While the Patriots and Eagles were preparing to hammer it out in Jacksonville, we witnessed big-time hard openings of two highly anticipated hot spots: Vivid, The Club, at the Venetian and Club Rubber at Seven at Las Vegas Boulevard and Harmon.
Friday saw a hell of a party at Vivid. The place was packed with eager revelers, including the lovely Vivid girls: Jenna Jameson, Briana Banks, Mercedez, Savanna Samson, Tawny Roberts, Lexi Marie, Monique Alexander and even Janine Lindemulder, not to mention Jenna's husband, Justin Sterling, and our own Robin Leach and Norm Clarke. Pandemonium ensued when a group of Vivid vixens took to the dance floor to groove to DJ Scotty Boy.
The club's musically synchronized light wall on the dance floor is pretty damn nifty. And the 3D holographic women, while technologically dated, add a nice touch of eroticism—and look really cool reflected in the giant mirrored wall.
If the club keeps pushing the boundaries of sexiness and the Vivid brand, it will do quite well. Especially if they keep the porn-star-hosted events at a maximum.
While Friday also saw the opening of Club Rubber, it was Saturday that had that and world-famous DJ Paul Oakenfold.
John Huntington and Damien Sanders of Club Rubber have long lit up Vegas and the rest of the country with the hottest parties this side of Hell. Now, with its permanent home at Zohar Robin's Seven, you can get that vibe every weekend. I wasn't initially 100 percent convinced Rubber could be condensed into a tight package, but boy, was I off.
Oakenfold was true to form, playing a highly rock-flavored set, including a ridiculously cool remix of U2's brilliant anthem, "Vertigo." The whole of Rubber was a sea of people. It was like maneuvering the heaviest traffic jam imaginable. But whereas a traffic jam is filled with tension and evil, the vibe here was outstandingly fun. It was, plain and simple, a circus.
Most of the streamlined redesign came in refitting the old VIP lounge and hip-hop room. The once-somewhat-sterile hip-hop room has been transformed into an intimate, Arabian Nights-flavored VIP area. Beds, silks, you name it—this room is downright sexy. The old VIP lounge has been closed off from the rest of the club and is now a swank ultralounge. Seven always had a decent vibe about it, but the addition of Club Rubber makes it the one to beat.
The grand opening of Sin, the luxurious new gentlemen's club right behind Mandalay Bay was rescheduled after press time. The new date is February 17. I hear it has indoor valet parking, a museum of erotic art, and a separate sports bar. All of this inside one nudie bar .... Sounds interesting.
Antonio Llapur walks softly and carries a big club. E-mail him at
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