Ever since Hard Rock International purchased Mirage, there’s been a lot of speculation about when the resort would actually become Hard Rock.

On Oct. 10, 2022, we shared word the date could be Dec. 19, 2022. Now, it appears, Mirage is confirming that date to guests.

There’s an asterisk, however.

This fire is about to be extinguished, but the new place is going to rock.

Guests have been getting this message from Mirage: “The Mirage Hotel and Casino will be renamed The Hard Rock Hotel and Casino effective December 19, 2022, and will no longer be under the MGM brand.”

Our friend Travel Ruby shared the message on Twitter.

The Mirage is a pretty strong source when it comes to information about, you know, Mirage.

The asterisk, though, relates to when the transfer of Mirage to Hard Rock International is given the green light, as the Nevada Gaming Commission is the entity that approves such things, not casinos or casino companies.

The Nevada Gaming Commission’s earliest opportunity to approve the sale is Dec. 22, 2022. First, it must be approved and recommended by the Gaming Control Board (which meets on Nov. 2, 2022, but this subject isn’t on the agenda). That means, unless there’s a special meeting of some sort, the soonest the Mirage-to-Hard Rock deal could be approved is Dec. 22, 2022.

The bottom line is Mirage and Hard Rock can call themselves whatever they’d like, but it’s not official-official until the Nevada Gaming Commission signs off.

Approval is expected, of course. Hard Rock sort of has a track record.

It’s unclear what else might change at Mirage in December, other than the name of the place.

There’s been some chatter about the controversial Siegfried & Roy’s Secret Garden. It was supposed to reopen on Oct. 9, then on Oct. 31, but those dates have come and gone.

Related: Three dolphins have died at the exhibit in the last six months.

The plan was to scrap the volcano immediately to make room for a new hotel tower, but we’ve heard there’s some pressure being exerted to keep it operating awhile.

Here’s a look at the volcano, in case it shuts down before you get a chance to visit again.

We shared an internal document talking about the transition from Mirage to Hard Rock recently. It wasn’t particularly exciting, but “internal document” makes it sound sexy.

We’ve also shared some inside scoop about the potential future of “Love.”

The most recent plan we’ve heard is Hard Rock will operate throughout the resort’s transformation, but plans can change and often do.

The transition to Hard Rock won’t be complete until 2025, per the company.

Wow, we’ve really Twittered the hell out of this story.

That’s because Vegas moves fast, and Twitter is about the only way to try and keep up. We should probably start a GoFundMe to pay for our blue check mark.

Anyway, lots of changes coming up for our beloved Mirage. Calling Mirage by its new name, Hard Rock, is going to take a minute, just as it took time to get used to calling the former Hard Rock by its new name, Virgin. Bally’s is becoming Horseshoe, and Tropicana is probably going to become Bally’s.

Thankfully, Fontainebleau is back to being Fontainebleau, we barely had time to call it The Drew.

More to come.