Las Vegas has countless iconic attractions. Some of them are plays off of the more famous originals.
The Statue of Liberty at MGM Resorts International's (MGM) -) New York, York, for example, isn't nearly as impressive as the original. You can say the same thing about the Eiffel Tower at Caesars Entertainment's Paris Las Vegas or even the fake Venice-style canals at the Venetian.
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The Las Vegas Strip, however, does have its own wonders. The Luxor might not be the nicest hotel in MGM's portfolio, but it's a visually stunning tribute to the great pyramids of Egypt. Caesars Entertainment's (CZR) -) signature Caesars Palace offers similar grandeur. It might be a little tacky, or over the top, but it offers a grand scale that few properties in the world equal.
In addition to its buildings, and iconic structures, the Las Vegas Strip has been known for the entertainment various properties provide for free. There's the famed Bellagio Fountains and the animal habitat at Caesars Flamingo where the resort's signature bird can be photographed.
Some popular free attractions have gone the way of many Las Vegas icons and have ended. The pirate ships no longer battle at Treasure Island and Siegfried & Roy's Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat at Mirage closed late in 2022 after Hard Rock International purchased the resort casino from MGM.
Mirage also houses what may be the Las Vegas Strip's most famous free attraction, the Mirage Volcano. The new owner has already said that it plans to build its signature Guitar Hotel on the site of the Volcano, but had originally said it would stay open at least through 2023.
That has proven to be only partially true as guests headed to Las Vegas through Dec. 8 will not be able to say a last goodbye to the famed attraction because it has been temporarily closed.
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Formula 1 race leads to Mirage Volcano closure
Formula 1 (F1) will hold the first Las Vegas Grand Prix on the actual Las Vegas Strip on Sunday, Nov. 19. The race will be part of a three-day weekend that's likely to be one of the biggest in the history of the city and the Strip.
Mirage makes no mention of the Volcano on its website, but Casino.org reported the closure. That media outlet's "Vital Las Vegas" column also shared that there's more bad news for tourists visiting Las Vegas over the next couple of months.
"The Mirage volcano isn’t the worst of it. The sidewalk in front of the Bellagio fountains is closed to make way for grandstands. Imagine visiting Las Vegas from some foreign land for a once-in-a-lifetime vacation, only to find out the iconic fountains are blocked by seats for a three-day car race," the website shared.
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Assuming the Mirage Volcano does reopen on Dec. 8, Las Vegas visitors may have very little time to visit it. It's expected that construction will begin on the new Hard Rock Guitar Hotel early in 2024.
What's Next for Hard Rock Las Vegas/The Mirage?
Hard Rock International has a three-year license from MGM to keep using the Mirage name. It's expected to do that at least until substantial work has been completed at the property. The new owner has insisted that the existing Mirage Tower would not close during the renovation.
Although there were efforts to make the Mirage Volcano a historic landmark, a petition to make that happen never cleared 10,000 signatures.
In March, Clark County Commissioners approved Hard Rock's plan to build a 600-room, 660-foot-tall Guitar Hotel directly on the Las Vegas Strip on the current site of the much-loved Mirage Volcano.
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"Hard Rock representative Jennifer Lazovich told commissioners the high-rise would be built 'right where the existing volcano is' and indicated the company plans to 'modernize and theme' the rest of the property to match the guitar tower," the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.
