Las Vegas Nightlife
Sin City is made for the night. While the lounges, bars, and showrooms have always held appeal, major swanky nightclubs are the places to be after dark. The sheer profusion of upscale, lavish dance clubs in Las Vegas is mind-boggling. It would take time and dedication to visit all of the storied venues along the Strip alone.
The Hot Spots
The key words in the Las Vegas nightclub world are decadence and opulence. Heights are popular, as the clubs atop the Palms (Moon) and the Rio (VooDoo Lounge) demonstrate; names implying travel are also in vogue, as Jet (in the Mirage) and LAX (in the Luxor) indicate. Some clubs hearken back to old-fashioned yet playfully sophisticated girlie shows, like the Playboy Club (at the Palms) and Ivan Kane’s Forty Deuce (at Mandalay Bay), while others rely on established brand names to suggest specific types of fun, such as the MGM Grand’s Studio 54, New York New York’s Coyote Ugly, or Mandalay Bay’s Foundation Room and House of Blues.
No matter what you’re looking for, there’s a club in Vegas to suit you, if you want to dance in a ring of fire, check out Hard Rock’s Body English. If you want to peer through a clear floor to the pool below, visit The Palms’ retro-futuristic lounge, ghostbar. If ultimate luxury is more your style, Tryst at The Wynn features red velvet walls and a 55-foot waterfall, while Bank at The Bellagio dazzles with Cristal bottles stacked to the ceiling and a 360-degree light show. Practically every jumping dance club has an attached lounge for relaxing between dances, if not an entire neighboring venue for more mellow contemplation.
Making the Most of Las Vegas Nightclubs
Despite the multitudes of environments on the Vegas club scene, there are several constants. Dress codes are strict, with a few notable exceptions (no one is going to kick you out of Coyote Ugly for wearing jeans), befitting the upscale tone and atmosphere of high-rollers at play. Tables require pricey bottle service, wherein a bottle or two of liquor and mixers entitle you to a place to sit when you’re not doing your stuff on the dance floor. There are almost always lines to get in, and the wait can sometimes be a couple of hours. With celebrity party hosts and world-famous DJs, just getting into one of these palaces of excess can seem daunting. Fortunately, there are multiple ways to get past the velvet ropes and into the groove.
Several club promoters offer packages that jump you to the head of the line, guarantee you a table, or even get you into the VIP areas. Different price points and packages guarantee your evening on the town, whether it’s a major blowout for a bachelor or bachelorette party, or just a few friends looking to boogie down. Sites such as Vegas Passport can hook you and your party up with a luxe experience at one specific club, a multi-destination cavalcade for special events, or even an all-access VIP pass to many of the city’s best clubs, good for an entire year. Many individual clubs offer pass-the-line, open bar, and VIP packages, that are a great deal, considering most clubs charge at least $20 just to get in.
All of the nightclubs in Las Vegas are open on the weekends, but many others pick and choose which weekdays they do business, so it pays to check their Web sites or an aggregate site like Vegas.com to see their schedules. Celebrity parties and other special events take place all the time, some with drink specials, some with restricted access. It’s also always helpful to check if being a guest of a hotel gives you any deals or extra specials for their hotspots.