Mirage Hotel Casino

Real volcanoes may take millenniums to form, but in Las Vegas they take just 20 years to look dated. That's what the Mirage hotel-casino concluded before it mounted a $25-million face-lift of its erupting volcano on the Las Vegas Strip. The faux-rock fountain first erupted in 1989 and its bursting spray of water lighted red to look like lava has become among the city's classic sights for strolling pedestrians. Still, the casino concluded, it could be so much more. The volcano is getting 120 new fireball-throwing devices that will be choreographed to erupt in sync with a drum score co-composed by former Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart.

This time of year, there's often a chill in the air in Las Vegas, as temperatures some nights dip into the 30s. But starting Monday evening, people making their way down the sidewalk may choose to shed their mittens and caps as they reach the Mirage, where there'll be plenty of heat coming from an erupting "volcano." Since the hotel's opening in 1989, its mock volcano -- towering over a 3-acre lagoon along Las Vegas Boulevard -- has become a Sin City landmark.

Those seeking an even hotter spectacle may want to drop by New Year's Eve. That's the night motorcycle daredevil Robbie Knievel is preparing to jump more than 200 feet across the lagoon as the jets shoot fire and water skyward. Fox TV will broadcast the event live, beginning at 8 p.m., with the jump scheduled for 9 p.m. Knievel is expected to travel 100 mph during the feat, which is to begin on hotel property and end on the Strip.

Donald J. Trump filed a $50-million lawsuit against the Mirage Hotel and Casino Friday, claiming unlawful interference by the Las Vegas resort with Trump Plaza's contractual right to be the site of a heavyweight championship rematch between Buster Douglas and Mike Tyson. John J. Barry, one of Trump's attorneys, said his client and promoter Don King agreed on a rematch Feb. 12, two days after Douglas won the title with a 10th-round knockout in Tokyo.

Three council members said Wednesday that they would welcome a Las Vegas casino managing a card club at Los Alamitos Race Course if the club is approved by city voters next month. "I would not have a problem with that," Councilwoman Joyce C. Nicholson said. "It is not going to be glitzy . . . or a Las Vegas review. This is a classic, well-done club. If Vegas is so bad, why does everybody go there?"

Boxing promoter Don King, slapped with a lawsuit Wednesday by heavyweight champion Buster Douglas and the Mirage Hotel, responded in kind Thursday. King, in a suit filed in U.S. District Court in New York against Douglas and the Mirage, seeks several million dollars in damages and an injunction to prevent Douglas from fighting anyone without King as promoter.

A hearing has been scheduled for Oct. 7 in Van Nuys Municipal Court to determine whether California or Nevada has jurisdiction in a $23,000 suit filed by Ten Goose Boxing of Van Nuys against the Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas. The suit seeks the payment by the Mirage of medical bills incurred by lightweight boxer Gabriel Ruelas of Arleta, who suffered a broken elbow during a bout at the Mirage on April 14, 1990.

The Nevada Gaming Commission has voted unanimously to grant a gaming license for Stephen Winn's $625-million Mirage resort, a 3,400-room hotel-casino and theme park. Winn, who came to Nevada with his father in 1952 in hopes of opening a bingo parlor, said he expected the Mirage to open Nov. 26. It will employ 5,900 people and feature tropical islands with volcanoes, waterfalls, $40 million in landscaping and a pool filled with dolphins.

Real volcanoes may take millenniums to form, but in Las Vegas they take just 20 years to look dated. That's what the Mirage hotel-casino concluded before it mounted a $25-million face-lift of its erupting volcano on the Las Vegas Strip. The faux-rock fountain first erupted in 1989 and its bursting spray of water lighted red to look like lava has become among the city's classic sights for strolling pedestrians. Still, the casino concluded, it could be so much more. The volcano is getting 120 new fireball-throwing devices that will be choreographed to erupt in sync with a drum score co-composed by former Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart.

Is the MGM lion about to pounce on Mirage's cuddly white tigers? Shares of MGM Grand Inc. fell 5% on Thursday on speculation that the casino operator could launch a hostile bid for Mirage Resorts Inc., fueled by reports that MGM Chairman Kirk Kerkorian bought a stake in his company's jungle-themed neighbor on the Vegas Strip. MGM Grand shares skidded $2.50 to close at $47.25 on Thursday, while Mirage surged $1 to $15, both on the New York Stock Exchange.

Three council members said Wednesday that they would welcome a Las Vegas casino managing a card club at Los Alamitos Race Course if the club is approved by city voters next month. "I would not have a problem with that," Councilwoman Joyce C. Nicholson said. "It is not going to be glitzy . . . or a Las Vegas review. This is a classic, well-done club. If Vegas is so bad, why does everybody go there?"

A promoter of a card club at the Los Alamitos Race Course said the Mirage Casino-Hotel in Las Vegas approached him about managing the 24-hour gambling house, if it is approved by voters June 8. Edward Allred, one of three partners behind the $30-million Derby Club, said that Mirage officials contacted him in March but that the discussion was brief and did not lead to any formal negotiations. He also said the Derby Club has not discussed management of the club with any other group.

Mirage Resorts Inc. said Tuesday that it will build a $300-million family oriented themed resort in Las Vegas, escalating the fight for family business in the Nevada gaming and adult entertainment oasis. The Las Vegas-based company, which owns the Golden Nugget casinos in Las Vegas and Laughlin, Nev., said its latest mega-casino--to be called Treasure Island--will have 3,000 guest rooms and will be located adjacent to the Mirage, the firm's flagship casino and resort.

A hearing has been scheduled for Oct. 7 in Van Nuys Municipal Court to determine whether California or Nevada has jurisdiction in a $23,000 suit filed by Ten Goose Boxing of Van Nuys against the Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas. The suit seeks the payment by the Mirage of medical bills incurred by lightweight boxer Gabriel Ruelas of Arleta, who suffered a broken elbow during a bout at the Mirage on April 14, 1990.

For two years on my semiannual visits to Las Vegas, I watched the Mirage Hotel take shape--the first major new hotel to be built there in 15 years. (I know this because I read the Mirage press release.) I was especially fascinated with the idea of a volcano in the front yard of the hotel, next to the Las Vegas Strip. In an area known for its exquisitely bad taste--Caesars Palace, next door, is a clear winner here--it seemed that we might have a new champion.

A promoter of a card club at the Los Alamitos Race Course said the Mirage Casino-Hotel in Las Vegas approached him about managing the 24-hour gambling house, if it is approved by voters June 8. Edward Allred, one of three partners behind the $30-million Derby Club, said that Mirage officials contacted him in March but that the discussion was brief and did not lead to any formal negotiations. He also said the Derby Club has not discussed management of the club with any other group.

Even a cleansing overnight desert storm failed to wash away boxing's latest mess, the sudden stoppage by referee Richard Steele of Monday night's Mike Tyson-Razor Ruddock heavyweight fight. A brawl erupted in the Mirage hotel's outdoor ring, started by enraged Ruddock cornermen when Steele stopped the bout in the seventh round as a battered Ruddock, far behind on points, sagged against the ropes. The controversy was still heated at a Tuesday morning news conference.

It all began with Tex Rickard. He took the fight game off the barges and put it on Park Avenue. He made it as In as polo with the upper classes. Unlettered, uneducated, he hunted for his gold in the Klondike with a deck of marked cards and the nerves of a guy who would bet it all on the color of the next cow. He made his fortune in the fight game, but there's no evidence he was otherwise interested in it one way or the other.