Known the world over for its iconic Strip-front feature, The Mirage has joined forces with Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart, Indian tabla sensation Zakir Hussain, and Fountains of Bellagio design firm WET, to create an all-new audio/visual spectacle. The top-to-bottom overhaul is scheduled for completion late 2008.

When it first opened in 1989, the Mirage Volcano literally stopped traffic on The Strip as carloads of tourists would pause and gawk at the spectacle. Nearly 20 years later it was still amusing but not quite amazing so the folks at The Mirage decided it was time for an overhaul.

Tasked with bringing the latest innovations to the project, WET will create a volcanic environment of sound, light, music, and heat. WET's choreographed FireShooters™ - which send massive fireballs more than 12 feet into the air - were designed specifically for The Mirage using the latest developments in what they call flame-expression technology. The FireShooters™ will punctuate the performances with eruptions of fiery "lava" that will flow down the mountain's fissures in a series of lively flames. As the eruption ignites the surrounding lagoon, the FireShooters™ will bring Las Vegas' signature blast within feet of spectators.

An all-new state-of-the-art Meyer Sound system will be blasting a new soundtrack for the Volcano composed by Grammy Award-winning talents of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame musician Mickey Hart and Indian musical virtuoso Zakir Hussain.

"To put percussive sound to the image of fire and have it dance around a lagoon is something I've never done; I've never birthed a volcano," said Hart. "Zakir and I immersed ourselves in the legends and myths and studied what really makes a volcano work. The result, a true union of the senses, will rattle your bones, just like a real volcano."

The new Volcano is expected to debut late this year (probably around November).

Meanwhile, if you want to be at the grand re-opening festivities, you can enter a contest on The Mirage website.

return to the top

This week, I thought I’d take a trip down memory lane with my Top 10 Favorite Vegas Moments – the things that have happened to me in Las Vegas that I remember most.

Full disclosure: some of this happened before I started Vegas4Visitors.com, but I’m counting it anyway.

10. Eating that perfect steak. Rib eye, seared with garlic, butter, and cilantro. It was at Austins and I still remember how fantastic it was. Still is as a matter of fact.

9. Winning $1,600 on a Triple Double Diamond slot machine at The Luxor. I had won slot machine jackpots before but at the time this was the biggest and the first one where I had to get paid out by hand with an IRS statement.

8. Seeing the Pirate Battle for the first time. It was great silly free fun while it lasted. I miss it.

7. Seeing my first Vegas guide book on the shelves. I started writing for Frommer’s and when my “Complete Idiot’s Guide to Vegas” came out, I went to a bunch of different bookstores just to see if they had it on display.

6. Seeing Mystere for the first time. It’s easy to get blasé about Cirque after so many shows and having seen them so many times, but that first time seeing Mystere – it was a mind-blowing experience.

5. My first time playing roulette. My friend told me that playing a single number was a sucker’s bet. I did it anyway, putting $2 down on my lucky number 17. It hit 17.

4. Seeing New York-New York for the first time. The apex of the theme era in Las Vegas, NYNY was (and still is) an over the top spectacle that caused me to laugh out loud with glee when I first saw it.

3. Winning $4,100 on a video poker machine at The Venetian. I held an ace of diamonds and threw away the rest – it dealt me the rest of the royal flush for a progressive jackpot win, which remains the largest single jackpot I have ever won in Las Vegas.

2. Meeting Bette Midler. I’m a geek. Shut up.

1. My first trip to Las Vegas as an adult. I don’t remember the exact year but I’m thinking it was 1988 or early 1989 because The Mirage was under construction. I still remember walking up and down The Strip and falling in love with the place. Ten years later I’d launch this website and ten years after that, I’d still be doing it. Kind of amazing.

return to the top