Mirage Resorts (formerly Golden Nugget Companies) was an American company that owned and operated hotel-casinos. It was acquired by MGM Grand, Inc. in 2000, forming MGM Mirage (now MGM Resorts International).
In 1980, the company opened the Golden Nugget Atlantic City in New Jersey but in 1987, Wynn's and the company's interest in Atlantic City did not last very long due to frustration with state gaming regulators. The property was sold to Bally's Entertainment, and eventually became Bally's Grand Hotel and Casino.
In 1989, the company acquired the Nevada Club casino in Laughlin, Nevada, and re-branded it as the Golden Nugget Laughlin.
Following the completion of The Mirage in 1989 Steve Wynn changed the name of the company to Mirage Resorts, Inc. Much of the financing for the Mirage was obtained in cooperation with Michael Milken.
After the Mirage, Wynn built the Treasure Island Hotel and Casino, which he opened in the Mirage's old parking lot in 1993, and overall cost $450 million. Intended to be family-friendly, the resort featured pools in front of the casino enacted the Battle of Buccaneer Bay with two full-scaled ships, the pirate ship 'Hispaniola' and the British Royal Navy frigate 'HMS Britannia,' while the inside featured romantic tropical theming and 18th century Caribbean pirate theming. The establishment was the home of the first permanent Cirque du Soleil show in Las Vegas, and the show went on to be voted nine times as the best production show in the city by the Las Vegas Review-Journal reader's poll. LVRJ Readers' Poll
In 1994, Gold Strike Resorts announced a partnership with Mirage Resorts to build a $250-million casino targeted at budget-conscious visitors, on part of the site of the demolished Dunes on the Las Vegas Strip. It ultimately opened in 1996, following Gold Strike's merger with Circus Circus Enterprises as Monte Carlo Resort and Casino and was built as a joint venture between Mirage Resorts and Circus Circus Enterprises, and cost US$344 million to build. The resort sits on , occupied by the Dunes Hotel golf course until its demolition in October 1993.
In 1995, the company proposed to build the Le Jardin hotel-casino in the marina area if the state of New Jersey built a road that connected to the hotel-casino. The company had also agreed to allow Circus Circus Enterprises and Boyd Gaming to build casinos on the site, but later reneged on the agreement. While the road, called the Atlantic City-Brigantine Connector, was eventually built, Le Jardin was cancelled after the company was acquired in 2000 by MGM Grand Inc., which later built the Borgata, in a joint venture with Boyd Gaming, on the site. The Tale of MGM Grand Atlantic City, Borgata and Le JardinWhen Atlantic City projects had to be big, so were the ideas ... and the failures The Press of Atlantic City May 14, 2010 [4]Mirage Reshuffles Deal in Mega-Resort Plan Ocala Star-Banner January 21, 1998 [5]
Boardwalk Hotel and Casino was later acquired by Mirage Resorts in 1997.
Wynn brought Mirage Resorts’ style to Biloxi, Mississippi in 1999, where he oversaw development of the 1,835-room Beau Rivage. Themed to blend Mediterranean beauty with Southern hospitality, the resort was part of a building boom that established Biloxi as a regional tourism center along the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Beau Rivage was originally the name Wynn wanted to give the Bellagio, though he had decided on Bellagio after vacationing in the Italian region of the same name. Beau Rivage opened as the largest hotel-casino to be built outside Nevada. The casino was initially located on a series of floating barges as required by local law confining all casinos to mobile marine vessels at the time of the resort's construction. The hotel, restaurants, and associated facilities were constructed on land. Beau Rivage's Website
The company was acquired in 2000 by MGM Grand Inc., which then changed its name to MGM Mirage, for $6.4 billion, including $2 billion in assumed debt, after an initial all-cash offer of $17 per share and a final offer of $21 per share. The company was majority owned by Wynn.
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