Old-Timey Tram Between Mirage and Treasure Island Closes

By Scott Roeben, on June 27 2024
3 min read 4 comments
Las Vegas

As the countdown to the closure of Mirage on July 17, 2024 continues, there are already signs the iconic Strip resort is fading away.

The tram between Mirage and Treasure Island (colloquially, TI) has closed. The tram’s last day of operation was mumble mumble nobody really mumble noticed, sorry.

The closure was first reported by VegasChanges.com on June 23, 2024.

“Tram” comes from the Middle Dutch word “traam” meaning “shaft of a barrow,” which is a lot less dirty than it sounds.

The free tram was a holdover from the days when Mirage and TI had the same owner, Steve Wynn. Wynn is currently enduring a harsh penalty for years of alleged sexual misconduct. Specifically, he has to spend day after day on his $200 million yacht, sometimes without the benefit of sunscreen.

The Mirage to TI, or vice versa, tram track was only about 1,000 feet long, and the ride took about 90 seconds, a duration which will sound very familiar to our lovers.

The tram had a maximum capacity of 50 passengers, approximately 85% of whom were shit-faced at any given time.

Here’s the ride, both directions.


People-movers and trams have become harder to find in modern Las Vegas, as they are expensive to maintain, and it’s all about margins these days.

A people-mover between Luxor and Excalibur is not long for this world.

The moving walkway at Caesars Palace went away in 2013.

Caesars Palace moving walkway
This walkway famously only went in one direction, into the casino.

The walkway on the skybridge at Bellagio was removed in 2017.

Bellagio skybridge
Las Vegas has become schlep-forward in recent years, mostly as a cost-saving measure.

Bally’s, now Horseshoe, had a moving walkway, too.

Bally's people-mover
Bally’s lost its people-mover in 2014. Now, it’s Grand Bazaar Shops. Not a great trade.

All this coverage of vanishing trams and moving walkways shows two things: 1) Casinos aren’t as desperate for business as they used to be, 2) We need a hobby.

There are still a couple of trams in town: One goes between Aria, Bellagio, Vdara, Park MGM and The Shops at Crystals. Another moves between Mandalay Bay, Luxor and Excalibur. All the casinos mentioned are operated by MGM Resorts. Trams make a little more sense when a company is delivering customers to itself.

There are other signs the Mirage is quickly fading into Las Vegas history, as many of the casino’s slot machines have already been turned off.

The fun hasn’t stopped yet, but it’s definitely slowing. Thanks to Jonathan B. for the recent pic.

Demolition has already started in the portion of the resort where the big cats and dolphins once lived. Not together, weirdo. They’ve all been sent to sanctuaries now.

If you know where to look, you can see some window and light tests for the Hard Rock guitar tower.

On the parking garage behind the fugly dolphin sculpture. Please keep up.

The final performance of “Love” is July 7, 2024. The show is a shadow of its former self, as many performers have already moved on to new gigs.

Shin Lim’s show closes July 14, 2024. He’s moving to Venetian.

Mirage will become Hard Rock Las Vegas (technically, Hard Rock Hotel & Casino and Guitar Hotel Las Vegas) in May of 2027 if all goes according to plan. Which would be sort of boring. Plans exist to not have things go according to them, especially in Las Vegas.

The tram was most useful on 120-degree days. In other words, pretty much every day.

It’s surreal to think the Mirage is just a few weeks away from closing.

Mirage is the first casino on the Las Vegas Strip to be owned by a Native American tribe. Technically, operated by a tribe. Vici Properties owns the Mirage, along with pretty much every casino on the Las Vegas Strip. Vici Properties actually owns the phrase “Las Vegas Strip.” Every blog has to pay a fee to Vici Properties to use it. They also own all the adverbs. That’s why we  sometimes leave them out of our stories. That, and the fact we don’t really know what adverbs are.

If you’re able, stop by and bid Mirage farewell. It won’t be long before the volcano is extinguished and those lucky brass mermaids are packed up and delivered to our home. Hey, we called “dibs,” which is legally binding in some places.

Update (6/27/24): Mirage says the plan is for the tram to return when Hard Rock opens in 2027. That makes no sense to us, as it seems the perfect time to dismantle the thing and save lots of money and headaches (as it’s often inoperable due to mechanical problems), but we do not own or operate a major Las Vegas casino, much to our chagrin.