Vegas prepares to Bare
Laser hair-removal technicians and tanning-salon operators are raising the tools of their trade in glee as Las Vegans get ready to once again plunge into pool-party season. What? You aren’t “Rehab-ready” yet?! Better hit the gym—you only have until Thursday, March 13 to tighten the abs, banish the fuzz and get un-lily white before Bare Pool Lounge opens at the Mirage for the 2008 summer season. Light Group will continue to oversee the smooth sailing of this luxury ship, complete with two dipping pools, seven cabanas, daybeds and frosty pitcher service of their signature citrus mojitos and the like. We also recommend you try the guac. For now, Bare will be open Thursday through Monday, 11 a.m.-7 p.m., and as of May 1, seven days a week. Local ladies, you are still free.
Continuing with a quick ’n dirty pool update, the non-Rehab portion of the Hard Rock pool opens to the public on March 11. Wet Republic, the new “ultra-pool” at the MGM Grand, is slated to open to the public on or around April 15 as the first pool with convenient valet access, putting an end to the mile-long walk through a casino in your skivvies. The newly renovated Rehab pool will open on April 27 for its fifth season, which it intends to be the center of a semi-scripted reality show featuring the patrons and staff (more on staff changes in a sec …). Tao Beach will also debut its concrete shores at the end of April. Ditch Fridays at the Palms Pool & Bungalows will resume on May 2. Red Rock Retreat—complete with new resident DJ Jack Lafleur—will begin on Cinco de Mayo, May 5. Cherry will also soon begin two nighttime pool events, Reggae Wednesdays and the Sunday Night Live rock concert series.
But before the sand comes some dirt. So far, the most buzz surrounds Rehab, where, beyond just a facelift and the expansion, the pop culture pervasive party will receive a few new faces. Last week, the final two of the three founding fathers of Rehab—Hard Rock Director of Client Development Adam Nixon and Director of Special Events Chad Pallas—quit the property, puncturing an unmistakable hole in the vast Rehab think-tank. Ascending the throne will be former Body English VIP host Shannon Dupont, who will assemble her own team and take up the reins at Vegas’ original and longest-running adult pool party.
Nixon and Pallas have joined Station Casinos in California, where (for the next year anyway) they will develop nightlife venues for the casino company. But rumor has it that in a year, they may return, hopefully reunite with third Rehab founder Lafleur and perhaps even revive the Pond pool parties at Green Valley Ranch.
Now, get back to those crunches.
Planet party
With countless Vegas venues and services “going green,” high-class transportation is now following suit. Earth Buses (www.EarthBuses.com) is the first company in town to provide environmentally conscious luxury transportation, and is committed to “saving the planet … one ride at a time” with its clean-fuel-powered fleet of party buses. The renewable bio-diesel-fueled Ford F-650 Mega Super Stretch Limo Bus and GMC 5500 Limo Bus are available for any Sin City partier’s needs and emit 90 percent less greenhouse gases than the traditional behemoth, gasoline-powered party buses (Earth Buses will add the first eco-friendly stretch Mercedes-Benz BlueTec limo to their fleet in the near future). Both vehicles can seat up to 28 people and offer such features as flat-screen televisions, iPod hookups, massive sound systems, programmable fiber-optic lighting and bar service upon request. At a price comparable to other upscale chauffeured ground-transportation companies—$115 to $180 per hour for Earth Buses’ services depending on the day of the week and the vehicle—Earth Buses may be the way to go. The only thing getting trashed is you and your friends, not the planet.
Arabian Lights
It’s safe to say that the United States’ current relationship with many Arab countries is somewhat ... strained. But Light Group and the United Arab Emirates are giving us hope that we can all get along. The Dubai-based diversified investment group Zabeel Investments has recently acquired a 50 percent stake in the Las Vegas-based hospitality development and management company, in a deal that should prove beneficial to both the U.S. and the U.A.E.
“Our goal is to develop the hospitality industry in the U.A.E. and across the region—an aim which encompasses all areas of this sector from food and beverage to hotels and restaurants,” says Mohammed Ali Al Hashimi, executive chairman of Zabeel Investments. Where Light Group’s sexy, signature nightlife offerings will fit into that rather conservative picture is yet to be seen. “In addition, the Light Group can tap our U.A.E. hospitality expertise, and evolve that to other developments around the world.”
According to a report published by Global Futures and Foresight in May 2007, more than $3 trillion is expected to be invested in the leisure and tourism industry in the Arab world over the next 20 years. The Light Group-managed Harmon Hotel, Spa & Residences, an environmentally green, luxury boutique hotel currently being built in Las Vegas’ CityCenter, is a joint venture of MGM Mirage and Dubai World.