Tonight and tomorrow night are the last two times to party at Tryst, the seminal nightclub at Wynn Las Vegas, but the venue and its operators are already looking to the future. The name and logo of Tryst’s replacement were unveiled November 5—Intrigue is set to open on April 28, the day of the resort’s 11th anniversary.
Other than the curiosity-inducing name and debut date, only a few other details have been released: John Lyons Systems will design light and sound; a new patio space will be encased in glass; and a 1,200-square-foot private club-within-the-club could be the centerpiece of the 14,000-square-foot venue.
But that’s just not enough info. So we caught up with Sean Christie, vice president of operations at Wynn and founding partner of the nightlife group that has guided Wynn and Encore venues XS, Surrender and Encore Beach Club to runaway success, to talk all things Intrigue.
Is it safe to say Intrigue is not going to sound or feel like the other nightclub venues at Wynn and Encore? In this club our goal is to do something different and something new for us and hopefully something new for people in general. The idea that we would redo the club just so we could put in the same DJs that are performing at XS or Surrender or Encore Beach Club, for us, that seemed a bit boring. We do that as good as anybody, and we certainly try to be the best at that. We’re looking to do the next thing.
Sean Christie
Other Vegas nightclubs have incorporated live performance into their programming. Could Intrigue go that route? Our programming at Intrigue is not going to be centered around a star EDM DJ or a pop star or a hip-hop act. That’s not the central point of entertainment for us, though all those things are great. This past year we’ve seen the introduction of a live musical presence [in clubs] and I think that’s one of the things that has opened people’s eyes to the kind of stranglehold EDM DJs have had on the city. But if I wanted to go out and see my favorite band, and I could see them some 75 times over the course of two years in Las Vegas, I might not be as inspired to see them regularly. When you look at those artists [and DJs] playing in town so frequently, including our own [at Wynn], we already do that.
Our idea is to change the club regularly. The name Intrigue was not taken out of a hat because it sounded cool and weird, there’s a concept behind it. The definition is to pique someone’s curiosity, to present an element of surprise every time someone walks into the venue. That’s not to say we won’t have a guest DJ or a star performer, but if we do that, it won’t be the focus. We won’t put that on a flyer. We’ve become handcuffed in this industry by the idea that we have this beautiful club and we’ve trained people to say, "Who’s DJing? Who’s performing?" That’s been the catalyst to our business, and we want to break away from that. We want people to go because it’s a great place to go, not because of who’s performing.
You’re also playing with the idea of a private club area as a social media-free zone, which is counterintuitive considering how essential social media is in promoting Vegas nightclubs. How did that idea come about? The private club phenomenon has been a trend in general over the past five years. I think to offer up a place that feels more secure for people to kind of let their hair down was the idea, whether it’s a celebrity or a CEO or anyone. There will be a back hallway so you don’t even have to go through the primary entrance to get to the private club or the main club, and really the point is that while you’re in that place, we’re actively protecting people’s privacy.
The expectation for the replacement of Tryst is that it would be something that would push toward a new trend, and it sounds like that’s your intention. Yeah, absolutely. We have enjoyed the fruits of our labor. I really feel like Encore Beach Club set the bar as one of the first few [clubs] to recognize the trend of EDM and focus on it as the central point of entertainment. In 2009 we had Kaskade play Blush. Steve Aoki played there, Ferry Corsten, LMFAO … we had all these things. Now it’s going to be six years in our clubs of that being the central point of entertainment. That’s not to say we don’t like it, or the music or the people. But if we’re really going to give our guests a fully blended entertainment experience, we can’t continue to do the same thing.
I’ve already read stuff on the Internet about Intrigue, is it going to be the next Act or Rose. Rabbit. Lie. No, not at all. That’s completely missing the mark. Maybe that’s because the logo has a mask in it. But that’s just kind of a point and nod to the overall idea that we want you to feel a certain way at Intrigue, and of course package that with great service. At the end of the day, it’s a nightclub.
