The Mirage opened in 1989, which is more than a century ago in Vegas years. At the time, it was revolutionary: the first of the megaresorts on the Strip, and one of Steve Wynn's early properties. Today, Wynn's newest megaresort sits a hop, skip and volcanic eruption away, Treasure Island has replaced its peg legs with panties and become TI, and the swank Venetian is directly across the boulevard.
It was time, Mirage executives decided, for a change.
Make that several changes. It was announced at a press conference Tuesday that the Mirage will enter into a period of sweeping changes, with nothing from the famous volcano outside to the atrium inside left untouched. MGM-Mirage's president, according to media reports, has said that when all is said and done, the changes will cost more than $100 million. And this being the town that it is, there's naturally a nightlife component to almost all of them.
The Light Group—the ... uh ... group behind ... well, Light (and Caramel, Mist and Fix)—is a key partner, involved with a new restaurant called Stack, Mink Bar and Lounge, and a new nightclub, Jet.
Oliver J.C. Wharton, Fix's director of restaurant operations, says Bryce Canyon inspired the design for Stack, with its wind-carved, undulating walls. Stack will take over the space left behind by Moongate and the now-closed Renoir. Fix's Chef Brian Massie is in charge of the menu, which will focus on steaks in what Wharton describes as an "uncommitted dining" style. Meaning, feel free to share.
To get diners into that casual, sharing mood will be Mink, taking over the area now occupied by the Ava Lounge. It promises to have a large number of seats, with the freedom to move chairs from table to table—a nicety you don't appreciate until you have six friends crowded on a couch built for four—as well as winning the contest for highest bar ceiling in the Valley. Mink is scheduled to open in early 2006.
Japonais, the first extension of a successful Chicago restaurant, is being designed by Jeffrey Beers, the interior design genius behind such establishments as Tabú and Rumjungle. It will feature a DJ booth, VIP area and a 30-seat bar. And locals' favorite Kokomo's steakhouse will be remodeled, with a new 12-seat bar and 30-seat lounge overlooking the hotel lobby, designed by Adam Tihany, the man behind Le Cirque and Spago.
But the most exciting news for the clubbing set is the landing of Jet Nightclub. Another creation of Andrew Sasson, the Brit behind the Light Group, it will be a West Coast branch of his already popular Jet East, a tony party center in the Hamptons. Opening for New Year's Eve with a celebrity party—"the largest we've ever done"—in late January, Sean Christie says the club will boast lasers, cyrogenics and a top-grade lighting system. Both the sound and lighting systems are being designed by John Lyons of Los Angeles' famed Spider Club. (Christie also put to rest the LA Times-generated rumor that the Spider Club is headed here—at least for the next few years.)
"It will have a sleek, contemporary look" with a lot of wood, says Christie. Beers also is handling this aspect for Jet. A nearby monitor shows an artist's renderings of the club's interior, the most dramatic feature being large, arching, metal beams that rise from the floor and jut out over partiers.
Located at the back of the property, near the Mirage's north valet entrance, one of the pleasantries about the club Christie is eager to mention is that it will be possible to get to Jet without having to set rubber on the Strip, by simply driving down the I-15 to Spring Mountain Road, then cutting behind T.I. "We'll have all the benefits of a stand-alone club, as well as those of a club attached to a casino," Christie says. As a matter of fact, he proudly states, patrons can visit the club without ever having to set foot inside the casino itself. "We're very concerned about locals," he says. "We want to be local-friendly."
In that same esprit de discotheque, Jet will carry over many of the same policies as Light. To wit: Local women and club industry employees will always be allowed in free, and MGM-Mirage employees and one guest each will get the same treatment.
At 15,000 square feet, Jet will be twice the size of Bellagio's Light, though still nowhere near the size of monster clubs like Club Rio (30,000 square feet) and Studio 54 (22,000). But that's still enough room for 1,500 of the beautiful people.
Cover charges will be $25 and bottles will be "on par with the rest of the town," Christie says, with Grey Goose starting at $300.
Eddie McDonald will spin a couple of nights a week, and there is a one-year deal in place to bring in DJ Mark Ronson from New York, as well as plans for various celebrity DJs to come visit.
With visions of a chastised Shaquille O'Neal being turned away from the doors of Light, I have to ask Christie about the dress code. "We'll have a little more relaxed dress code than Light," Christie replies. The club itself will be more trendy compared to Light's classic look, but Christie starts to stumble a bit in trying to differentiate between $200 sneakers and the scruffy kind. Finally, he gives up and smiles. "If they look good, they're going to get in."