Living in Las Vegas means getting used to constant, repetitive changes.

Every year, new casino hotels open, new shows are launched, and restaurants disappear... But the Mirage Hotel, which closed its doors last summer, truly vanished like a 'mirage.'

I first saw this hotel in the early 2000s, and the Mirage was one of the famous main strip hotels for tourists in Las Vegas at that time.

At night, the crowds for the artificial volcano show that spewed flames were enormous, and the lobby was always bustling when entering the casino, along with the Siegfried & Roy tiger show...

This hotel, created by Steve Wynn in 1989, was taken over by MGM Resorts International in 2000, and in 2022, Hard Rock International acquired it for $1.1 billion.

After over 30 years of operation, it seems that the Mirage struggled to maintain the competitiveness of its unusual hotel rooms and facilities against the passage of time. It closed in July last year and is currently under construction, with the famous artificial volcano being removed, and a 213-meter tall guitar-shaped hotel building set to take its place. This is a massive project that includes 600 suites and a swimming pool. Additionally, the casino is being moved forward towards the Strip road to enhance accessibility.

The birth of a glamorous new hotel is a welcome event for the city, but the story is different for those who worked there. When the Mirage closed last year, over 3,000 employees lost their jobs. While 600 found new jobs through a re-employment fair, many employees who had been with the hotel for decades are still searching for work. However, Hard Rock has stated that they will pay over $80 million in severance, which at least saves face.

Moreover, due to Nevada law requiring that all accumulated jackpots must be distributed before closing a casino, it is said that the Mirage distributed over $1.6 million in prizes from slot machines and table games until the day it closed. I wonder who the last jackpot winners were, but the memories must have been certain.

Now, even if I drive along the Strip, I can no longer see the artificial volcano, but the memories of taking pictures with friends in front of it are still vivid.

My memories with friends are like the Mirage Hotel, a past story that will eventually fade away...

A name that appeared like a mirage and disappeared like a mirage. Mirage.