Seminole Tribe's $4 Billion Hard Rock Las Vegas Marks a New Chapter for Tribal Gaming on the Strip

What happened

A 660-foot hotel shaped like a guitar is rising above the Strip, and the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that the Seminole Tribe of Florida sees it as a milestone for tribal gaming. Marcellus Osceola Jr., the tribe's chairman, told the newspaper the project is tied to the tribe's growth and its duty to future generations.

The tribe is preparing to open Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Las Vegas and the adjoining Guitar Hotel Las Vegas on the site of the former Mirage. According to the Review-Journal, the approximately $4 billion development is scheduled to open in late 2027 with nearly 3,600 hotel rooms, about 175,000 square feet of gaming space, entertainment venues and restaurants.

How the Mirage deal came together

Who owns what

The Seminole Tribe bought Hard Rock International in 2007 for $965 million, the Review-Journal reported. Hard Rock International then purchased The Mirage's operating business from MGM Resorts International for $1.075 billion in 2022. VICI Properties owns the underlying real estate.

A long search for the right site

Osceola said the tribe spent more than a decade looking at expansion options, including its 2018 entry into Atlantic City through the former Trump Taj Mahal. He said The Mirage offered the right mix of location, acreage and opportunity. "We've been looking for a long time," he told the Review-Journal.

Osceola said gaming revenue pays for tribal programs including medical care, education, recreation and services for seniors. "It means a great deal to me because it's supporting the efforts back home," he said. He also described the project as part of a wider effort to build economic stability for the tribe.

Tribes already in the Las Vegas market

Mohegan at Virgin Hotels

Tribal gaming first entered Las Vegas through management deals rather than ownership. The Mohegan Tribe announced in 2019 it would run the casino at the former off-Strip Hard Rock, which reopened as Virgin Hotels Las Vegas in 2021. That arrangement ended in 2024 when Virgin took over casino operations, and the Review-Journal reported Mohegan did not publicly explain its decision.

San Manuel at the Palms

The Yuhaaviatam of San Manuel Nation bought the Palms for $650 million in 2021, the first tribal ownership of a Las Vegas casino. The tribe reopened the property in April 2022 and has grown its slot count from 1,275 machines to nearly 1,800, according to chief gaming officer Peter Arceo. The Palms also recently added a dedicated nonsmoking gaming area.

Arceo said Hard Rock's arrival is not a concern. "We don't see that as a threat to the Palms, because we think that it's going to boost the city as a whole," he told the Review-Journal.

Undeveloped land on the south Strip

The Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation spent more than $115 million on about 23 acres along Las Vegas Boulevard near the south end of the Strip. Several years ago the tribe proposed a roughly $2 billion project with a casino-resort, hotel, convention center, theater and an arena seating 15,000 to 20,000 people. The Review-Journal reported no progress has been made on that proposal.

Why it matters for Las Vegas

Victor Rocha, conference chair at the National Indian Gaming Association, told the Review-Journal that tribes are taking different paths into the market. "The tribes are not monolithic," he said. He added that tribal and Las Vegas operators once saw each other as adversaries but now face shared competition from prediction markets and other forms of wagering.

Osceola said being the first tribal developer and operator of a casino-resort on the Strip carries historical weight. "Being first is not a curse," he said. "It's a great opportunity." Readers can follow other large projects in our development coverage.

What to watch next

• Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Las Vegas and the Guitar Hotel are scheduled to open in late 2027 on the former Mirage site.
• The Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation's proposed roughly $2 billion south Strip project, which has seen no progress.
• Whether more tribes enter the market through acquisitions or management agreements, as Arceo and Rocha said could happen.