I booked my Vegas trip through Southwest vacations. March 13-16 MGM Grand, Le Reve, Gondola/Dinner at the Venitian, and hotel/airport transfers $609 a person.
check out the marquee at cosmopolitan. was in vegas in january, pretty impressed with the cosmo. rehab is at the hard rock, suppose to be wild. also the mgm has a good one too. <object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/SWZLPhW4gw0?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/SWZLPhW4gw0?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object>
That's not bad. Their rooms aren't the biggest (that'd be Encore), but the furnishings are nice and all high tech. Have a great birthday weekend man. XS is expensive and has long lines unless you got $$, but everyone still loves it. It's the 3rd newest hip club on the scene and still going strong. Vegas is weird to me. All the F'ing clubs play the same damn music. I know some DJs that rotate, but if the club is not the latest trend, it can be dead, while others can be packed. XS is unique only in decor and extravagance. I have no idea how the Cosmopolitan night club is doing. The damn place just opened before Christmas during dead season, everything is busy during NYE and the following week, so it'll be a good 6 months of info and trends before your vaca. Everything I write could be outdated by then. TAO is still very popular. Haze at Aria is not attracting a young crowd unless it's on the weekend. Bellagio's Bank on Sundays is huge. Hard Rock's Envy is it, or whatever it is, is dying. As for pool parties, that's been the new trend in Vegas for the last 3 years. Hard Rock started it with Rehab on Sundays. Now there are 3 main pool parties in Vegas every weekend: Hard Rock, MGM's Wet Republic, and the new comer on the block is Encore's Beach Club. They're like night clubs except everyone is in a bathing suit and there's a pool. To be honest, it really is an orgasm of eye candy. MGM's Wet Republic has a reputation of being less pretentious, even though there will be douchbags everywhere. Encore is getting good reviews. Aria also has a pool party ...I forgot the name...they have 7 freakin pools and the pool party is closed off...anyhow it sucks. My friends had a Cabana there (it's like having a table at a night club) every week last summer and it sucked compared to 2 summers ago at Wet Republic. You can't go wrong with any of the 3 big pool parties. Enjoy your vaca. Something came up and now I don't think I can make my annual March trip for the NCAA tourny...sucks. I guess I'll have to wait for WSOP.
thanks, Kim! I totally can't wait for the trip. :grin: You said that there are usually club promoters walking around and we can get flyers from them?
It depends. There are bums on the street that have passes for everything, but those passes are pretty worthless, like I can write on a piece of paper "free admission" and it's the same thing. On a some nights, in the same casino as the club, their own promoters will be hanging around from afternoon to evening promoting their club. Those passes are worth something...maybe $10 max...probably less. Honestly, it just depends on how you want to roll. If you just want to get in and the guys in your group like to dance and the girls don't give a damn about needing a table, then get any pass from that casino and just arrive early. That will be the cheapest option. If you're late, and say you're at TAO or XS, even a pre-bought ticket will mean waiting...and waiting means bring a chair because it can be hours. The 2 main ways to have real VIP access (not waiting in line) is to either know one of the owners or have a table. If you have a group of 6, the value of having a table outweighs the guys buying cover. I know you're a hot woman Di, but in Vegas that means very little. Every girl is skanked up when they hit the nightclubs, and many think it'll get them to the front of the line like in the movies. It's just not like that at the major clubs on the busy nights. If you want a table, you either go through the club directly, or with an independent promoter who's 1099'd throughout town. Contrary to how it may seem, independent promoters (good ones) have a better track record then the clubs themselves because this scenario is normal: you book a table for your group for $1000 a month in advance (comes with bottles etc.). The night comes and you're not there at 10:00pm on the dot and some baller like pretty boy or LeBron or whoever shows up and says I want a table, here's $5K. You're screwed. That's it. They give you your money back and poof, you're a nobody. Independent promoters (not street bums) always represent multiple tables of the club they are working that night. They hold the tables for you if you are late. If they club screws them, they just don't lose out of 1 regular nobody's business who is visiting Vegas once a year, they lose that promoter's business every week. So specifically on XS, it just comes down to either spending money or waiting in line. I had 2 hot chicks that I knew in visiting Vegas last summer and it was a Saturday night and I went to play poker after dinner and they went to a show and then they said they were going to XS after the show. I said to them "let me call my around to see if I know anyone working there tonight" and they told me not to worry. They ended up texting me around 1:am telling me the line was too long and they went somewhere else. This stuff happens all the time. XS isn't packed every night, try Monday/Tuesday (one of those is industry nights for service workers) and the girls will probably get in for free and the wait won't suck. Come to think of it...this is July 4th weekend...yeah you're group is either going to have to set up a table beforehand or arrive butt early and wait hours or arrive late and never get in. That is unless XS takes a nose dive between now and then. There are other clubs around that will be just as fun too. I mean, it's just drinking and dancing right? Just avoid The Christian Audiger club...that place sucks.
Ahh, Kim, thanks for the insight. My girls and I were talking about bottles and she said she heard it was like $400-500 to get a table. I def agree that it would be busier during the 4th of july. We figure that we'd just hit up a pool party then casino then maybe we'd be too tired/plastered and not worry about a night club every night. I do still want to hit at least a NICE night club though. Who knows we might run into a NBA player?
