Make way for Sway
The nightlife explosion continues this October when the Las Vegas Hilton will welcome a bouncing baby ultralounge. Introducing Sway, the brainchild of and next in a long line of collaborations between nightlife keystones Frankie Anobile and Mike Milner. In a partnership with the Hilton, True Nightlife’s Anobile (aka the Legendary DJ Frankie of New York City), who is currently program director at MGM and creative nightlife director for Station Casinos, joins Milner, former director of nightlife at MGM. Inspired by an electrolounge remix of Dean Martin and Rosemary Clooney duetting on the famous song of the same name, Sway dances into the former Elvis Showroom offices, just off the main entrance on the casino floor.
ust two steps up and guests will enter an eclectic but harmonious lounge environment, 6,000 square feet in size. While that puts Sway on par with Tabu size-wise, the décor could not be more different. Six tall wooden rings with 6-foot dangling tassels and brass-ring fences break up the space into public, private and semiprivate seating areas. Dark woods are accented with saffron leather, dark bronze and a black-and-white carpet. Semicircle leather banquette seating is set low, as are the tables and even the ceiling. “Organic warmth,” says Anobile, also pointing out that the unique honeycomb ceiling creates no reverb or echo, much like a recording booth—or, as he puts it, “like you have headphones on.”
Two steps down from the main lounge area bring guests to the dance floor and DJ booth, where two very smart DJs will spin music that the actual crowd—as opposed to a hypothetical desired target crowd—wants to hear, from the ’40s to today. “It would be silly to just denounce your market and go for coolness,” says Anobile. “We’re not just gonna set the dish and make you eat it.” Anobile prefers to throw out a wide net and not alienate anyone at first. Only once he has established a loyal base crowd does he intend to direct the vibe. “If you build a house without a foundation, it’s not going to last.
“The ultralounges in other cities are surpassing the megaclubs,” says Anobile, who spent two hours in the Hilton’s lobby with Milner analyzing the check-in line. Surprisingly, they saw a young crowd checking in but then, unsurprisingly, quickly leaving. “It’s a bedroom to them,” says Milner. But with a three-part renovation under way—the first phase being the revamping of the main entrance and the suites, the second being the introduction of Sway and the third deciding what will become of an undeveloped 80-acre parcel by owner Colony Capital—“this,” he adds, “is just the start.”
“We’re going to bring youth back to the Hilton,” says Milner, to which Anobile adds, “But it’s not going to be easy.” The two faced a similar conundrum at Studio 54 in early 1998, when they joined forces to save the initially floundering club.
Prior to embarking on this project with Anobile, Milner spent six months with the Hilton as a nightlife consultant. “They lacked operators,” he says. “I see the Hilton coming back.” He cites three decades of such entertainment-centric comebacks for the veteran property: Elvis in the ’70s, Sheila E. and Rick James in the ’80s and Louie Louie and Kristine W. in the ’90s. This casino, he believes, is ready to hit its postmillennial stride.
Sway is slated to open on Halloween weekend with a Vintage Vegas party incorporating the Hilton’s Pink Suite, two-story Hollywood suite, Marie Antoinette Suite, iconic Elvis Suite and, of course, Sway. Beyond that, the ultralounge will be open all week with a 5 to 9 p.m. mixer Friday for 9-to-5ers, a sophisticated Latin-flavored Sunday and a vintage Vegas industry afterhours with help from Empire Ballroom’s sunrise king, Gino Lopinto. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday will be available to promoters with legitimate promotions, but Sway does not plan to push bottle sales. What?! Yes, says Anobile. “We’re gonna hope for bottles, but we’re gonna encourage a party.” Milner adds, “Bottle sales are not going to hold up the line.” Hallelujah!
Tangerine ripe for a change
The fresh white booths, the juicy orange glow of the lights and the elite vibe of Tangerine’s Moonshine Wednesdays—get your last visits in soon, as the boutique nightclub at TI will be closing its doors on Labor Day weekend and reopening under a different and as-yet-undetermined name on New Year’s Eve. But since nothing in Vegas can pass without a big party, Tangerine’s grand closing will be celebrated in grand style, as Dave Navarro hosts on Saturday, September 1; construction begins that following Tuesday.
A generic release went out Wednesday to this effect, but the Weekly can do you one better: When the doors reopen for what is sure to be a New Year’s Eve extravaganza, we can expect to find 20 more VIP booths, roughly 1,000 additional square feet of party space and a slightly larger patio overlooking the Sirens’ lagoon. Though some have speculated that Tangerine would be annexed by neighboring Social House, that is not so, though the space, we are told, will indeed have a slightly Asian feel to it. A New York-based design firm has already completed the new club’s design, and we are hearing “very elegant.”