The famous Mirage Las Vegas will be closing on July 17. But first, it has $1.6 million in progressive jackpots that, under Nevada gambling regulations, must be paid out.
The “Mirage Progressive Finale Cash Giveaway” is running July 9 to July 16. Anyone using a Mirage rewards card to gamble during these times may win a series of guaranteed $100K to $250K daily jackpots totaling $1.2 million if playing the linked slots.
The other $400,000 will come from tickets into a draw, if playing certain progressive jackpot table games. Several of those have already been paid out.
Progressive prizes are almost always funded by taking a percentage from each bet on networked machines or game tables to create a pool that is paid out to one lucky winner at a later date. So, The Mirage has to give back what it owes the city’s gamblers before it closes later this month.
Operator Hard Rock International is closing the venerable Las Vegas Strip resort, which opened in 1989, to replace it with a new Hard Rock Las Vegas. The resort is set to open in 2027, complete with a giant glass guitar hotel tower.
The Jackpots
The Mirage will be paying out $1.2 million from its jackpot-linked progressive slots over six days. On July 10 and 11, $200K is guaranteed to drop. On 12 and 13 of July, $250K will drop, and then on July 16, there’s a guaranteed $100K prize. One $200K prize has already been given out on July 9.
On July 12 and 13, players participating in table games with jackpot side bets will be given tickets into a draw with each bet. On both those nights, the draw will award $400K to one lucky player. That is presuming the usual conditions for winning the table-based progressives aren’t met before then.
The games with jackpots still available are blackjack, baccarat, Face-Up Pai Gow, Ultimate Texas Hold ’em, Three Card Poker, and Let it Ride.
The Regulations
Most Las Vegas casinos that close don’t have to return their player-funded jackpots directly in this way, as operators can transfer the remaining prize pool to games at another Las Vegas casino they own.
But in the case of the Mirage operator Hard Rock International, it is a tribal casino operator based in Florida. That means it isn’t affiliated with any other Las Vegas casinos. So, it has to pay out directly.
The Riviera, in 2015, was the last such casino to offer a gold rush for a few lucky gamblers. The Tropicana, closed earlier in 2024, was owned by Bally’s. Although the Rhode Island-based operator doesn’t currently own any Las Vegas properties, it has a long history in the city. Its contracts with regulators allowed it to distribute the Tropicana’s remaining jackpots among its other nationwide properties.
The Closure
The Mirage is set to close on July 17. When it opened in 1989, it was the pioneer of a boom in new mega resort casinos on the Las Vegas Strip that kicked off the 1990s.
The Mirage was the idea of Steve Wynn, who went on to found Wynn Resorts. Wynn has not been an investor in any Nevada gambling business since 2018, when a series of sexual misconduct allegations emerged against the veteran casino owner.
By that time, though, Wynn had moved on from the Mirage, having sold it to MGM Resorts International in 2000.
In early 2022, MGM sold the land and buildings to VICI Properties while continuing to operate the resort. MGM sold its rights to operate the Mirage later that year, with Hard Rock paying $1 billion upfront and $80 million a year to VICI.
The Mirage’s demolition date has now been set. The tram linking it to Treasure Island casino resort has been shuttered. Registration is open for the liquidation sale. And soon, the last jackpots will all be paid out before it closes for good.
David is an online casino expert who specializes in online slots and boasts over 10 years experience writing about iGaming. He has written for a wide range of notable publications, including eSports Insider and WordPlay Magazine.
David graduated Derby University with a BA Degree in English Literature and Creative Writing.
