Miracle Mile Shops

Miracle Mile Shops (formerly Desert Passage) is an enclosed shopping mall at the Planet Hollywood resort, located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. The mall is and 1.2 mile (2 km) long. It is home to 170 tenants, including retailers, restaurants and live entertainment venues. The mall was created by TrizecHahn and real estate developer Jack Sommer. It opened as Desert Passage on August 17, 2000, originally as part of the Aladdin resort. Desert Passage initially struggled, as did the Aladdin. The mall was sold in 2003, and renovations began in 2006, in connection with the Aladdin's rebranding as Planet Hollywood. The mall was renamed Miracle Mile Shops on May 1, 2007.

Miracle Mile Shops was originally known as Desert Passage, and was built along with the Aladdin resort on the Las Vegas Strip. Both the mall and resort featured an Arabian theme. The mall was built at a cost of $290 million, and was designed to compete with the Forum Shops, also on the Strip. TrizecHahn owned the majority two thirds of the mall, with Sommer Family Trust as minority owner. The trust, headed by real estate developer Jack Sommer, was also majority owner of the Aladdin. Actress Barbara Eden, who portrayed a genie on the 1960s television series I Dream of Jeannie, dressed in character and reprised the role for the debut of Desert Passage, which opened on August 17, 2000. The mall expected to attract 50,000 visitors daily. and new stores were added in an effort to improve business. The mall's poor sales and foot traffic were attributed to financial problems at the Aladdin, which filed for bankruptcy in 2001. Trizec believed that Desert Passage would rebound once the Aladdin emerged from bankruptcy. Disgruntled tenants accused management of poor advertising and failure to sign a major anchor tenant. Trizec dismissed tenant allegations that the mall's visitor counts were being inflated in order to justify the current leasing rates. In 2003, Planet Hollywood International announced that it would purchase the Aladdin and rebrand it as a Planet Hollywood resort. Desert Passage tenants were optimistic that the change would benefit the mall, and prospective buyers emerged soon after the announcement. New York developer David Edelstein and RFR Holding purchased Desert Passage in December 2003, for $240.5 million. They owned it through a joint venture known as Boulevard Invest. Urban Retail Properties was hired to manage the mall. In connection with the Aladdin rebranding, renovation work began on the mall in 2006, with plans to rename it Miracle Mile Shops. The name change took effect on May 1, 2007. Unlike its predecessor, Miracle Mile Shops sought to focus on affordability rather than high end luxury. The renovated mall included a brighter design by Gensler. As of 2009, the mall had annual visitation of 22 million, up from 15 million in 2004. Approximately 90 percent of the visitors were tourists. Planning for another renovation began in 2017, and work was set to begin in 2020, although this was delayed because of the COVID 19 pandemic. Work eventually began in January 2022, and took place in phases, allowing the mall to remain open. The renovation concluded in June 2023. More than of LED screens were added to the mall's exterior and interior as part of the renovation work, As of 2022, Miracle Mile Shops had 26 million visitors annually, and had seen nearly 470 million visitors since its initial opening in 2000.

The mall was built out in a 1.2 mile long, circular floorplan. It includes of space, Desert Passage marked the Las Vegas debut for many tenants, including Build A Bear Workshop. The mall has 170 tenants as of 2023. The mall featured sky painted ceilings and more than 100 lamps custom made in Morocco. To maintain the Arabian theme, tenants were restricted from having oversized display windows, and signage was required to be discreet. The mall also featured a branch of New York's Blue Note Jazz Club, marking only the second U. S. location. The venue offered seating for 500 people, and also included the 150 seat Blue Note Cafe. The club operated at Desert Passage until 2003, Other notable tenants have included Tipsy Robot, which opened in 2017 and features robot bartenders. Desert Passage initially featured more than 30 performers who provided entertainment throughout the mall on a daily basis. Performers included acrobats, a contortionist, musicians, and dancers. Since its opening, the mall interior has also featured a faux freighter and a rain show, the latter of which was updated in the 2023 renovation. In January 2003, the former food court was converted into Sevilla, a restaurant and nightclub with Charo as headliner. Sevilla filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy less than four months after opening. It became the Ovation Theatre & Events Center later that year. In 2004, producer David Saxe purchased the space for $3 million and converted it into the V Theater and Event Center. A $4 million renovation of the V Theater was underway in 2007, to make better use of the space. Magician Steve Wyrick opened a separate 500 seat theater in 2007, overseeing many details of its construction. The Wyrick Theater closed in 2009, and Saxe took it over the following year, renaming it the Saxe Theater and operating it concurrently with the V Theater.