Mirage Las Vegas

The design still stems from the glass dome inside the resort's front entrance, one that covers a lush rain forest with palm trees, cascading waterfalls, meandering lagoons, and exotic tropical flora. The Mirage's tropical design scheme was partly inspired by the Siegfried & Roy show and their "Jungle Palace" home. After Roy Horn's near-fatal tiger bite in 2003 the show was replaced by Cirque.

The History

When it opened in 1989, the $630-million Mirage was the most expensive hotel-casino in history. The hotel's distinctive gold windows get their color from actual gold used in the tinting process. The man behind the gold façade was none other than Steve Wynn, who became the first Vegas hotelier to finance a project with money from Wall Street. The Mirage was full of firsts—first casino with an exploding volcano, first casino to house live tigers (part of the now-defunct Siegfried & Roy show), and the first casino to use security cameras full-time on all table games. While the property has aged gracefully, an exhaustive renovation wrapped up in 2009 with new touches in all guest rooms. The facility's poker room was the dream destination of Matt Damon's character in the seminal poker film Rounders (1998).