LINE PASS: Back to the Future

Slated to open March 15 in the Stratosphere, Polly Esther's is a four-room, 26,000-square-foot nightclub for the rest of us. Who are the rest of us? Anyone who is too intolerant—or just too old—to wait in long lines, who has no idea what bottle service is, who actually wants to go out to club to let loose—or anyone who just liked Footloose. So much of the club scene has embraced the cliché of seeing and being seen. Remember the good ol' days, when you would actually be terrified of seeing a co-worker at a club because you were acting like a jackass? I remember that, and it was fun. Okay, it was yesterday. Whatever. Polly Esther's is offering a laid-back, themed alternative. "Think about the Beach," said Artie Lesavoy, vice president of operations, "but on steroids."

Each of the four rooms is tagged to a decade, and these guys don't miss a trick.

The stage doubles as a VIP area, with performances already slated for the opening festivities ranging from Debbie Gibson to Tiffany, and hosted by none other than Saved by the Bell's Mario Lopez (it's okay to call him A.C. Slater in here; Dancing With the Stars didn't exist back then). Once things are up and running, Wednesday is slated for '80s Industry Night, with tribute bands Spandex and Purple Reign in attendance. Nostalgia is always funnier after a couple of cocktails.

Next door in the Polly Esther's Room, everything is decked out '70s-style. I never really watched the show, but I assume the Partridge family didn't serve drinks on the road. They should have. Their 1957 Chevrolet school bus is now a full-fledged bar, libations flying out of the windows. The main attraction is Polly Esther's signature Saturday Night Fever LED dance floor. Right behind that, at the interactive Brady Bunch television wall, you can pop your mug where Alice used to be for photos.

"This is a place to let your hair down," Lesavoy said, hanging up after talking with a contractor. (His ring tone? Michael Jackson's "Thriller," naturally.) "We want to accommodate everyone from every walk of life. You can be inconspicuous here if you want, get crazy and not be afraid of being judged if you want."

Going back to the future and over to the '90s room, Nerve Ana, you're confronted by a mural of rap legends, such as Ice Cube in his Boyz N the Hood days, that contrasts with the giant Simpsons graphic over the VIP area. You can enjoy a drink with a Simpson of a different kind, as a replica of O.J.'s infamous Bronco is here as well. When we start discussing the drink menu, the Brady Bunch Punch and Tang get me excited, but my thirst goes limp when I find out Lorena Bobbitt has a signature cocktail, too. Bottle prices are reasonable, with several options under $200. "We are introducing Middle America to a Vegas nightclub for the first time," Lesavoy said. "Those same people who wait in line at Pure for three hours and never get in, or someone who just needs a break from that, is who we are here for. This will be some people's first introduction to bottle service, because if you don't live in a major market, you have no idea what bottle service even is."

Finally to Suite 2000, and the name serves a dual purpose. Along with the connection to the millennium, it's a tie-in to owner Drew Adelman's San Francisco club, Suite 181.

"We wanted to bring the recognition of the Suite brand here," said Adelman, whose OneIndustryGroup is also involved with several other nightlife projects in the Bay Area. "The name from 181 came from the address, 181 Eddy Street. It also just so happened that the Stratosphere is on 2000 Las Vegas Boulevard. It was perfect."

The upscale room has day beds and doubles as the home to Birdie's Bachelorette Party, a three-nights-a-week live show with a plot line that's a prelude to Tony n' Tina's Wedding. "It'll be a great way to start the night," he said. "We'll start the night with 300 girls all ready to go out and have some fun. You can't go wrong."

Justin Jimenez firmly believes we should draft beer, not people. And he always sees better through the bottom of an empty glass. The associate editor for Las Vegas Magazine, he can be reached at
[email protected].