The Mirage

Bellagio has been here since 1998.

So like that hotel got a lot of its ideas for its villas from the Mirage.

The Mirage, really well known for their villas and like the crazy things that would happen there.

If you ever see the movie Vegas Vacation, in the movie Vegas Vacation, a really good example of a villa like back in like the mid 90s.

was when Nick Papa Giorgio is given a villa that has like a jacuzzi and it's this big giant room.

It was becoming a business story.

And I covered the opening of the Mirage in 1989.

That was the first major resort on the Strip in 15 years.

And so then two years, what is it now, two years ago, I covered the closing of the Mirage when Hard Rock closed it.

The Seminole tried to close it, Hard Rock for its conversion.

A very fascinating, you know, we have seen the changes in Vegas all that time.

I think it's neat.

I think it's a really fun attraction.

Yeah.

That was, I'm gonna say it, a bad show.

Yeah.

That was a bad show, and you know-

That was very stressful for me.

Yeah.

By morning, obviously I've got over the bad show, but often after a bad show, initially I am down.

I'm feeling down, and I just need a bit of time by myself.

And I remember seeing Vegas and just dating myself in the 80s.

And then the Mirage came in in the 90s.

It kind of changed.

That was when the new era of, quote, unquote, luxury resorts.

Yes, there was Caesars and there was nice hotels.

But the Mirage was like a big deal with the volcano and the White House.

Tigers, all that kind of stuff.

But it sort of evolved.

So they then move to a different theater.

They then move to The Mirage.

They're hired in a $57.5 million contract at this new casino.

The theater and the production for this customized theater costs $30 million.

the stage and the crowd, and there's a quote by someone called Rachel Matthews that says, "The USDA was well aware that Siegfried & Roy were putting animals, the public, and themselves at risk by exhibiting these cats on stage with absolutely no barrier at all, and they've never taken any action to stop it."

Okay.

So then on the 2nd of October, 2003, The Mirage, where they're performing, throws a party for Roy's 59th birthday.

There's a balloon drop.

Um, Hagler-Leonard 2 could take place in Las Vegas, where Leonard, now 33, to throw at Hagler, 35 in '87.

Um, Bob Halloran, I don't know if it's the same Bob Halloran, um, former Caesars official, indicated the new Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas is also interested, but either we haven't heard from anyone.

I think it probably is.

By the way, he wrote the Mickey Ward book.

How did two outsiders build one of the most spectacular and highest earning acts in entertainment history? But then, in 2003, everything changed.

During a performance at the Mirage, Roy was viciously attacked by one of the show's beloved white tigers.

The world watched in shock.

What followed became another chapter in a story that had already defied belief.

So first thing we're going to dive into, which is one of my favorite topics, Steve Wynn.

And obviously this whole Steve Wynn, the Mirage, and we've talked about that quite a bit before because it's, of course, one of my favorite topics.

You've got Reflections of the Mirage, a conversation with Steve Wynn event coming up in October.

And Steve Wynn and the Mirage represents such an important turning point in the evolution of modern Las Vegas.

I mean, to me, it's like a before and after, and it's the whole evolution of the super casino and everything.

Yeah.

So why did the New Museum want to have this conversation in this event now? And what do you hope people take away from hearing Steve Wynn reflect on the Mirage and that period of Las Vegas history? So just tell us a little bit about that event that's happening in October, which is already sold out.

And as far as I understand, it's sold out within one week.