With all the big music events rolling into town for the weekend, plus a full slate of celebrations for the always-epic Mexican Independence Day, you might have missed the quiet September 17 opening of Zouk Nightclub at Resorts World.
Well, Tiësto is playing, so it won’t be that quiet.
After an exclusive sneak-peek tour, we’re ready to sign off on the new venue’s claim as the most technologically advanced nightclub in Las Vegas. But more importantly, its arrival completes Zouk Group’s energetic nightlife district at the southeastern end of Resorts World, which includes Ayu Dayclub, Fuhu restaurant and lounge and RedTail sports bar.
Zouk Group Vice President Ronn Nicolli says the goal was to create scalable experiences and achieve maximum versatility in the 26,000-square-foot club’s three distinct spaces. Before you make your way into the main room of Zouk, you’ll probably meet up with your crew and grab a drink at the circular Capital Bar, and you might start the party in the more intimate Empire space, which was broken in as a backstage experience during J Balvin’s recent Neon party at Ayu.
“We can operate each room independently, and there is connectivity throughout the entire space,” Nicolli says. “Empire and Capital both exist in Singapore and the Genting Highlands property [in Malaysia]. Over there, they’ll have an EDM DJ in Zouk and do open format or hip-hop in Empire and close the wall between them. Eventually, we’ll look to do that at some point and examine the ability to do events at Empire, Zouk and Ayu at the same time, creating our own little festival journey.”
Once Vegas is back up to full speed with conventions and more private events, those shifting walls could allow Zouk to operate seven days a week.
But let’s focus on the task at hand. Once clubgoers get their first glimpse of the Zouk main room, some shock waves are sure to be felt across the Vegas landscape. It’s a big box of a room with serious cinematic qualities.
“Visibility was important to us so the support structure is on the outside of the box,” Nicolli says. “There are pillars, nothing to obstruct you from seeing the entertainment, no one to block you from the point of attention that night, whether it’s a live performance, a DJ or a hosted act.”
Vegas club crowds are used to looking up at something fantastic, but there’s never been a ceiling like this one before. Twenty-four huge LED squares will broadcast custom content every night. They can move as a unit or individually, and each of them can be lowered down to 12 feet and turned at different angles.
At the center of this interactive ceiling is the mothership, a lighting rig that slides on a track from the front to the back of the room and can hover over the DJ like a spaceship beaming Tiësto aboard for an intergalactic adventure.
Tables closer to the stage will be priced accordingly—and there are five of them onstage—but this is one club without any bad seats. With a capacity between 2,300 and 2,600, it feels big and small at the same time. Nicolli describes it as a “boutique megaclub.”
This weekend marks the first of many warmups for Zouk. Once November arrives and the 5,000-seat Theater at Resorts World opens, the newest property on the Strip will achieve its full entertainment capabilities.
ZOUK NIGHTCLUB Opens September 17. Thursday-Saturday, 10 p.m.-4 a.m. Resorts World, 702-802-6460.
