A jaw-dropping new drone video takes viewers on a dizzying ride above and inside downtown’s Fremont East entertainment district.

The one-shot drone video comes from Corner Bar Management and its owner, Fremont East Mayor and Visionary Supreme Ryan Doherty, with videography by JayByrd Films.

We have dabbled in droning and can assure you the video is nothing short of impossible.

The venues highlighted in the video include: Park on Fremont, Discopussy, Lucky Day, We All Scream, Cheapshot, Commonwealth and La Mona Rosa (the only venue not on Fremont Street, formerly La Comida). No Laundry Room, the speakeasy inside Commonwealth, but that’s “top secret” and not especially drone accessible.

Buckle up, Lili Von Shtupp.

You thought we were exaggerating, right?

Yes, use of “Joy Ride” was approved by hometown favorites, The Killers. Fun fact: Killers members Dave Keuning and Brandon Flowers played their first live gig in Vegas in 2002, at an open mic night at Cafe Espresso Roma.

Here’s more details for the drone nerds: “The final video, capturing seamless continuous shots across each of the seven destinations, required numerous takes. Directed by Jay Christensen and Doherty, with Christensen also serving as the drone operator and director of photography, the video showcases the unique perspective of Downtown Las Vegas using a GoPro Hero 12 mounted on a custom-built Sub-250 drone. The video was produced by Emily Erhart, with Gian Lorenzo Ferretti as the assistant camera and Erik Nelson as co-producer. Post-production sound design was completed by Taylor Lewin and Christensen.”

Hey, credit where it’s due, this is an exceptional video.

Also exceptional is the neighborhood vibe Ryan Doherty and his team have created.

The Fremont East district is a distinctly different vibe than its counterpart, Fremont Street Experience. Which is to the west. Please keep up.

Doherty’s eclectic, diverse collection of venues gel to create what feels like a cohesive place to eat, drink and dance.

Other popular spots on Fremont East include Le Thai, The Griffin, Therapy, Backstage Bar and Billiards, Corduroy, Evel Pie, Flippin’ Good Burgers and Shakes, Eureka and others.

We did a lame video of Fremont East back in 2016, but a lot has changed. Droning is the new strolling around with a stabilizer.

The new Fremont East video provides not only eye candy, but a sense of what each of the venues offers. Corner Bar Management’s bars typically host around 6,000 guests on a weekend night.

The video also serves as a useful map when you’re building your bar-hopping itinerary in Las Vegas.

Props to everyone involved in making this incredible video happen, including the insurance company, because jebus.

Note: The same drone company made another OMFG video for Wynn Las Vegas.

We are now inspired to dust off our drone. Your eyeballs and limbs have been warned.

The post Impossible Drone Video Highlights Fremont East Venues appeared first on Vital Vegas.

Fontainebleau has acquired the services of superstar DJ David Guetta for a two-year residency starting in 2025.

The CEO of Fontainebleau Jeffrey Soffer said, “David is a once-in-a-generation talent who embodies the charisma and class that defines the Fontainebleau brand.”

Guetta (56) may be a “once-in-a-generation talent,” but it’s unclear which generation we’re talking about. Awkward.

Still, Guetta is a big name and rest assured Fontainebleau paid a pretty penny for his services. He’ll also perform at Fontainebleau Miami Beach.

Guetta has sold 50 million records worldwide and is among the most-streamed artists on Spotify. For the olds, Spotify is like radio, but without all the annoying car  dealership commercials. He has two Grammy awards (with 13 nominations) and was voted the world’s best DJ in British DJ Magazine’s “Top 100” four times.

Before we go too far, we should probably clarify how David Guetta’s name is pronounced. We’ll let Graham Norton (a popular talk show host in the U.K.) handle this one.

David Guetta told me that you pronounce his name to rhyme with "better". That's why I'm saying it like that tonight. Some people will care.

— graham norton (@grahnort) March 16, 2012

Guetta and everyone else pronounces it more like “getta.” He’s French, if that helps.

Guetta joins another superstar DJ, Tiesto, at Fontainebleau. Yes, we were the first to share Tiesto’s residency at Fontainebleau, before it was announced. We ruin everything.

Yes, David Guetta was a resident DJ at Wynn Las Vegas for a decade, and Tiesto was a resident DJ at Resorts World.

At least Fontainebleau has finally put accusations of poaching to rest. Long story.

We’re sure Fontainebleau’s horticulture department has some aloe on standby for that burn.

They should probably give some aloe to David Guetta because we’re bound to make mention of the fact he has the worst hairpiece in the DJ world. Did you actually think that racoon was “random”? Do you know this blog at all? We invented snark. We didn’t trademark it because it was our gift to the world.

We quickly realized “raccoon” didn’t even remotely rhyme with snark, so we tried a shark mascot.

Following those disappointing attempts, we hosted some focus groups and realized the best symbol for snark might be a bird.

Oh, it got bad. The children, it seems, had run out of ideas.

Here’s some Guetta chatter from February 2024.

