The resort originally opened in March 1995, as the Hard Rock Hotel. The resort also includes a music venue known as The Theater at Virgin Hotels.
It is operated by Mohegan Gaming and Entertainment, an affiliate of the Mohegan Tribe, making it the first Native American tribe to operate a Las Vegas casino. The casino portion is known as Mohegan Casino Las Vegas. The hotel, part of the Curio Collection by Hilton, includes 1,504 rooms. The opening had been delayed several times due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Nevada. Virgin Hotels Las Vegas opened on March 25, 2021. The Hard Rock closed on February 3, 2020, to allow for a $200 million renovation. Virgin Hotels and a group of investment companies purchased the Hard Rock Hotel for $500 million in March 2018.
Richard Branson, the founder of Virgin Group, had wanted to enter the Las Vegas casino industry for more than 20 years. It previously operated as the Hard Rock Hotel from 1995 to 2020, before closing for renovations to be rebranded as Virgin Hotels. Virgin Hotels Las Vegas is a hotel and casino resort in Paradise, Nevada, east of the Las Vegas Strip.