If Las Vegas has notably been in the doldrums for several years, with a moratorium on most major projects, 2013 was definitely the year that saw things start to turn around and 2014 should see many projects -- the Linq, SLS, The Cromwell, Slotzilla, the Shops at Summerlin, etc., etc., -- come to fruition.
However, if 2013 can be pegged as a turning point, it could also be dubbed the year in which pretty much everything was delayed or postponed: The High Roller observation wheel and Slotzilla zip/zoomline should both be operational by now according to the original plans, but neither is; the Container Park did open in 2013, but only after more than one delay; the Delano transformation of THEhotel has been put on ice until further notice; Krave nightclub's much-hyped move downtown was also much-postponed and turned out to be short-lived; Beacher's Madhouse ran behind schedule; and so on and so on. Hence, it comes as no surprise to us that another project turns out to be running late.
What did surprise us, on the other hand, was the response from Mirage's Food & Beverage department when we called yesterday for a status report and were told by whoever answered the phone that "there are no plans for any such project here." Since, as you point out, Mirage's own website still proudly proclaims the imminent arrival of Las Vegas' first restaurant by Food Network's "Iron Chef," we can only assume that our call was randomly picked up by an intern/imposter who had no business responding to a question that evidently was outside their scope of knowledge (or else it was a savvy but politically inept person who let a huge cat out of the bag. We strongly suspect the former scenario but if not, remember where you first read this surprise scoop!).
Since this alleged F&B person knew nothing about the project, they obviously had no answer as to why Morimoto's opening had been delayed until "late 2014," either. On a practical front, the fact that Mirage's existing Asian eatery, Japonais, is still very much operational in the space slated to house Morimoto is an obvious reason as to why the latter remains in the pipeline -- or, to turn it around, Japonais has been given an indefinite stay of execution while whatever artistic differences/scheduling conflicts/contractual niggles, or whatever the cause of the Iron Chef's delays may be, are ironed out (no pun intended).
Like Bally's, the Mirage is in the midst of a major overhaul that's also seen Mario Barth's tattoo venue relocate and change its name, the closure of Kokomo's, the opening of a new steakhouse by Tom Collichio, a rumored upgrade in the works for Onda wine bar, and a new-but-as-yet-undisclosed purpose assigned to the space that was formerly B.B. King's Blues Club.
As to Masaharu Morimoto's new Japanese restaurant, we can only recommend keeping an eye on our "Today's News" column, plus the monthly LVA newsletter, where we'll share updates on this and all the other projects underway around town, as soon as we hear anything.
