back to Expedition Hotels? Where would you like to see a video on!
What about those ice hotels?
the strsphone tower
Hard Rock
Reflections Lakeside Lodge Disney World.
Abandoned Millennium Hotel in St Louis
vegas was top tier in the late 90s-2006. i wasn’t old enough to gamble, drink, or smoke and i still had more fun than my parents
so much cool stuff to see
You got that right.
Vegas had some of the best Arcades in the Country
I could have told you Kid-Vegas wasn’t going to work. Trying to get quarters from my dad to play Ghosts and Goblins in the Circus Circus in Reno was an uphill fight 😂
"That's what ya get for waking up in Vegas!" -Katy Perry
He should have joined you instead. What a great game
As a late 90s kid, I loved the family friendly Vegas era. I’m from Los Angeles but had family in Vegas so we’d go fairly regularly. My parents would hand me a wad of cash and drop me off at one of the arcades (or the theme park at circus circus) while they went off to gamble at the slot machines. This was pre cell phones so we would arrange a time and place to meet after a couple hours.
I actually met Michael Jackson at the Caesars Palace in like 2002 because he happened to be where I was to meet my dad. So many awesome memories.
Interesting...... my brother & I had the opposite experience, mom would take us to Circus Circus & give us $20 each (two rolls of quarters) and it would last us 4-5 hours.
Paydays, shed take us to eat at Marie Calendars then to the C.C🤍
Sorry your dad was a grinch
OMG. in 1989, my brother and I got "thrown out" of Circus-Circus for underage gambling. My parents thought the legal age was 18. He was 17, i was 16. They gave us 10 bucks each and said "Today you're both 18". hahhahha anywhoo, we went to the nickel slots and played 3 spins and then got kicked out ...they escorted us TO THAT VERY ARCADE.
Thank you for making this video. Mirage shepherded the ‘Disney’ era of Vegas and it was a great time. I miss highly themed resorts.
thank you for watching! Me too
Quick correction… the natural gas for the volcano was actually scented Pina Colada’s scent as Wynn was so particular and just pumping the scent nearby wasn’t enough to mask the typical rotten egg smell. His gas didn’t stink lol. The egg smell of natural gas is artificial so Wynn got special permission to change from the typical rotten egg scent to the Pina Colada’s scent. Great video
My dad opened the Mirage as a Craps dealer. In fact, I may still have play money from play days for the employees before it officially opened. Also a metric ton of boxing match buttons that employees had to wear.
Things changed a lot in Vegas after the Mirage opened.
Thank You for sharing 🤩
Great post. My grandma on dad's side was a waitress in the Dunes for like 30 years, she was beloved by many people.
Grandma on mom's side did the showgirl gig for many years, she was a drop dead looker, however she had to work around the likes of Bugsey Segel and Frank Sinatra, who were absolutely frightening creeps & dropped out of the scene fairly young 🤍
Many blessings
I've lived in Vegas pretty much all my life. The Mirage closing last year was a major bummer. A lot of my friends worked there, leading to me getting to see The Beatles Love Show for the first time in 2009. It made me a Beatles fan, and since then, i got to see the show probably nearly a dozen times. The volcano also scared the hell out of me when i was a kid 😅. Thank you so much for the in-depth video. Truly appreciate learning more about the city i love so much 💛
Thank you so much for watching.
In all my life I’ve never been to Las Vegas but these videos on this channel helps me to learn the history about these places in Las Vegas
i find the place so interesting!
I’ve been to Vegas plenty of times! And there’s always something new to see or do. A lot of people just think it’s all gambling, partying, and dirty. But it’s so much more
You gotta go!
Ive been to Vegas. It's a place to go once to say you've been.
Never been either, one day maybe.
Sad day when it closed. I always loved going to see the pirates show at TI and then walking and waiting for a bit to see the volcano. Always a trip when family was visiting. Great video as always!
Thanks so much
Mirage Volcano is one of the best & favorite free attractions in the strip. Sad we lost another free attraction.
Makes me so sad.
Thanks for this video. The Mirage was such a vibe. It's my favorite Vegas casino of all time and I'm bummed that they're replacing with the guitar-shaped monstrosity that they have planned.
A real shame :(
@@ExpeditionThemePark talk about a real downer from before.
Seriously sick sad world, losing that jewel, to some cheesy corporate crap no one likes…
I remember seeing that fountain turn into a volcano the year it opened. In between that and Luxor I was absolutely mesmerized by that city.