Anyway, Fontainebleau has undeniably deep pockets. The problem is the resort is losing $400,000 a day.

Paying exorbitant fees for DJs was a thing at one time, but turned a corner in Las Vegas with the implosion of Kaos at Palms. Not literally, but close.

The revenue generated from DJ residencies has to exceed the cost to make sense. At Kaos, it didn’t pencil out. The pain was so acute, Kaos closed, lawsuits ensued and Station Casinos threw in the towel by selling Palms to the San Manuel tribe.

As Fontainebleau has struggled to get its footing, it’s been up and down for LIV Nightclub and LIV Beach. The resort inherited the design of the nightclub and dayclub (resort construction began in 2007, when dayclubs weren’t even a thing), and some have suggested capacity is playing a part in the challenges facing the resort and nightlife partner, David Grutman and his Groot Hospitality.

Recent bookings at LIV (pronounced “liv,” like Tyler, not “live”) have drawn a crowd that doesn’t always mesh with the “charisma and class that define the Fontainebleau brand.”

Footage from the Asshat Convention at Fontainebleau. pic.twitter.com/fnfcGCqnDw

— Vital Vegas (@VitalVegas) June 10, 2024

Shame on asshat cowards who charisma someone in the head when they’re on the ground.

Fontainebleau didn’t share a dollar amount for the Guetta residency, but give us a minute. We’re sure everything will be fine. In spite of the fact David Guetta may not have heard Fontainebleau could be given the boot by its financial backer Koch Real Estate sometime next year when interest payments to financial institutions are due.

Overall, though, things are looking up at Fontainebleau, especially with a well-regarded president, Maurice Wooden (license approval pending), and Fontainebleau’s quiet break-up with Peter Arnell, the former Chief Brand and Design Officer for Fontainebleau Development.

Arnell has been a major source of internal friction at Fontainebleau, and you’ll remember him from his involvement with “the worst rebrand in history.”

We continue to root for Fontainebleau, but paying ungodly amounts to superstar DJs seems like an era that’s come and gone. A lot of what’s happening at Fontainebleau seems to lack currency, literally and figuratively.

Paul Anka and Justin Timberlake opened the place, all due respect to Paul Anka. Paul Anka called us the other day. He’s one of the coolest celebrities we’ve ever interacted with, but mentioned if we shared what he said, we’d be whacked. We might be paraphrasing, but we have no reason to disbelieve him.

They paid Justin Timberlake $6 million.

As with high-priced beat-droppers, Timberlake’s fee seems out of whack with the return on investment. Especially when you consider the fact Timberlake stayed at Wynn on Fontainebleau’s opening night. The glorious drama.

The same might be said about R.O.I. for the $3.7 billion Fontainebleau itself. It has a big nut, and the nut’s only going to get bigger in 2025.

Which, as you’re no doubt aware, is what she said.

The post Fontainebleau Snags Bigtime DJ David Guetta appeared first on Vital Vegas.

Sapphire Pool, billed as the “world’s only topless gentlemen’s day club,” won’t be open for the summer in 2024.

We are told any number of Instagram models are inconsolable at the news.

While we personally think toplessness is gross, we understand some people like it, so it’s distressing to hear the Sapphire strip club has opted not to open its pool complex this year.

Sapphire, of course, is one of the most famous strip clubs (gentlemen’s clubs, if you’re fancy) in the world.

According to Sapphire, “Sapphire Las Vegas was recently voted ‘Best Gentlemen’s Club’ by the Las Vegas Review-Journal in their annual ‘Best of Las Vegas’ competition. This was Sapphire’s 8th consecutive year winning the title for best strip club in Vegas.”

You might say Sapphire is tops. You might say it. If we say it, people will complain we tell “dad jokes,” which is actually insulting to dads.

So, why did Sapphire pass on opening its pool this summer? We have no idea. We asked Sapphire, but haven’t heard back yet.

The answer to everything in Las Vegas, however, is money.

That means Sapphire’s day club may have been more trouble than it’s worth.

We visited a time or two and enjoyed the pool a lot. Most of the topless people were cocktail servers (or dancers visiting on their days off, presumably drumming up business for dances inside the club). The space was lively and the food was better than expected.

The demands of driving business to such a business are complicated and relentless, despite the obvious selling points.

Sapphire tried the aforementioned influencers, but it was unclear if using attractive women in advertising had the desired results, especially given the cost (several grandish) of personal appearances. Tracking results of such promotions is challenging, and we suspect the ROI just didn’t pencil out.

One would think a topless day club at a strip club would be a sausagefest, but we found the crowd to be a mix of men and women, with couples a significant part of the customer base.

The competition for day club business is immense in Las Vegas, and if you’ve ever been to a day club, you know many guests leave little to the imagination, so the novelty of a topless pool doesn’t hold much allure, as it surely would in other cities.

You might say business may have sagged.

You might say that.

Ultimately, it looks like Sapphire’s day club just isn’t worth the additional investment, so it’s shuttered for the summer. Will it be back? Unknown, but we’re sure Sapphire is considering all its options.

