It’s taken Hakkasan less than a year to become one of the most popular DJ destinations in Las Vegas—and the country, for that matter. The MGM Grand restaurant/nightclub complex will have made an estimated $80-$90 million by this weekend, when it celebrates its first anniversary. Here’s a glimpse of its premiere year.
Highlight: Signing Calvin Harris Whatever the expense to hire away the EDM-pop chart-topper from Wynn Nightlife, it was worth it. The Scottish producer/DJ has been a solid draw for the nightclub, which can command over $100 a head for his weekend appearances (as it likely will for his April 25 return).
Lowlight: Losing Deadmau5 No one’s talking about the one that got away, but even if the progressive house phenom quit four months into his deal, it’s still a big loss for Hakkasan, as ’Mau5’s signing was the most anticipated of the club’s initial roster.
Best cred brag: Questlove Hakkasan snagged the coolest man in music, as the drummer of The Roots (and Jimmy Fallon’s Tonight Show Band) frequently mans the booth inside the Ling Ling Club side room (and will do so again on April 26).
Biggest night Actual attendance figures weren’t available, but a rep for the club says the best nights have drawn “upwards of 6,000 partygoers.”
Best guest DJ: Moby Knowing Moby plays pretty left of Hakkasan’s signature EDM, we weren’t sure how his Labor Day debut set would go over. Turns out it went so well he returned four months later. Future resident, maybe? Here’s to another year of similarly interesting happenings.
