Sunday, December 17th, 5:30 p.m. Checking in to the Hard Rock Hotel for the Dorm Days 2 party, I simply can't stop staring at the ladies on line in front of me in their velour track suits, Ed Hardy trucker hats and Ugg boots. To pass the time I make a game of fashion Scrabble out of it, trying to make sentences out of the words printed across their butts—Sexy, Pink, Ho-Ho-Ho. Too easy.
At 6:10, the mistress of the mini-fridge rat-a-tat-tats on my door, wanting to know if I've already plowed through the mini-bottles of Jack, Jim and Johnny. I tell her we're all doing just fine in here and don't require any refills just yet. At 9 p.m., it's finally time for the pre-pre-party at Club Paradise, across the street, where Las Vegas' socialites are being honored for all that hard work they do socializing, and somehow I make the cut. Dashing down the hall, one shoe in hand, I zip past DJs loading people and booze into their rooms, which are already filled with sound equipment. I can see where this night is heading!
Two hours later I dodge speeding cars on my way back to the Hard Rock. Glomming on to Jack Colton of JackColton.com and his merry band of spiky-haired misfits, I dive into the throng outside Body English. Sunday School's XXXmas School Dance means lots of ladies in tiny red velvet, marabou-trimmed Santa getups, and that is never, ever a bad thing.
The idea behind Dorm Days is to first party like a rock star downstairs in the dark and busy environs of the club, then to escape around 3 a.m. up to the 10th and 11th floors, where hobnobbing and bouncing around from suite to suite is encouraged, more or less partying like a porn star. Just before Thanksgiving this year, the doors flew open for Dorm Days 1, and hundreds flooded the halls and rooms like a very upscale college party. Jack Lafleur, Adam Nixon, Chad Saunders and the other masterminds of Body English say they plan to celebrate Dorm Days about every three months. The idea of the overnighter is not new, though, as it has successfully been implemented elsewhere. The N9NE Group has thrown a number of their Big Sleepovers on nights when rooms at the Palms are exceedingly affordable, meaning that the party doesn't have to stop, and there's no expensive cab ride or risky post-party drive home. Already, plans are in the works for the next Big Sleepover in February, which, says Michael Fuller, N9NE Group's corporate director of marketing, "is going to be massive!"
The first and second annual Tao Slumber Parties put supermodel Janice Dickinson in the role of mistress of ceremonies as legions of party people arrived in lingerie and pajamas. The club was blanketed in pillows, but the focus was more on partying 'til dawn in your skivvies, without the hotel room aspect. Schedule permitting, there will be another Tao Slumber Party some hot, hot Vegas night next summer.
When the time comes to head back up to the suites, it's already been hours of madness for many. Along the way I have picked up three demo CDs and a can of Red Bull, and I am now wearing a big ruby cross. If this is the rock star life, as lived at the Hard Rock, I wouldn't mind just moving in. At 5 a.m., we're roving in packs through the halls. "My room is open, go on in, I'll be right there," texts one friend. Only moments later we have packed it, and even more random folks have followed us in. I inform him, "The party's in your room now!"
Xania Woodman thinks globally and parties locally. And frequently. E-mail her at
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