If you knew no better, you might imagine that the brash-looking Treasure Island , next door to the Mirage , was a vulgar and possibly unwelcome neighbor. In fact, the relationship is very close, even parental; Treasure Island was built by Mirage Enterprises in 1993 using the first flush of profits from the Mirage . They remain umbilically connected, by a monorail that loops between the front of the Mirage and the back of Treasure Island , and they also share the same approach road from the Strip.
Treasure Island was designed to appeal to a younger audience than the Mirage , a little less affluent but more likely to be traveling with kids in tow, and took the Mirage 's volcano concept several stages further. Here, the whole lower facade of the hotel is sculpted into a novelty attraction - an intricate, pastel-pretty seafront village, somewhere on the Spanish Main, that may seem awfully familiar to anyone who's visited Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean ride. In addition, the theming extends out onto the sidewalk, which is kitted out with boardwalks and rigging to accommodate spectators (and to obscure the view of drivers who might be tempted to stop). Finally, the diorama also incorporates moving parts and even live actors, in the shape of floating "ships" crewed by pirates and British sailors respectively. Architectural theorists are still arguing whether to call Treasure Island a building, a performance space or a theme park.
Amid a great deal of yo-ho-ho-ing and cannonfire, the two vessels slug it out across the lagoon-spanning plank bridge each evening, in the ten-minute Buccaneer Bay Show . There was great debate at the planning stage as to which the audience would identify with most, and should therefore win the battle. If you don't want to know which one sinks, look away now - it's the British frigate. The victorious pirates then invite the assembled crowd to come and join the celebrations within Treasure Island .
The Buccaneer Bay Show takes place daily at 5.30pm, 7pm, 8.30pm, 10pm & 11.30pm. Performances are canceled during bad weather or high winds, and in winter the 11.30pm show only takes place on Fridays and Saturdays.
The main hotel tower makes little attempt to match the Caribbean clutter below, standing aloof above the ruined battlements and higgledy-piggledy palms. The balconies on this slender, pale orange block are for show only; the whole structure forms a Y-shape, stretching back from the Strip, and holding almost three thousand guestrooms.
With their takeover of the Mirage empire in 2000, MGM seem finally to have abandoned the notion of Las Vegas as a family destination. The impact on Treasure Island has thus been dramatic. One by one, its old child-pleasing fripperies are being stripped away, a huge video arcade for example being replaced by the Kahunaville cocktail bar. Disappearing too is the oddly subversive quasi-Satanic symbolism that used to permeate the place, though the main sign on the Strip still depicts a giant skull, and the ornate double gateway boasts a matching pair of skull-shaped doorhandles.
Treasure Island has in any case always catered very cannily to its yuppie clientele. It offers a top-quality pool area and spa, serious gambling facilities such as a very high-tech Race and Sports Book, and of course a busy Starbucks coffee outlet, upstairs near the monorail stop. It also puts on classier entertainment than the Mirage , in the form of the over-portentous but nonetheless impressive Cirque du Soleil show Mystère .
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