Luxor was so cool
So very sad. I used to visit The Mirage when I was a kid especially I love seeing the volcano show and seeing the white tiger. I really miss The Mirage. It has been one of my favorite resorts in Las Vegas along with MGM, Treasure Island, Mandalay Bay, Caesar’s Palace, Bellagio, and Luxor. My family and I used to visit Las Vegas every year from the 1990s through 2000s. Nowadays, I don’t visit Las Vegas as often as I used to even before they decided to close down The Mirage.
Yeah alot of the charm is gone.
I turned 21 in 1994. It was an amazing time in Vegas. Mesmerizing. Still affordable. I hate that city now.
Loved the video!!
Agreed Vegas in the 90s was almost magical. Now it's all very overpriced and underwhelming. Seems like you have one of two options either ther newer hotels that are so expensive or the hotels that were built in the 90s that need renovations bad.
thank you!
I was there last summer the week it closed. I stayed next door at Treasure Island. I got to see the last night show (and recorded it for my channel) and walked around the casino. Still sad to see it gone :(
Glad you got to enjoy it one last time
🎉
I recently visited Vegas for the first time in 10 years and was shocked at how different it looked and felt. The Mirage being gone was part of that. All I can feel now is nostalgia. Doubt I’ll be back for another 10 years.
It was a shock for me too when my family drove through Vegas in the summer of 2020. My parents told my sister and I to take as many photos as possible from the back seat of our car. I wasn't on the right side to get photos of The Mirage but I did get a few good shots of the Wynn and MGM Grand resorts.
The last time I actually stayed in Vegas though was in 2010 when the Aria Resort & Casino was new.
Feels so... corporate sometimes
I went to The Mirage over the summer to see The Beatles LOVE show before it closed, and I’m glad I did. It was practically a religious experience for a Beatles fan like me, and even though I only went into the Mirage once, I really miss it already.
I've only been twice. The late 70's and then again in 2021. I'm so grateful I got to see the Mirage and spend half a day in there back then. I assumed it would be there forever. I saw no reason for it to go. It was still so crowded and popular.
Always! Such a shame
Awesome video Sam! I've only been to Vegas a few times over 3 decades in LA...and stayed at the Mirage one time. It really was a magical kind of place, just had something very special about it. Watching the volcano show with my son was a big highlight. This video was fantastic and had me riveted throughout. Nearly 40 mins flew by like nothing, as have the decades of the hotel in some ways too!
Alright! Another fantastic video of an extinct place in Vegas!
That volcano was such an icon of the Strip and the city. It's hard to believe it's gone now.
Thanks so much!
Mirage was my go to when staying in Vegas.
Thank you for making this, it helps with the loss.
My favorite place in Vegas since I was a kid was the Atrium. It really did transport you to a different world.
Yeah, it was so well done.
Took my parents one year…decided to eat at Kokomos. I was seated almost shoulder-to-shoulder with Marilu Henner at the next table over. She struck up a conversation with me and was the nicest person.
I used to frequent Vegas. I even lived there for about a year or so. It seems strange to not have the Mirage there anymore. What a shame. I liked it, along with Jubilee at Bally’s, the elevator at Paris, the Canals at the Venetian, and the Conservatory at the Bellagio.
Yeah a real shame
Excellent documentary! I used to work for Golden Nugget, Inc, which became Mirage Resorts, Inc. Steve had the philosophy of treating employees like family, and customers like royalty.
Great video! The Mirage was one of my favorite hotels. I was beyond sad when I found out about it closing. Looks like they're still keeping the hotel tower for the Hard Rock, but it won't be the same.
I grew up going to kid friendly Vegas…Excalibur tournament, Luxor (sega world), treasure island’s show, coasters, game works, etc. it was awesome as a 10-14 yr old!
Well, now I've gotta rewatch Vegas Vacation. Thank you for this wonderful retrospective!
worth a rewatch! thank you
The mirage smelled really good, like tropical sunscreen. I'll miss it!
it did!
I didn't know about this. Sometimes things should be left alone. Some places are very iconic. This is the same place I wanted to go to if I ever visited. Now I have to take it off my bucket list LOL
That is a shame!
I loved going to Vegas when I was younger early teens and 20-23 years of age. Classic Vegas was awesome, with the lions in the MGM and Tigers and volcano show in the mirage. The pirate play in Treasure Island. Vegas had a soul back then. Now it just feels soulless
agreed
@@ExpeditionThemePark yeah, I miss old vegas
I stayed at the Mirage for a couple of days last year, and I saw the Beatles LOVE show twice before it closed. It was a nice stay, it was cool to see the volcano in action, and I even swam in the pool. I loved staying there, and it was great to see the LOVE show, too.
Always a good time!
