Las Vegas: Mirage (September 2001)

My spouse and I stayed at the Mirage for five nights in late September 2001. The Mirage is a 3,044 room Polynesian-themed hotel and casino resort that was built by Steve Wynn and is currently owned and operated by MGM Resorts International. The original marquee sign in front of the Mirage is the largest free-standing marquee in the world. The resort is connected by a free tram to the Treasure Island Hotel and Casino neighboring the hotel's property to the north. The Mirage opened on November 22, 1989 and was the first resort that was built with the money of Wall Street through the use of junk bonds. It was built on the site formerly occupied by the Castaways and prior to that, the Red Rooster Nite Club. The Mirage was the most expensive hotel-casino in history, with a construction cost of US $630 million. The hotel's distinctive gold windows get their color from actual gold dust used in the tinting process. When it opened, The Mirage was the first casino to use security cameras full-time on all table games. From 1990 through 2003, The Mirage was the venue for the Siegfried and Roy show. The two headliners combined magic and the use of wild animals. The show closed in 2003 after performer Roy Horn was bitten and injured by one of the white tigers used in the show. The Mirage features an artificial volcano along the Strip that "erupts" nightly from 8 pm–midnight on the hour. An atrium at the hotel entrance features a large number of palm trees, water features, and other "rainforest" flora. The 53-foot-long, 8-foot-tall aquarium behind the registration desk is home to nearly 1,000 specimens.