Hey Kim, thanks for all the good advice - I finally went ahead and booked a trip for Thurs Feb 10 - Sun Feb 13. Staying at the Planet Hollywood Westgate Tower. Hoping to upgrade to a 1 bedroom at check in. Was wondering what clubs you would suggest hitting up on Thurs Fri and Sat nights. I know you have mentioned Tao, Tryst and XS is one night better than the other. It'll just be me and my girl but I expect to wait in line just to get in to any club. Do you know if being on the guest list helps any? Also I know you can buy wristbands for Tao to "skip the line" - do those actually work? Thanks again
NBA players are in Vegas for the summer along with many other celebs. I talked to Otis Thorpe for a while last summer when we were both player poker at Bellagio. He was visiting his friend Tyrone Hill who was coaching at Summer League. OT was super nice and even remembered my name when I ran into him a second time. Generally you can get 1 table for 4 people with 1 bottle for $400-$500 at a Vegas club. The quality of the table depends on the popularity of the club and the type of connection you have (which promoter you are going through). The thing with XS is that on a Saturday night, I doubt it's a 1 bottle min, and on July 4th weekend that will be even more. So in my opinion, and I'm being completely serious here, XS table service will be AT LEAST $2,000 for a Saturday night that July 4th weekend, and that's for the bad tables...at least that much. It's crazy stupid, but there are tons of ballers/vacations that spend thousands, tens of thousands at the clubs some nights. Club recommendations Thursday: Tao (Venetian) or Tryst (Wynn) Friday: Pure, Marquee (new one at Cosmo), XS (Encore), Haze (Aria), most places will be hopping, the clubs at The Palms casino (off strip) Saturday: XS, Pure, Marquee, JET (Mirage), Bank (Bellagio), most anywhere Guest list just depends on the club and how early. The legit free passes work if you arrive early. Don't wait in lines and don't buy guest passes is my advice for you weekend. Just show up with your girl and go to the front of the line and shake his hands with $40 or $50 and say you want to get in. Then you still have to pay $20 or so cover (your girl might have to pay too). That's as cheap as it gets. Now if there's only 10 people in line, then it's unnecessary, but the line pass tipping is totally worth a wait of hours...and I really mean hours. XS is still THE club of Vegas, so I guess that's the one you should see if you're only picking one. TAO's wristbands are pretty legit. If you want a table at TAO, I'll get you a good promoters #, but if you just want to get in: http://shop.vegas.com/clubs/tickets.jsp?club=44&date=20110210&lang=en&src=&agent_id=
Thanks Kim...wow $2k for a table...that is just NUTS!! Obviously, we poor people, can't compete with high ballers. Lol. I forgot about the summer league! Hopefully, I'll run into a NBA player. :grin: Thanks for the club recommendations. How about Sundays? I read that Bank was really good on Sundays.
wanted to bump the thread for a quick update Checking into the PH Towers this thursday booked a studio suite through southwest vacations but hoping to get an upgrade when I check in (b-day / Valentine's weekend) hopefully that'll work the front desk said it shouldnt be a problem. Contracted a few promoters / hosts through jackcolten.com on the guest list at Tao on Thursday, Tryst on Friday and Marquee on Saturday nights still want to try and check out XS (hopefully on Friday since its so close to Tryst) also my girl wants to see Pauly D dj at Moon (Palms hotel) on Saturday night. Might check out the Love Beatles show or Garth Brooks but those aren't for sure. Overall looking forward to a fun weekend - can't wait
sorry for the late reply. Yes, Lady Di, Bank is the place to be on Sunday. Ko40A, Have a great trip buddy. Please give a trip report when you get back. Love and Garth gets great reviews. I think Garth recently bumped up in price. I'm checking now...wow Wynn.com reboot is still under construction. Okay, don't quote me on this, but I think they're over $200 per ticket now. They used to be like $140 each. It's supposed to be a great show in an intimate setting. He also does cover songs and talks about his childhood musical inspirations from what I've heard. That said, if you include fees, you're probably up to $450 to Garth tickets, and that's just not worth it in relation to LOVE by Cirque. Lafirma, Travelzoo and slickdeals.net usually has good vegas scoops.
Finally it's time to go to Vegas!! I'm trying to decide if we should try and call to get on the guest list for the popular clubs? I want to try to hit up one of the popular clubs this weekend. I saw this link...VIP bracelet...does this really work?? will we have to wait in the line for hours? http://www.vegas.com/nightclubs/tao/ July 4th Weekend All-Access Pass - Female: $60, includes VIP, unlimited access to Tao (Fri.-Sat.), Tao Beach (Fri.-Sun.) and Lavo (Fri.-Sun.). Guests can pick up wristbands from the door manager at Tao between 10 p.m.-2 a.m. Wristbands cannot be picked up on Sundays.
Marquee is probably your best bet. 1:1 ratio (no stags) is what they want so you gotta know someone if there are more guys than girls. Get there semi-early..stand in line and pay cover. Kim went into detail on the scene..
thanks.. i think we are going to reserve a table at Tao or Marquee this Friday or Saturday. i can't wait!
Definitely pick Marquee over Tao. Tao might be a little cheaper, but Marquee is the hottest club in the city. Get a table in the outside area. It's really nice out there. I went to Marquee last Mon. and it was one of the best Mon. nights I've had going out in my life. Also, when you're at the Cosmopolitan make sure to check out the giant high heels. Just ask somebody who works at the hotel. They'll know what you're talking about. Edit: It's also about 110 degrees here now. There's no humidity and a slight breeze offsets the high temperature a little, but it's still pretty hot.
