La Mirage, located at 377 E. Flamingo near Paradise Road, opened in 1973, only way back then it was called the Ambassador.
The name was changed to La Mirage about 10 years later and in 1986, Steve Wynn paid $750,000 for it -- just the name, that is, for which he had bigger plans -- at which point the casino and hotel became known first as Anthony's (until 1993), then the Quality Inn. The 314-room Inn remained the same when the casino underwent a $7 million remodel and was renamed Key Largo in 1997.
The whole property closed in January 2005 after it was bought by a Florida-based developer for $23 million. The developer planned and announced an unnamed 20-story 900-unit condo high rise and a seven-story 344-room hotel tower; the plan was approved by the Clark County Planning Commission.
Nothing, however, happened after that. Nothing continues to happen and in the current economic climate, we see no imminent change to this state of affairs.
The listing touts the site's unrestricted gambling license, but that license has lapsed, so whoever buys it with the intention of opening a casino will have to put up 200 hotel rooms to meet the casino lodging requirement.
