The Mirage giving out $1.6M in jackpot money before closing its doors permanently

The Mirage Hotel & Casino will host a closing ceremony Wednesday two hours before the iconic Strip resort closes.

A Nevada gaming policy allows casinos that are closing down to create a plan to pay out its progressive jackpots. That means before Tuesday, $1.2 million can be claimed at the slots and another $400,000 at table games. The casino has even guaranteed how much will be given away each day until its closure.

On Friday and Saturday, the casino will be giving $250,000 away each day. On Tuesday, the day before the casino is scheduled to close, it will be giving away $100,000.

What’s next?

After the 3,000-plus-room resort permanently closes, the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino and Guitar Hotel Las Vegas will take its place. The new property is expected to reopen to the public in 2027. The property transformation will include a nearly 700-foot-tall guitar-shaped hotel tower.

The newly transitioned Hard Rock resort is expected to double the number of jobs available at the property, and the renovation is planned to create 2,500 construction jobs, a news release states. It added that Hard Rock would pay around $80 million in severance packages for employees who remain during the renovation.

The Mirage, which opened in 1989, is best known for shows such as Siegfried and Roy’s tiger show that debuted in 1990 and ran until 2003. It was also home to The Beatles “Love” by Cirque du Soleil.

It will be the second time this year that a Strip casino shutters. The Tropicana Las Vegas closed in April after 67 years to make room for a $1.5 billion baseball stadium planned as the future home of the relocating Oakland Athletics.

Unlike the Tropicana Las Vegas that closed in April without Bally’s hosting a send-off event, Hard Rock International, the owner of The Mirage, will hold a ceremony Wednesday to “honor the history and legacy of this first megaresort on the Las Vegas Strip.” The event, starting at 9 a.m. ahead of the 11 a.m. closing, will include speeches from executives and special guests. All guests must check out on Monday.

Wednesday’s speakers include Jim Allen, chairman of Hard Rock International and CEO of Seminole Gaming under the Seminole Tribe of Florida; Joe Lupo, president of The Mirage and future Hard Rock and Guitar Hotel Las Vegas; and Alan Feldman, UNLV International Gaming Institute.