The Mirage volcano erupts on the night of the casino’s reopening, Thursday, Aug. 27, 2020.
Monday, May 30, 2022 | 2 a.m.
Alden Gillespy wants to see the Mirage volcano survive for future generations, and he’s not the only one.
Following last year’s announcement of Hard Rock International’s plans to purchase the Mirage, reports emerged that Hard Rock CEO Jim Allen and the company’s leadership were looking to remove the Strip resort attraction.
Gillespy, a Las Vegas resident, started a petition on the online platform Change.org to save the volcano, which spews fireballs from 8 to 11 p.m. nightly.
As of Thursday, the petition had more than 6,300 signatures, and Gillespy plans to deliver the final results to Hard Rock management.
“When I heard the news, I remember just wondering why this was going to happen,” Gillespy said. “The fact that they were going to tear down the volcano, that hit me personally. Why wouldn’t the new plans call for an incorporation of one of the best free attractions in Las Vegas?”
Hard Rock announced in December that it would take over operations of the Mirage as part of a $1.075 billion deal with MGM Resorts International. The deal is awaiting approval by regulators, possibly later this year.
Hard Rock has plans for a guitar-shaped hotel on the property. And the company released a rendering of the revamped resort with the volcano noticeably absent.
Hard Rock representatives could not be reached for comment.
The Mirage, built by Steve Wynn, opened in November 1989 and was one of the first in a string of megaresorts that would come to dominate the Strip. The volcano quickly became a popular tourist attraction.
Gillespy, a computer science engineer, said he remembered being awed by the volcano when he saw it for the first time as a teen.
“It’s a great attraction for kids,” Gillespy said. “Every time I’m down there, there are hundreds of people who stop and line up.”
Gillespy described the volcano as “a critical piece of recognizable history for Las Vegas,” comparing it to a historic landmark.
Many people who signed the petition noted their reasons for wanting the volcano to remain. One person wrote that “the Strip just wouldn’t be the same” without it.
Michael Green, an associate professor of history at UNLV and a Strip historian, said it would be nice if the volcano could stay.
“It’s always a shame to see something historic go away,” Green said. “We lost a lot of hotels on the Strip because of the understandable need to build better, more modern hotels. The volcano is a reminder of how it helped trigger the modern Las Vegas boom.”
Gillespy said he had reached out to the Hard Rock but hadn’t been able to get in touch with anyone.
“Hard Rock’s plan for the guitar-shaped hotel sounds pretty cool, I’m not denying that,” he said. “I just question why we can’t have both the guitar and the volcano.”
The lead designer behind the volcano was Don Brinkerhoff, founder of Lifescapes International, a firm in Newport Beach, Calif.
Brinkerhoff, who died recently, said in an interview last year that the Mirage “opened up the floodgates for all of the subsequent casino development” in Las Vegas and showed how megacasinos could be profitable.
Gillespy argues it would be bad business for the Hard Rock to tear down the volcano.
“Maybe this petition could be the change agent to get their attention,” he said. “I think they just don’t understand the value proposition that the volcano brings.”