I always loved the theming of the Excalibur hotel. I recall the Round Table buffet and actors portraying the king and queen. They had a really cool moat with a dragon vs. wizard show outside. I think it would make a fun video retrospective for your channel!
It is on my list to do in the future for sure!
I had some of the best times of my life there. Sad, but, Vegas is a place where nothing is permanent.
Stayed at the mirage for my 21st Thanks for the memories. Really got me in the feels. Great video.
thanks so much
@@ExpeditionThemePark you are very welcome man. Love all your videos. So many times I don’t even realize how nostalgic i am for things until you show us just how magical that time was. Your videos mean a lot to so many of us. Hope you’re having a great year.
That means a lot to me. I appreciate it and I hope you are too!
I have watched a lot of Vegas history stuff, but this was the best one on the Mirage!
thank you so much
As soon as you mentioned Lance Burton, I yelled, "Roll the Clip!"
The financial scale of Vegas is so mind blowing. That they can bulldoze billions of dollars of resort and build another billion dollar resort every 30 years is wild.
Thank you for this! I have stayed there before as a teenager and even when I went back in 2019 and have fond memories of it and the volcano. WHen I head back to Las Vegas for WrestleMania this year I shall be sure to observe a moments silence(and then go to the buffet!).
gotta go to the buffet. mm
I was a kid in the 90’s and I fondly remember the theming Vegas went into in 1993. Some see it as a folly but I I do miss that era. I really enjoyed MGM and the Adventuredome at that time.
A great time!
Still the most beautiful and tasteful lobby ive ever seen.
Only time I went to the Mirage was in 2003. I went to see the Tiger display. I long wanted to see Siegfried and Roy's show ever since I first sawr the ad in a program I got at some event, back in the late '80s. That was back before they were at Mirage. So getting to see the tigers was the next best thing. I have a photo of one of the tigers with his front paws splayed out on either side of this rock with his rear end up in the air and his chin resting on the rock, like he's gazing at himself in the water. Love it. I sawr the volcano go off several times, that was pretty cool as weird me has always wanted to see a volcano eruption. It seem like a pretty cool place.
Glad you got to see them!
I went when I was a kid with my Dad. It was the best time of my life. I loved everything about this hotel. I loved the pools the most. Seeing the tigers was really cool too.
Such a cool place to see as a kid
I’ve flown into Las Vegas several times actually but have only stayed overnight there once- at The Mirage. I was 15 at the time and thought the whole place was so cool- the aquarium at check-in, the white tiger (I believe I would’ve seen Mantecore actually right before he died), the atrium… it was all so neat, so different to my expectations of Las Vegas as a grimy, adult-only, gambling-focused place 🥲 I saw the Beatles show too which was fantastic. Unfortunately I don’t really have any memories of the volcano erupting, but I do remember how awesome it looked outside and I loved all the running fountains. (The water features are what I love most about Vegas I think). My family’s hotel room was pretty nice too, and I remember eating way too much at the buffet there and trying my first slot machine with parental supervision 😂 It felt like such a quintessential Vegas experience and I had so much fun. It really did feel like some type of Disneyland- and knowing Wynn’s admiration of Walt Disney now that makes a lot of sense. He achieved that goal. I never thought the hotel would be torn down like this. It’s very sad and I think indicates that that family fun era of Vegas is basically over… so many of the early 90s hotels have sunk into disrepair from their glory days too. But I’ll always have the fond memories of The Mirage and am glad to see its history honored in this way. RIP ❤
I was holding my breath for when Lance was gonna show up 😂 always love your vids!
Same! The Lance bit will never get old
Thanks! aha
Vegas constantly reinventing itself is great but it's also sad when you lose the things you really liked. Diablo's at Monte Carlo, Margaritaville, Coco's and now Mirage -- all gone. Mirage had a great lobby bar with live music on weekends and the atrium had a wonderful vibe. RIP.
It’s wild to see my city changing and getting docuseries made about its aspects and histories that weren’t even taught to me !
I miss the mirage 😢
me too
I've seen the Mirage Volcano when I first visited to Las Vegas with my father. It's such a shame that Mirage and their volcano is gone forever. But still, the volcano show and the Mirage Resort will always be our hearts for years to come.
Sam this was a great video! I love how you’re expanding our knowledge on attractions of all sorts. The RB mention was a MUST😂. Great Job!
thanks so much!
Yes a new Vegas video! I've been twice and got to stay at two of the nicest hotels I've ever got to stay in. Hopefully I'll go back soon, but maybe you can talk about CircusCircus next? I heard it's haunted
Which ones?
