State of the Nightlife Union
If you’ve ever hired a contractor, then you know that completion dates are to be taken with an entire pillar of salt. But the staggering number of venues poised to descend upon the Vegas nightlife landscape is enough to make us wet ourselves (insert Paris Hilton joke here) with anticipation!
In addition to the MGM Grand’s adult pool Wet Republic, rumored to be opening April 15, a new nightclub is expected to grace the casino floor’s nightlife corridor further on into the year. Over at TI, Love & Hate—Tangerine’s reincarnation—was last said to be arriving in “Spring 2008,” but in light of Pure Management Group’s recent IRS troubles, it’s anyone’s guess when we’ll actually get to love PMG’s new hot spot.
A source within the N9NE Group confirms, “We do have two new brands that we are placing in [Rain] over the next few months,” adding that “Ghostbar is perfect as it is.” Changes will begin to appear in the second and third quarters of the year, beginning with an earth-shattering announcement of a musical nature …
Also slated for spring is Sugarcane ultralounge, which will accompany Sushisamba restaurant when it arrives in the Palazzo shops in late April or early May. Tao’s Turkish/Roman bathhouse-themed restaurant and lounge is looking at a mid-May reveal, though we have been told on the sly to keep Memorial Day weekend free. Understated and organic, the most recent renderings show dark woods, delicate slate blue, cream and gold and, of course, a long corridor of water-filled basins leading upstairs to the skylight-dappled lounge where floor-to-ceiling windows give party-goers an unforgettable view from under a domed ceiling.
At the Hard Rock, Carey Hart’s Wasted Space music venue has slid back from March to “sometime between April and June.” The renovated Rehab pool complex is slated to debut along with the party’s fifth season at the very end of April.
The fire at Monte Carlo has pushed Light Group’s Brand Steakhouse and Lounge back from April to May, while Yellowtail Sushi is still on track for June at Bellagio. An insider also mentioned that Mist and Caramel lounges are both due for some spiffing up, likely in 2008, to help the mature lounges keep pace with sleek Jet and the shiny new Bank.
The much-renamed Lounge at Trader Vic’s (aka Head Candy, Starr Bar) is now featuring the musical stylings of lounge singer Jimmy Hopper, formerly of the Bellagio’s Fontana Lounge, performing Thursday-Sunday at 10 p.m.
Automatic Slim’s is ready (in theory) to rock the front of the Venetian, but according to partner Jonathan Fine, it will have to wait for the go-ahead from General Growth Properties to begin work on the building’s façade. Fine predicts a late-summer arrival in that space formerly occupied by Venus and, later, Vivid.
Speaking of space, the intriguingly named ND’s Space will touch down in the Palazzo shops on August 29. When completed, the lounge, intimate theater and One Shot coffee shop will occupy the entire third floor of the shops. The lounge’s six large windows and terrace are currently visible from the street.
At the tail-end of the year, Victor Drai will unveil his third Vegas nightclub—said to be his most beautiful yet—at Wynn’s Encore property. The venue, which is currently under construction, is scheduled to open with the rest of the property in December and is “overall, much bigger than Tryst,” according to an insider, “different, maybe even sexier than Tryst as well.”
Downtown, the Hive bar and concert venue is steadily sliding back from an initially anticipated April opening into May and perhaps beyond. The once-mentioned Club V has been split, with one half rumored to have been set aside to become Rockin’ Ricks sometime this summer, and the other—also zoned for a nightclub/tavern—available for lease. You can get the remaining 6,000-square-foot downstairs and 2,000 upstairs for just $1.75 per square foot.
So, anyone looking to open a nightclub?
Go bald for the kiddies
Saturday, March 8, the St. Baldrick’s Foundation returns to McMullan’s Irish Pub to give away free—and thorough—haircuts in the name of curing children with cancer. Since they began their hair-razing campaign eight years ago, St. Baldrick’s has shaved over 46,000 heads in 18 countries and 46 U.S. states, raising both awareness and $34 million for children’s cancer research.
Last year, former Las Vegas Weekly nightlife writer Justin Jimenez sacrificed his coif for the cause. (The rest of us being far too vain to fill his shoes.) But even if you’re in love with your hair, or don’t have any left to offer, you can still sponsor someone else’s overzealous haircut. Over 100 local shavers and shavees have already registered for the event, raising more than $30,000. For more information, or to make a donation, visit www.stbaldricks.org.
Don’t look (up) now …
“Our party was so packed, we broke the club! Ty Ku knows how to rock! ... I think.”
–Ty Ku creator Kirk Spahn finds the unavoidable humor in the fact that the CatHouse ceiling cracked and the club had to be evacuated in the wake of his Nightclub & Bar Show event in the Loungerie on February 25.