STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
This happens from time to time in Las Vegas - one of the big names on the Strip is closing down tomorrow.
SACHA PFEIFFER, HOST:
It's the Mirage hotel and casino. It's closing after nearly 35 years. It was best known for its golden mirrored windows, a dolphin habitat and an artificial volcano that erupted nightly.
(SOUNDBITE OF VOLCANO ERUPTING)
INSKEEP: The Mirage was also known for its shows. Siegfried and Roy made white tigers appear out of nowhere.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Sarmoti.
(SOUNDBITE OF TIGER ROARING)
PFEIFFER: That show ended after a tiger injured one of the magicians. Later shows included Cirque du Soleil's "LOVE," based on the Beatles, and a singing ventriloquist who came to fame on "America's Got Talent.".
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED)
TERRY FATOR: So Winston, what are you planning on doing for us?
(As Winston) Well, I could do my theme song.
(LAUGHTER)
FATOR: Since when have you had your own theme song?
(As Winston) Ever since I won "America's Got Talent."
(CHEERING)
FATOR: Oh, you won "America's Got Talent"?
(As Winston) Well, duh.
(LAUGHTER)
INSKEEP: Terry Fator signed a $100 million contract with the Mirage and performed there for 11 years.
FATOR: The Mirage was the very first of that whole new era of Las Vegas, where the Las Vegas Strip became much more than just a place to go gamble and get $1.99 steak and eggs.
INSKEEP: Fator says the Mirage cemented its place in the new Vegas in 2000, when it signed the singing impressionist Danny Gans.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
DANNY GANS: Frank Sinatra had such a distinctive style. I really think he could sing any song and make it sound terrific. (As Frank Sinatra, singing) Hakuna Matata - what a marvelous phrase. Like a tune from Sinatra...
FATOR: Danny Gans sold everything out, night after night after night. Plus, the Mirage also was some of the first to bring celebrity chefs, and it just became more of a high-class destination where there was so much more to do than just go there to gamble.
PFEIFFER: Again, that's Terry Fator. He now performs at the STRAT Hotel, Casino, and says he's going to miss the Mirage.
FATOR: You know, 11 years is not a small amount of time to be a headliner at the Mirage, and what an incredible honor and just - I just feel very humbled to have been able to play a part in that amazing legacy.
INSKEEP: So the Mirage disappears, but will reopen in 2027 as a Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. From the ashes of its volcano will rise a 700-foot hotel tower in the shape of a guitar.
PFEIFFER: There's nothing like Vegas.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "VIVA LAS VEGAS")
ELVIS PRESLEY: (Singing) So Viva Las Vegas.
INSKEEP: (Singing) Viva Las Vegas.
PFEIFFER: (Laughter).
INSKEEP: Sacha, I've got this idea.
PFEIFFER: Yes, Steve.
INSKEEP: A MORNING EDITION residency in Las Vegas.
PFEIFFER: Oh, boy, that's not for me. I do not like betting, don't like losing money. I've never been able to think of betting as my entertainment budget for the night.
INSKEEP: OK, but we're just going to be up there on stage.
PFEIFFER: (Laughter).
INSKEEP: With the time difference, people will still be up, and they can come over and get the news.
PFEIFFER: I do like flying into Vegas. You see the Eiffel Tower...
INSKEEP: Oh, that's true.
PFEIFFER: ...The Sphinx, the pyramid. It's an amazing United States thing.
INSKEEP: OK, so you're getting enthused about this idea.
PFEIFFER: All right, you could talk to me into it.
INSKEEP: The next thing is, we need matching Elvis jumpsuits.
PFEIFFER: (Laughter).
INSKEEP: Can we do it? Anyway... Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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