@ExpeditionThemePark The first one I went to was the Cosmopolitan and when I went back, I stayed at the Paris. Cosmopolitan was my favorite because the room felt more like a tiny apartment and the bathroom is pretty spacious
Lived in Vegas from 2002 - 2005, I was just 8 years old, but dang do I have a lot of fun memories. Going into the city on new years, their grand buffets, CircusCircus, but also Sahara and it's Coaster. (My first looping coaster).. Time goes by quick!
Such a fun time to grow up there
Great video as always, Sam!!! I truly appreciate your content and the work you put into it!
thank you!
I totally had a perception that this hotel had been around a lot longer than it was, I assumed it had maybe opened in the 70’s. As someone who’s never been to Vegas it also just seemed like it was incredibly ubiquitous in media and it seems like the strip is losing a huge landmark. I also always wanted to see Love and I’m curious to see if they’ll stage it elsewhere or just let it end with the end of the hotel.
Thank you so much for doing this! We have to keep the Mirage legacy alive! My favorite hotel in Las Vegas, especially Siegfried and Roy and the Secret Garden!
Excellant Video !!
Love the Las Vegas episodes.
Thanks for all your hard work to produce this type of content.
Very cool stuff man. I'm glad you are well!
thank you! Hope you are too out in Japan!
Your channel brings me joy.
That means a lot!
Thanks for producing such high quality videos. Never imagined I’d be binging so many videos about Vegas, back to back.
thanks so much
i had just started working at golden nugget around the time wynn sold it to the fertitta's (landrys) and the change was drastic. from what i was able to gather everyone had admiration for steve because he respected his employees and the nugget was very successful. i was only there a few years because landrys turned it into an annoying corporate hell, trying to profit by cutting corners and understaffing us after cutting all our vacation time in half.
Went to conferences in 2016 and 2019 and stayed at the Paris, but the conference was spread over multiple resorts incuding the Mirage, so would often find myself in there - was definitely the coolest of the resorts to see, even if it was just fleeting walkthroughs to various conference facilities!
@ think you’re confusing me with someone else, but happy new year anyway!
i visited the mirage on its last month of it being open. the day i was there to see it the volcano wasn’t working but it was very sad to see it go like that. it looked to be a very cool place
Yeah, a shame sadly
@ agreed
My first visit was 1994, the Mirage embodied everything you wanted LV to be. I went twice in 2024 and the city is expensive and turning into the same kind of stuff you find everywhere. Its such a shame.
I agree. It sucks now.
Yeah lost alot of its charm
I never got to stay at the mirage (I only turned 21 last year and live on the east coast) but we have so many giant cups and shot glasses from when my parents used to go to vegas all the time and my sister has stories from going there (back when it was "family friendly" in the late 90s and very early 2000s. I also remember all the times that I would see the mirage from the vegas airport
this video made me so sad. i grew up vacationing to vegas and i remember all this so clearly. vegas is still fun but nothing like it used to be
Yeah it really had charm
Steve Wynn, despite all his failures and crimes, absolutely understood customer experience and the consequences of it. His point about fights being one of the most diverse attractions in all of humanity is astute. Everyone from every culture fights.
I feel like he was the Michael Eisner of the Vegas creatives in that regard (minus the criminal allegations of course).
My husband and I stayed at the Mirage for part of our honeymoon, I'm sorry to see those awesome volcanos go. We had a day dedicated to a tiki bar crawl and watching the volcano show was the perfect icing on the cake. I don't think the The Hard Rock will add anything special to the strip the way the Mirage did, it looks tacky and not in the fun way.
Icon ✨ Vegas will never be the same.
I visited both Mirage and Flamingo a decade ago but never made time to check them out since.
On a side note One attraction I regret not seeing was Star Trek the Experience at the Las Vegas Hilton
Such an iconic attraction
Another banger!!! I have family in Vegas and so it was our constant summer vacation spot because we could always stay with family members instead of booking a hotel. Hitting the Strip right at sundown to see the Mirage volcano erupt was a tradition for every visit and it made me so sad to see it get torn down.
thanks so much!
There is also the Aladdin Hotel in Kansas City. It used to be my favorite place to stay. It's on the National Register of Historic Places. It was owned and operated by Holiday Inn, but it closed during covid and never reopened.
Never been to Vegas, have been told it’s probably not worth going nowadays anyway…as an Orlandoan I love seeing the places and attractions in Vegas that would be right at home here. Feels like 90s-00s were the peak for both cities.
I'm sad to see the Mirage go, BUT it is satisfying to see them finally peeling off that dirty, faded, beat up old Beatles Love banner that they've had glued to the building for the last 15 years lol
Looked so much better without it.
Best video in a while. More like this please
My first trip to Vegas, I stayed here. It was a beautiful place.
