A little more than a month after we outlined, MGM Resorts International was in the “early stages to sell” The Mirage. MGM has found a buyer to purchase the luxury hotel and casino for one billion dollars.
On Monday evening, Hard Rock International announced an agreement to acquire MGM’s Mirage Hotel and Casino. The deal is valued at $1.075 billion, allowing Hard Rock’s brand to get direct exposure to The Strip.
Hard Rock will lease The Mirage name royalty-free for three years. MGM will net around $815 million after taxes from the sale. The deal is expected to close in the second half of 2022.
“Through the acquisition, Hard Rock plans to build an iconic Guitar-shaped Hotel which will be located on the famous Las Vegas Strip,” Hard Rock said in a press release.
“We are honored to welcome The Mirage’s 3,500 team members to the Hard Rock family,” said Jim Allen, Chairman of Hard Rock International.
“When complete, Hard Rock Las Vegas will be a fully integrated resort welcoming meetings, groups, tourists and casino guests from around the world to its nearly 80 acre center-Strip location,” Allen said.
Hard Rock operated a casino off The Strip for several years that Virgin Hotels now operates. The deal gives the brand, which is owned by Florida’s Seminole tribe, exclusive access to the center of nightlife in the heart of Vegas.
In November, MGM Resorts International CEO Bill Hornbuckle said that his company has enough exposure to Vegas and wants to diversify. The Mirage was built by former Wynn Resorts CEO Steve Wynn and opened in 1989.
MGM is the largest operator of casinos in Vegas and is purchasing Cosmopolitan casino on the Strip.
