LAS VEGAS (AP) – Another iconic Las Vegas Strip resort has joined casinos that have reopened since being closed in mid-March due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Mirage reopened Thursday in what MGM Resorts International chief executive Bill Hornbuckle called a step toward economic recovery for employees and the community.
Officials also renamed the road to the hotel from Las Vegas Boulevard as Siegfried & Roy Drive in honor of the duo’s longtime headline run of illusion and animal performances. The show ended after Roy Horn was attacked onstage by a trained white tiger in 2003.
Horn died May 8 at age 75 of what partner Siegfried Fischbacher said were coronavirus complications.
The more than 3,000-room resort is known for its Polynesian island theme, erupting volcano and Secret Garden & Dolphin Habitat animal attraction. It first opened in November 1989, built by Steve Wynn for a then-unheard-of cost of $620 million. The Mirage is credited with launching the building boom that created the modern Las Vegas Strip.
Restaurants and retail shops are open but live entertainment including Cirque du Soleil’s “The Beatles LOVE” remains dark amid ongoing restrictions on crowd sizes in Nevada.
Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak and the state Gaming Commission lifted casino closure orders June 4.
One MGM Resorts property, Park MGM, remains closed.
Caesars Entertainment has yet to reopen the Cromwell and Planet Hollywood.
The Palms and the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino near the Strip also remain closed.
Copyright 2020 The Associated Press.
