Viva Las Vegas!

23. The Mirage

Las Vegas, NV

Book Now

Steve Wynn's father ran a string of bingo parlors on the East Coast but when he died of a heart condition in 1963 he left $350,000 in debts for his 21-year old son who was about to leave the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in English Literature. Nonetheless Wynn made the bingo parlors profitable and by 1967 had enough money to buy a small stake in the Frontier Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. After moving to the desert he found enough success to purchase a controlling interest in the Golden Nugget, a longtime landmark on Fremont Street, before his 30th birthday. Wynn pushed the heritage property upscale and did the same thing in the new gaming frontier of Atlantic City with his Golden Nugget there. He was then ready to return to Las Vegas and introduce the town to a new type of luxury entertainment in a mega-resort with multiple entertainment and dining options, top of the line lodging and, oh yes, gambling. The new Mirage cost $630 million that could have bought a string of traditional casinos on The Strip. It rose on the rubble of the Castaways casino, a former Howard Hughes property. The distinctive gold windows used actual gold dust in the tinting process. The original marquee was the largest free-standing sign in the world. The Mirage featured a Polynesian theme and one way Wynn re-invented Las Vegas was with the free sidewalk show for tourists who had become scarce in Las Vegas in the days before the Mirage opened in 1989. The Volcano in the front yard erupted spctacularly on the hour each night until midnight. When guests came inside they could see the Siegfield & Roy show for over a dozen years until one of the signature white tigers mauled performer Roy Horn in 2003.