Rock International expressed an interest in buying property on the Las Vegas Strip for a new Hard Rock resort, following the 2018 sale and proposed rebranding of the original Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas. In August 2021, Vici Properties agreed to purchase MGM Growth Properties, a deal which includes the real estate beneath the Mirage. Three months later, MGM announced that it was in the early process of selling the Mirage's casino operations. MGM Resorts already operated nine other resorts, and was in the process of adding a tenth. CEO William Hornbuckle, who helped oversee the Mirage's opening, said the resort "just fell pretty far down in the spectrum of how much in capital we'd allocate to it in any given period of time in the near future. And so we just took a strategic decision to sell it". In December 2021, Hard Rock agreed to purchase the Mirage's operations from MGM Resorts for $1.075 billion. Under the deal, Hard Rock would enter a long-term lease agreement with Vici and would rebrand the Mirage as the Hard Rock Las Vegas. MGM will keep the "Mirage" name and will license it to Hard Rock for up to three years, until the rebranding takes effect. Hard Rock International would become the first tribal gaming operator on the Las Vegas Strip. The Mirage will receive a full renovation as part of the rebranding, with rooms being completely gutted and remodeled. Hard Rock also intends to construct a guitar-shaped hotel tower on the property, like the Seminole Hard Rock in Florida. The new tower will replace the Mirage's volcano, prompting a Change.org petition to save the attraction from demolition. This effort was unsuccessful, and the volcano will be demolished once construction begins on the Hard Rock transition. The guitar tower is expected to range from 500 to 660 feet in height. Hard Rock's previous proposal for a 998-foot tower was rejected by the county. The redesigned tower would add 596 rooms for a new total of 3,640. The casino and convention facilities will also be expanded. Hard Rock's purchase was finalized on December 19, 2022, making it the first tribal gaming operator on the Las Vegas Strip. The Mirage will continue operating throughout the renovation and expansion project, which is expected to begin in 2024. Hard Rock Las Vegas is expected to open in 2025 or 2026. Legal cases In 1992, guest Joseph