Las Vegas Strip Will Rock A 36-Story Guitar Tower
The iconicĀ Mirage volcano will soon be replaced with a future icon: a 36-story guitar tower!Ā Hard Rock InternationalĀ received approval from the Clark County Commission on Wednesday, March 22nd to build the guitar-shaped hotel structure on the famousĀ Las Vegas Strip.Ā It is scheduled to debut sometime inĀ 2025.
According to an article written byĀ Corey LevitanĀ onĀ Casino.org,Ā theĀ Hard RockĀ guitar tower will probably overshadow many of the other structures on The Strip.Ā It will house 600 hotel rooms, and there are renovation plans in the works to renovate all of the 3,000+ hotel rooms atĀ The Mirage.Ā Of course, these renovation plans also include a 3,000-seat showroom, pools, restaurants and shops.
Per Levitan’s article, the 36-story guitar tower will look very similar to the one that has already been built in Hollywood, Florida at theĀ Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino which is pictured above. TheĀ Seminole TribeĀ ofĀ FloridaĀ purchasedĀ The Mirage fromĀ MGM Resorts InternationalĀ for $1.1 billion dollars in lateĀ 2022.
Having moved toĀ Las Vegas about five years after The Mirage opened in 1989, I was not aware of the interesting history of that property revealed in Levitan’s article on Casino.org.Ā TheĀ Red RoosterĀ was the first licensed casino to open on the futureĀ Las Vegas Strip back inĀ 1931Ā on that site. Years later, aĀ MobilĀ gas station was built on the site of theĀ Red Rooster. Then, inĀ 1987,Ā when construction began on the brand newĀ Mirage Hotel & Casino,Ā they demolished theĀ MobilĀ station and the last remaining private residence on the Las Vegas StripĀ in order to build the volcano and other structures.
So, like all demolitions and renovations inĀ Sin City,Ā the old is torn down to reveal shiny, new structures. We bid a fond farewell to the iconic MirageĀ volcano as we get ready to welcome the newĀ Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, and that shiny, new 36-story guitar tower.
Letās be friends! š Follow us on all social media platforms:
Twitter:Ā https://twitter.com/kklz963
Instagram:Ā https://www.instagram.com/kklz963/
Facebook:Ā https://www.facebook.com/kklz963/
Larry Martino is the long-time Afternoon Drive personality on 96.3 KKLZ. The views and opinions expressed in this blog are those of Larry Martino and not necessarily those of Beasley Media Group, LLC.
10 Of The Biggest Real-Life Casino Heists Of All Time
The Crown Casino Heist: $33M
bmphotographer // Shutterstock
The 2013 heist at Crown Casino is the largest and most Hollywood-esque operation on this list. Millionaire New Zealand businessman James Manning was invited by a VIP services manager at the Crown Casino in Perth, Australia, to play in the high rollersā room. Manning won eight hands of blackjack, winning a total of $33 million. As it turns out, his luck was the result of breached security cameras and card signaling from the same VIP services manager who recruited him to play. Because Manning never cashed out his fraudulent winnings, the Crown Casino was able to remove him from the premises later that evening and keep the heist under wraps.
MIT Blackjack Team: $22M to $57M
okanakdeniz // Shutterstock
This story is a heist by way of card countingāand since itās technically not illegal, it might be most accurate to just call these winnings. According to Bill Kaplan, the founder of the MIT blackjack team, blackjack is the only game you can truly win through statistical analysisāprobabilities change with every card the dealer plays. So Kaplan put together a team of students from Harvard, MIT, Princeton, and the University of Chicago, teaching them to count cards and employ strategy. Over the course of two decades, the team won tens of millions of dollars from casinos across the world playing blackjack. Report totals range from $22 million to $57 million.
Circus Circus Heist: $3M
Maria Maarbes // Shutterstock
In 1993, Heather Tallchief proved that not every heist needs to involve camera breaches, cheating, or an elaborate scheme. Under the advisement of her boyfriend, Roberto Solisāa convicted murderer released from prison thanks to his award-winning poetryāTallchief got a job with Loomis driving armored vehicles in Las Vegas transporting cash to fill casino ATMs. While making a routine stop at the Circus Circus casino, Tallchief drove away with roughly $3 million while the other transport guards were inside. Tallchief and Solis moved out of the country until 2005 when she eventually turned herself in. Tallchief claims she separated from Solis and only received $1,000 of the multimillion-dollar heist. Authorities have still not been able to locate Solis.
