Hell-bent on success
You haven’t heard of the Hellboyz?! You will soon. Seems like Mauricio Lopez, 29, and his cadre of six Hellboyz Entertainment team members are everywhere these days. “Aggressiveness” is their No. 1 competitive advantage, says Lopez. “We get our word out; whatever it takes for us to be successful, we’ll do it.”
“I swear,” says Empire Ballroom’s Gino LoPinto, “every time I left the gym or the Rio, there’d be a flier on my car!” He was impressed by the plucky Latin promoters, as was Rio/Paris director of nightlife Pauly Freedman, who asked Lopez, along with marketing director Carlos Hernandez and head of nightclub ops Rudie Solano, to bring the popular Latin Labido Thursdays from the defunct Club Rio to Empire Ballroom to keep it alive. The Hellboyz—at one point operating as Union United Entertainment—have been throwing successful Latin parties since 2002 at Plush, Curve and House of Blues. “I snuck in quietly,” laughs Lopez, who was taking a break when, he says, Latin Labido fell in his lap, reviving his desire to breath new life into Vegas’ Latin party scene. “We believe the Latin market is untapped,” says Lopez, a 15-year resident of Las Vegas. Since Latin Labido Thursdays have resumed at Empire, the Hellboyz have added to their schedule both Fridays and Volume Saturdays at Risque, and plan to bring a Wild ’n’ Out Latin Sunday to the market in the fall. But beyond the odd Latin night here or there, Lopez believes that the Latin community is ripe for the kind of upscale treatment mainstream clubs are lavishing on their audiences. Currently, the Hellboyz are pulling together a Labor Day Weekend edition of Latin Labido to proudly announce their reemergence on the scene.
Dimming of the Light
According to two anonymous sources within Light Group, Light nightclub at the Bellagio will close its huge doors (which first opened in 2001) following the Sunday industry night on September 2 and will go on hiatus for renovation and possibly a complete reinvention (we hear two stories!), reportedly to reopen on or about December 15. So far, no announcement has been made in regard to this temporary closure, though the lack of any Light events on the club’s website (www.LightLV.com) beyond Labor Day weekend lends some credence to the idea.
We’ll put our money where our mouths are (and that usually means in a dry martini) and bet that Light does not go gentle into that good night and will in fact stage a last hurrah sometime before the end of the month; we expect them to make a louder noise still when unveiling the new concept. Constantly improving and upping their game with each new venue—just look at Jet!—Light Group has trained us to expect very big and exciting things, but for now, the official response from the Light Group remains “No comment.”
Kraving some European house?
Known for his turntable prowess on both sides of the Atlantic, Italy’s (and now Vegas’) DJ Digital Boy (aka Luca Pretolesi) is gearing up for the launch of Europe Afterhours at 3 a.m. in the Krave Lounge. The new party kicks off late Saturday, September 8, which is also, coincidentally, Digital Boy’s birthday.
Parsons’ Addiction
The always fashionably dressed Chris Parsons of VegasExposure.com is widening his influence to not only include where you’ll be partying but also what you’ll be wearing when you’re there. Parson’s new Addiction Fashion Boutique, at 9480 S. Eastern (at Eastern and Silverado Ranch), opens on Monday, August 27. Celebrate Addiction’s grand opening with Chris as well as a Project/MAGIC kick-off party at Body English the night before, and take in a special Addiction fashion preview and performance by LL Cool J.
Local love
Entertainment industry veteran Chip Lightman and entertainment publicist Laura Herlovich have joined forces to offer Vegas locals free show tickets through their new outlet, ShowTickets4Locals.com, the “local appreciation website of Las Vegas.” No, you’re not drunk; you read that correctly. In an effort to show appreciation to locals for their support of Vegas’ entertaining, ShowTickets-4Locals.com offers a way for shows to connect with locals for some of that coveted word-of-mouth exposure.
Locals can sign up free of charge for complimentary tickets to comedy shows, plays, musicals, concerts and more. (There is also an opportunity for members to “upgrade” to premium status ... for $99, of course.) ShowTickets4Locals.com is only available to those with Las Vegas street addresses. As a bonus, if you don’t happen to be in front of your computer all that much, you can sign up your cell phone to get a text blast when new tickets become available!