Friday, October 6, 10:20 p.m. "We're moving!" I think. No, wait—it's just a collective shifting of feet. "There should be signs here like at Disney World that say 'Only 30 minutes from this point,'" says Wingman Ian. He's just trying to be chipper, I know, but our laughter is tinged with a bit of frustration.
I'm praying for a beverage cart to roll by when we file into the elevator and let out a grateful cheer. When the doors open at the Playboy Club, all we can see is a wall of body parts. "We only have room for one or two," calls the host to the crowd as three heaving bodies fall into the open space, and again, we cheer. Arrival at Moon means being greeted by a bar and that's never a bad thing. Like the cocktail servers' outfits, the landing area is shiny and blinged-out. All the expected N9NE Group elements are present and accounted for: tile mosaics, brushed nickel, dramatic balcony situations and white everything, everywhere. It's Ghostbar II, after an E! Starlicious Makeover.
Against a backdrop of crystal beads in the club's main room, an international crowd shakes its groove thing and enjoys the sanctuary of super-sized VIP booths. Cutting across the dance floor and an impromptu managers' meeting, my high heel sinks deep into the gummy grout holding the interactive floor panels together in the shape of a green Playboy bunny logo. Ian rescues me and returns my glass slipper, and we continue our tour. I look up to see it takes only 90 seconds for the club's retractable roof to slide back like the latest "it" cell phone, revealing a crisp fall night and a flawless full moon. I wonder if the Maloofs consulted celestial charts when planning the grand-opening weekend of their long-anticipated convertible club.
It's good at the top. Moon's downstairs balcony is very reminiscent of Ghostbar's, only without the two square feet of Plexiglas on which to bet your life. The upstairs VIP balcony is much narrower but marks the highest point at Moon. Score a spot and you can overlook both the Strip and the dance floor, and even get one step closer to heaven.
All the other club requirements are there, with DJ Five bouncing along to his beats, bottles of Grey Goose selling for close to $400 and sexy images being projected onto anything that will stand still for a second. In the VIP room, I can still keep an eye on the dance floor thanks to flat-screen TVs mounted high above the tables and leather hassocks. One detail to note, ladies, is not to stand over the mirrored VIP tables in a short skirt. That is unless you are trying to get free drinks—in which case I say go for it! The guys do shots while I sip champagne, my customary grand-opening celebratory drink, and watch queues form for the elevators and escalators that connect Moon to the Playboy Club below, and Nove below that. Movement, I conclude, is the only real kink facing the new venue. And maybe high winds when it comes to the roof.
Playboy is open seven days a week from 8 p.m. with a cover charge of $20, but Friday through Sunday $40 gets you access to both clubs at 10 p.m. In theory, you could stay in the Fantasy Tower, dine at Nove and never have to leave the top two floors to party hardy, which I'm sure is the affect N9NE is hoping for. That, and the fact that if you wait in line for more than an hour, you're far less likely to be promiscuous with your choice of nightclubs. Not that there's anything wrong with a little tasteful promiscuity; the hot girls dancing atop the VIP booths will second that.
Xania Woodman thinks globally and parties locally. And frequently. E-mail her at
[email protected] and visit
www.TheCircuitLV.com to sign up for Xania's free weekly newsletter.