Love him or hate him, Paul DelVecchio is everywhere right now. Better known as DJ Pauly D, the Jersey Shore star began his residency with N9NE Group and the Palms Casino Resort on Friday night. When he took control of the booth at Ghostbar just after 12:30 a.m., the indoor-outdoor lounge high above Las Vegas was wall-to-wall with fist-pumping fans already hyped thanks to an energizing opening set by R.O.B.

No strobe lights were needed at Ghostbar, as the camera flashes from the crowd illuminated the venue and girls squealed with delight as they caught a glimpse of Pauly, who was friendly and gracious to all he came in contact with, despite any preconceived notions one might have about the guy because of his on-screen persona.

The Weekly chatted with Pauly D at the Playboy Club, where he was presented with an honorary key to the club before his set at Ghostbar, his plan of course being to "Smash it!"

How did you first become interested in DJing?

I first got interested in DJing when I was a little kid. I just love music. ... Music's my passion; it's always been my whole life.

What was it like the first time you stepped behind the tables?

First time behind the tables was local stuff. I would do birthdays parties and stuff like that and the reaction from the crowd I got was what sparked everything. I was like, "Wow. This is great. I'm in control of the crowd." Then I got my in at my first club and from then on, it was addicting to me to go to the club and control the crowd and see everybody dancing and screaming. It was great.

Did you teach yourself or did you have some DJ friends who showed you the ropes?

I basically taught myself how to DJ, but I've been inspired by DJs throughout my whole career. I have some good friends that would hook us up with music. You learn some little things here and there from each DJ and you just take it and put your own style into to it.

Who are some of the DJs and maybe producers that you admire?

I really admire David Guetta; he's an unbelievable DJ and I love his style, his music and everything like that. So I look up to him.

Speaking of other DJs, Skribble also just began a residency here in Vegas over at Studio 54 on Saturday nights. We hear you guys have been hanging out.

Yeah, Skribble's a good dude. It's funny 'cause he kinda started DJing [at the same point in his life as] I did. He has some MTV connections like I do now, too. So it's kinda like the same thing. He's a cool dude.

What will your sets consist of when you play at the Palms?

I love to rock the party. I don't make any set. I go in there, I look at the crowd and feed off their energy and I'll just smash it. I'll keep the crowd going. I'm like a party-rocker.

Do you like to play more hip-hop, dip into some house at all? Something else?

I'm an open-format DJ. I can play anything, but I like mash-ups right now. Mash-ups are what's up in the clubs, so I love playing mash-ups.

You've been to Vegas before. What's your favorite thing about the city?

I love the hotels. They're so nice, the casinos. I love all the clubs that you can go right inside the casino, the whole nightlife, I love it.

What's the craziest thing that's ever happened to you while spinning?

It's gotta be the girls just going crazy. They throw their underwear up on stage, their bras. [LAUGHING] That's probably the craziest.

What are some of the advantages and/or challenges of balancing being a reality TV star with your DJ career?

The advantages of being a TV star as a celebrity DJ — I've been a DJ my whole life, so I just kept it local. I was DJing in Rhode Island like six nights a week and in the Boston area. But now that I'm on television, the whole world can see me and they know that I'm a DJ so now that gives me an opportunity to spin all over the world and show the whole world what I can do.

How do you deal with the haters?

Hatin' is all part of the game. When you're on top, they have nowhere to look but up. So they're looking at you: you're on top, you're in the limelight, so they have to hate. It makes themselves feel good. So I love the haters. They're like my biggest fans. Those are what made me famous.

What's next for you?

What's next for Pauly D is probably I want to put some CDs out. I wanna make a home for myself in Vegas, I love it here, and we'll see if we can do something with some CDs or something.

Would it be a DJ mix album or would produce some of your own tracks for an artist album?

Yeah, I'll produce some tracks and it'll be a mix CD as well. It could be all in one.

What style do you think you'd want to go for?

I love the mash-ups so that's hot right now so I'm going to stick with the mash-up style. Pauly D's got big things coming. You'll know about it. Just check me out on Twitter, Facebook: DJ Pauly D.

As far as bringing the energy to a party, what is the key to a good fist pump?

Oh my God. A good fist pump — it comes from the music! You gotta feel the beat. So, like the beat's hitting you, you gotta beat it up. That's why we say, "We beat up that beat." You gotta beat up that beat. You got a nice song going, a nice beat; you gotta be feeling it and then you can beat it up.