A PLAYERS’ GUIDE TO VEGAS
24-HOUR PARTY PEOPLE
With the rise of megaclubs and EDM, Las Vegas is the country’s best nightlife destination
The emergence of EDM—electronic dance music, an umbrella term that covers subgenres including dubstep and house—has made partying as important to Las Vegas’ revenue as gambling. In 2014, seven of the top 10 nightclubs in the country were in Sin City. The city’s biggest clubs fight to book the top names in EDM—including Tiësto and Diplo—drawing crowds by the thousands. Meanwhile, popular day clubs, like the 54,500-square-foot Wet Republic at the MGM Grand, Rehab Beach Club in the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, and Marquee Dayclub in the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, mean visitors never have to wait very long before the next party starts.
King of the Strip since it opened in the MGM in 2013, Hakkasan Nightclub is a fusion of high-end dining and go-all-night clubbing and is home to famous DJs, among them Calvin Harris and Steve Aoki. Over at Aria Resort & Casino, the 24,000-square-foot, dual-level Jewel Nightclub is the city’s current hot spot. Formerly known as Haze, Jewel’s two spaces—the main club and a mezzanine with five VIP skyboxes— can accommodate nearly 2,000 partyers to catch some of the world’s biggest performers.
Longtime favorite at the Bellagio regularly features world-class DJs and hosts a renowned industry party every Sunday. New York transplant in the Mirage Hotel & Casino, a 16,000-square-foot space with two separate rooms, each with a full-service bar and DJ booth, opened on New Year’s Eve 2011 with a party featuring Fergie and Kanye West. The highest-earning club in the city is at Encore Las Vegas Resort at Wynn, where a private table can cost $10,000 and a featured cocktail, a 14,000-square-foot space that also includes a patio with an expansive view of the resort’s waterfall and pyrotechnics show.
