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Mike and Carla Say ‘Good-Bye’ To The Mirage

Just over 33 years ago, The Mirage opened on the Las Vegas Strip and set a new standard of resort-casinos in Las Vegas! Yesterday, on December 19th, The Mirage became…

Good-bye Mirage
Ethan Miller / Staff via Getty Images

Just over 33 years ago, The Mirage opened on the Las Vegas Strip and set a new standard of resort-casinos in Las Vegas! Yesterday, on December 19th, The Mirage became The Hard Rock and The Mike & Carla Morning Show thought it would be nice to reminisce and give one last "good-bye" to the one time mega-resort and others.

The Mirage opened back on November 22, 1989 and cost about $630 million to build. It was one of the most expensive resorts ever built and among the largest. The dream of Steve Wynn, The Mirage spanned over 77 acres and a working volcano that would see thousands of visitors gather around the property just to see it blow!

It was the first of a new line of resort/casinos that would set the standard for years to come in Las Vegas if you wanted to be a player on the strip. Steve Wynn not only amazed tourists with this new resort, but with it came star studded entertainment with the likes of Siegfried & Roy, as well as an unknown Danny Gans! Wynn also brought to the resort a dolphin habitat that featured daily shows...something you never thought you'd see in Las Vegas!

To give you an idea of how big Wynn expected Danny Gans to be, he actually built Gans his own theater inside the resort, which at the time, was unheard of! Both shows sold out nightly despite the higher ticket prices, but if your were to ask show goers, they would tell you it was worth it!

But as things do in Las Vegas, everything changes over the years and The Mirage would be no different. MGM Resorts sold the property to Hard Rock International in a $1.075 billion cash deal and the rest will be history.  The M&C Morning Show took calls, texts and even found the audio for the old television commercial that featured Steve Wynn tell Whoopie Goldberg of what to expect when the hotel was completed.

It's a great flashback, so take a couple of minutes to listen and enjoy!

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Mike O’Brian is the Program Director and Morning Show host on 96.3 KKLZ in Las Vegas, along with Carla Rea. He has been with the Beasley Media Group for almost 23 years. Mike was named one of the “Best Program Directors In America” by Radio Ink magazine. Over the years, “The Mike & Carla Morning Show” have been presented with a number of proclamations for their work in the community and numerous awards. Having lived in Las Vegas for over 35 years, he writes articles on living in Las Vegas, sports, and odd stories happening within the state of Nevada. Mike is the host of the morning show and program director of 96.3 KKLZ/Las Vegas. He has been doing mornings in Las Vegas for the past 38 years. Over the years, he has hosted a numerous amount of community events and has been the P.A. announcer for a number of sports teams in Las Vegas. He has written on living in Las Vegas, the sports teams here, as well as odd & little-known facts about Las Vegas & Nevada.