Ritz Casino, London: $1.7M
Willy Barton // Shutterstock
While statistics and probabilities will not give you an advantage in roulette, three people proved that physics certainly can. In 2004, a group of gamblers used laser scanners and microcomputers to calculate the ballās orbital decay, or where it would land. This strategy is known as sector targeting. After a nine-month investigation, police concluded no crime was committed and the players were returned their winnings. The use of smartphones makes this type of cheating easier to carry out and more difficult to detect. But this wasnāt the first time sector targeting was attempted. Graduate physics students at the University of California, Santa Cruz employed a more rudimentary version of this technology in the late 1970s, hiding the system under their clothes.
Soboba Casino: $1.5M
Virrage Images // Shutterstock
As evidenced by the list so far, many heists are inside jobs. In 2007, a Soboba Casino surveillance technician named Rolando Luda Ramos walked into work, hog-tied his coworkers, and took a little over $1.5 million from the casino vault. He and his getaway driver, Eric Aguilera, were apprehended 48 hours later.
Bellagio, Las Vegas: $1.5M
SNEHIT PHOTO // Shutterstock
While the Bellagio āBiker Banditā may seem like the kind of person who chases Kevin McCallister around abandoned buildings at Christmastime, (āHome Alone,ā anyone?), this real-life thief carried out one of Las Vegasā most brazen robberies. In 2010, Anthony Michael Carleo, the son of a Las Vegas judge, walked into the Bellagio wearing a motorcycle helmet, brandished a gun, and made off with $1.5 million worth of chips off a craps table. Just days earlier, Carleo had stolen $20,000 worth of chips from the Suncoast Hotel & Casino in the same manner. Ironically, Carleo does have one thing in common with the criminals from āHome Aloneā: he couldnāt resist taking credit for the crime, which ultimately led to his capture.
Stardust Casino: $500K
Joseph Sohm // Shutterstock
While maybe not the flashiest heist on the list, the story of the Stardust Casino is certainly the most mysterious. In 1992, Bill Brennan, a cashier at the Stardust, was assigned to count the money from the sportsbook, which ended up totaling $500,000. And then he simply walked out with the moneyāhalf in cash, the other in casino chips. Brennan was placed on the FBIās Most Wanted list until 2006 when the Stardust closed and his case was dismissed. The crime remains unsolved and neither the money nor Brennan have been seen since that day.
Stardust Casino: $1.1M
Ethan Miller // Getty Images
If weāre assigning superlatives to the heists on this list, this other 1992 robbery of the Stardust Casino may be the most theatrical involving an inside job, a family crime ring, and some smoke bombs. In 1991, a Stardust security guard named Royal Hopper used his two sons as āfakeā robbers in order to steal $150,000. With a taste for this type of crime, six months later, Hopper and his two sons attacked a guard carrying $1.1 million in cash and checks from an armored truck and used smoke bombs to conceal their escape.
The Bellagio (Las Vegas): $160K
Peter Bischoff // Getty Images
Jose Vigoaās heist of the Bellagio in 2000 was the last in a two-year crime spree. Donning bulletproof gear, Vigoa hopped the cashier counter and stuffed a bag with $160,000 worth of casino chips. Despite his protective clothing, Vigoa, a former commando in the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces, didnāt even attempt to conceal his face, covering the most important thing of all: his identity. He was apprehended shortly after and is currently serving four life sentences for multiple robberies and the murder of two armored truck guards.
Treasure Island: $30K
Kobby Dagan // Shutterstock
Just the thought of robbing a casinoānot a fleeting fantasy about being rich or living out a George Clooney movie, but a thought you intend to act onāis completely unrelatable to most people. To actually make an attempt is outside the average personās comprehension. To make three attempts at the same casino in a calendar year is a reckless impulse only one person on Earth could have ever entertained: Reginald Johnson. Johnson robbed Treasure Island in July, October, and December 2000, shooting at and injuring security guards on multiple occasions. In his first two attempts, Johnson walked away with more than $30,000. The third time was indeed the charm for Vegas authorities; he was captured and pled guilty to robbery and attempted murder charges.
