The Mirage has died in pieces. It has been a sad process where Hard Rock International, which bought the resort casino from MGM Resorts International in late 2022, has slowly stripped the property of its history.
That process started with the closure of Siegfried and Roy's Secret Garden & Dolphin Habitat. Technically, that closure happened before the property was sold, but after the sale was agreed upon.
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The new owners have always been clear that the Mirage Volcano, a popular free attraction on the Las Vegas Strip, would close. In the case of the Volcano, that decision was shared right when the sale closed, although the new owner was cagey about when the last day would be.
Hard Rock has been clear that it wants the property, which will be rebuilt as Hard Rock Las Vegas, complete with a signature guitar hotel, to leave its past behind.
There had been some hope that the new resort casino would retain Cirque du Soleil's "Beatles: Love" show, but those hopes died when the new owner said it would be closing Mirage during the remodel.
Image source: Ethan Miller/Getty Images
Hard Rock moves past the Mirage
Hard Rock executives had originally said that the hotel would not close during the renovations. That gave some hope to fans of the Beatles show and the other acts in residency at the Mirage.
Those hopes ended when Hard Rock said it would close the resort casino, shutting it down on July 17 for about three years of planned construction. "Beatles: Love" won't survive quite that long; its last performance will be July 7.
There's some hope that the Cirque du Soleil production could find another home on the Las Vegas Strip. Ringo Starr, who has attended multiple performances of the show, even hinted at that recently, but his comments were vague and theoretical, not a promise.
Another Mirage headliner, however, Shin Lim, will close his Morage show on July 14 after more than 800 shows since 2019. The two-time "America's Got Talent" winner, however, won't be on the sidelines for long.
He's moving to The Venetian and tickets will go on sale as soon as his Mirage show closes, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
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Las Vegas Strip magician finds new home
Lim, as his legend has it, taught himself magic using YouTube.
"Shin Lim’s meticulously self-choreographed routines are world-renowned. His dexterity, precision and, dare we say, grace make him a bona fide sleight-of-hand talent," shared Vegas.com.
The artist describes himself as the "number one sleight-of-hand artist in the world."
Lin does not define himself as a magician under the typical definition.
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A self-proclaimed sleight-of-hand artist, Lim says he is neither a magician nor a wizard, "and has no intention of lying to the audience," he says on his website.
"Combining dexterity, precision, and grace, he has distilled a lifetime of training into a devious display of dancing digits. His mind-boggling finger moves are so masterful that the audience is left to wonder what if their eyes have seen is truly possible."
His new show will be housed at the Venetian in the Palazzo Theater. It's expected to carry the same "Limitless" name as its predecessor and will begin performances in October, according to the Review-Journal.
