Las Vegas Weekly

November 19, 2009 · 11:17 AM

The Mirage celebrates its 20th anniversary with Siegfried & Roy

By Robin Leach

The Mirage volcano makes its debut.

Photo: Scott Harrison/Retna/www.harrisonphotos.com

It was Nov. 22, 1989, when the massive Mirage resort casino opened its doors, and the Las Vegas landscape was forever changed with the arrival of the mega hotels. When locals and tourists saw The Mirage that opening night, they were stunned.

MGM Mirage, whose new CityCenter project will open soon, eventually purchased The Mirage, conceived and built by Steve Wynn for $630 million financed by junk bonds created by financier Michael Milken. The Mirage set the new standard for size and lavishness. If visitors and guests were stunned 20 years ago, imagine the disbelief when the 70-acre CityCenter opens on Dec. 1.

Photo: Courtesy

The Mirage.

Treasure Island and the Bellagio joined The Mirage as the components of Mirage Resorts, which Steve sold to MGM in June 2000 for $6.6 billion. Weeks later, Steve purchased the Desert Inn for $270 million, which he later imploded and began his new Wynn and Encore resort empire.

In a beautiful tribute when the two decades of The Mirage are celebrated tomorrow, original headliners Siegfried & Roy will be on hand and joined by the cast of the Cirque du Soleil Beatles musical Love, which moved into Siegfried & Roy’s Mirage theater when they retired in 2003.

Also at the festivities tomorrow will be The Mirage’s other headline artist, singing impressionist and ventriloquist Terry Fator.

Photo: ABC TV

Siegfried & Roy introduce ABC anchor Elizabeth Vargas to a tiger cub.

Mirage President Scott Sibella has rolled back some of the menu and drinks prices to the opening day charges on Nov. 22, 1989. In recent years, Scott has overseen a major renovation at the premiere property, with makeovers that have included the amazing new fire and music volcano show on the Strip that is still free, celebrity-filled Jet and new restaurants.

Siegfried & Roy’s Secret Jungle Garden and Dolphin Habitat is still there in its own tropical atmosphere. It is home to white lions, white tigers, panthers, leopards and a family of Atlantic bottlenose dolphins. A male leopard cub, Java, coincidentally celebrates his 1st birthday today. Java was the offspring of two adult leopards and the second litter from this pair. The garden is home to six leopards, one snow leopard and one black panther, all of which are endangered species.

Happy Birthday to everybody at The Mirage from all of us at Vegas DeLuxe!

Robin Leach has been a journalist for more than 50 years and has spent the past decade giving readers the inside scoop on Las Vegas, the world’s premier platinum playground.

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— From Vegas Deluxe

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