Saw Cirque du Soliel's Love there. Great show.
Once I heard you mention the Monte Carlo... I knew what was coming!
We loved The Mirage and frequently went there, but usually stayed at other places. The waterfalls out front were truly spectacular along with the volcano at night.
We would also visit Laughlin, Nevada, when we wanted a more laid-back getaway. The Golden Nugget there was a bit of a Mirage Jr. at the time. It had that tropical feel and a small-scale atrium area. Ah, the good old days! Nice memories.
when I visited Las Vegas last October, I saw this resort in the middle of it's Hard Rock makeover!
So excited for a new video!
Thank you!
So at CES 1990 I stayed at the Dune hotel. Design wise it was HORRIBLE, nightmarish in fact. It mixed every type of architecture and art style that you could squeeze into the place, many feet within each other. My boss, who also has an art background, agreed. I then said "Someone from Disney should design a hotel..."
Later that day I walked down the street and saw the Mirage and added "...just like that".
a mirage appeared!
I remember going to a wedding that was being held at the Treasure Island in 1997 and we took some time during our stay to ride the tram over to The Mirage. It was a beautiful hotel from what I saw. I even have a souvenir pin from the resort with a white tiger on it and it says Sigfried & Roy at The Mirage on it.
A few years later, my parents went to go see Blue Man Group with a couple of friends and they stayed at The Mirage. I remember them telling my sister and I that their room was right above the volcano.
I wish they had found a way to keep the volcano. Seeing the concept art of Hard Rock's new guitar tower sitting on that plot just doesn't seem right.
yeah its such a shame to rip it down
Las Vegas ❤❤c'est absolument INCROYABLE, MAGNIFIQUE, FOU...lumières , Architecture.....je suis Français, je suis absolument Fan 🎉🎇🎆✨️...New York, Venise, Bellagio, Planet hollywood, Luxor....et surtout Freemont street expérience ❤
I had no idea it was disappearing. I remember seeing the volcano in 2005 when traveling out west with my family. Then we went to Treasure Island to see the pirate show, but they had changed it, and the pirates were now sirens. It was disappointing.
yeah gone now sadly.
Seeing the map at the 11:20 mark is fascinating. So many of those properties are gone too.
Awesome work, thanks!
I had so many good memories here 😂😂
I get the impression Vegas is doing the "Low creativity, hight profit" Approach to its casinos now
Even though the volcano being gone completely changes the look of the strip for ever, the Beatles show ending is equally as sad. I saw that show 3 times and it was one of the best Cirque shows I've ever seen. Although all Cirque shows are fantastic the Beatles show had the added element that there was so much going on that you couldn't see everything which I think all the great Cirque shows had. I'm happy I got to see this place but I'm sad it's gone.
I saw the Secret Gardens about 3 weeks before 2/3 of the male dolphins died. I have such beautiful videos of them passing a ball among themselves.
I’m glad I got to stay at the Mirage and experience it while I could. I have absolutely no desire to stay at the new Hard Rock.
I can’t remember if I stayed there but I do remember visiting it. Never got to see the white tigers
Least you got to see it!
Oh thank god. Lance is there. I was waiting.
wow thanks! george+I were there when Mirage opened won $195 that trip!! used that money to take a helicopter ride🚁 over grand canyon ❤ went back like 10yrs ago+ it smelled like mildew haha
At least i got to see Beatles Love once. Any word if it's gonna move somewhere else?
I've always loved going to Vegas (hopefully going in April if WrestleMania tickets drop in price) so it's cool to see it rebounding after covid. New casino on Tropicana, New casino on Mirage, Fontainebleau FINALLY opening.
WWE is not cheap anymore ha
Great to see Lance back
he just will not stay away!
Great video!
Thanks!
Thanks Sam. It’s hard to tell if he was seriously after making a difference of just a conman to make mega money. He talked a good talk but walked bad walk. Gives us something to consider.
Thank you!
WOW! You guys look so young in there Sam! :)
It will always be missed.
agreed
I love your channel, by the way.
When I first discovered it about a year or so ago I figured you were a Las Vegas resident regarding how much you knew about my city.. 😂
Your research and detailed information is incredible, and I love learning about even more history thanks to your efforts.
Keep it up.
I loved the mirage as a kid. I loved going on our family vacations out to Vegas. I hate what is now
It’s crazy that Wynn had RP. My brother has it and it’s so uncommon that I’ve never even met anyone with it, other than our aunt. Living with it or having a family member with it feels like the person has a count down timer to blindness.
yeah! I can't imagine.
You should do a video on the luxor resort that would be awesome
i will