If you assumed we’d end this story with a sentence like, “We’ll keep you abreast of any developments,” shame on you.

This is the last sentence of ours story, and it does not include any boob puns whatsoever, it’s called maturity.

Update (5/9/24): While we haven’t heard back from Sapphire, we were contacted by someone familiar with the situation. Our source says the pool does well financially, but it’s staff intensive and renovations inside the club made it easier to not open the pool this season. It’s expected the pool will reopen in 2025 under a new brand. Details to come.

The post Sapphire’s “World’s Only Topless Day Club” Won’t Open in 2024 appeared first on Vital Vegas.

We ruin lots of surprises in Las Vegas. As the kids say, sorry, not sorry.

As we shared exclusively back in April 2023, superstar DJ Tiesto will have a residency at Fontainebleau Las Vegas, the newest casino resort to open on the Las Vegas Strip.

There’s a lot of drama around this announcement, exactly zero of which you’ll get from other sources. You’re welcome.

As we shared in our original story, Tiesto’s defection from Resorts World’s Zouk Nightclub flew largely under the radar, but was part of a major nightlife shake-up at the struggling resort.

The internal messiness included the departure of several key nightlife executives, including Michael Waltman, Vice President of Zouk Group, and Andrew Pacheco, Executive Director of Customer Development of Zouk Group.

Here’s Tiesto taking various means of transportation to LIV nightclub at Fontainebleau.

The rumors are true…

We are excited to announce the one and only, @tiesto as a LIV Las Vegas and LIV Beach Resident Artist in 2024. ✨
Tickets & Reservations: https://t.co/1hGHLxYzNd pic.twitter.com/acS4qc5woP

— LIV Las Vegas (@livnightclublv) January 4, 2024

Big thanks to LIV for mentioning us in their Tiesto announcement! (The Tweet starts with “The rumors are true.”)

Another DJ we’ve reported has parted ways with Resorts World for a more lucrative deal with Fontainebleau is Zedd. Announcement pending.

Zouk Group drama continues to quietly unfold with rumor Zedd has informed the company he will not be returning to Resorts World next year (see also Tiesto). Rumor is he, too, will be moving to Fontainebleau. More: https://t.co/oFuZMOrlFE

— Vital Vegas (@VitalVegas) April 6, 2023

We are not a nightclub person, mostly because most Las Vegas clubs have dress codes prohibiting mom jeans, but these are big moves, so you know we’re going to ruin as many surprises as possible.

Tiesto joins an exciting line-up at LIV, featuring a metric hell-ton of entertainers we also know virtually nothing about. You’ll want to hit “mute” before you click on the link to the official LIV site. (Auto-on audio is a huge no-no in Web site design.)

Or visit the blissfully quiet official Tiesto site.

We haven’t had time to do a story about the opening of Fontainebleau, but it’s awesome despite being doomed. We’re trying to be more positive in 2024, so we aren’t going to get into the oncoming layoffs, executive firings or debt write-downs.

Let’s just say Tiesto’s move to Fontainebleau has some risk attached. Just ask Marshmello and Kaskade about their experience with Kaos at Palms. The former owner of Palms (Station Casinos) signed Marshmello to a $60 million deal, but canceled the residency when profits proved elusive. He reportedly got a $36 million buyout for the inconvenience. Kaskade sued Station Casinos and got nearly $8 million to settle the case.

A Kaos documentary is expected to air sometime before 2069. The producers are reasonably concerned about a potential legal kerfuffle, so there’s a lot of fact-checking involved.

Tiesto, wisely, isn’t putting all his eggs in one basket. His deal with Fontainebleau isn’t exclusive. He’ll also be doing his button-pushing at Omnia at Caesars Palace, Tao Beach at Venetian and Wet Republic at MGM Grand.

Fontainebleau and LIV (pronounced like “you only live once”) are untested in Las Vegas, and we suspect the deal with Tiesto is generous. LIV is popular at the Fontainebleau in Miami, but as we’ve seen so often, brands that work elsewhere aren’t guaranteed success in Las Vegas. See also SLS (owned by SBE, a hospitality and nightlife brand, before the casino tanked).

Fontainebleau has relied heavily on the reputation of its Miami hotel (as opposed to effective marketing, advertising, social marketing or public relations), and we trust that will also be the case with LIV.

Anticipate more drama to come, and we wouldn’t have it any other way.

The post Confirmed: Tiesto Set for Fontainebleau Residency appeared first on Vital Vegas.

It took a minute, but Bellagio has finally confirmed some scoop we shared back in March of 2022.

Bruno Mars is bringing a new cocktail lounge and jazz bar to Bellagio, The Pinky Ring. The Pinky Ring will open in early 2024.

As we first reported more than a year ago, the new lounge will take over the former Lily Bar & Lounge Space.

Here’s our Tweet back from when Tweets were still called Tweets. We have no idea what they’re called now. You have definitely started taking our foreknowledge for granted.

Remember the Bruno Mars lounge going to Rhumbar space at Mirage? Mirage sale put the kibosh on that plan, apparently. Now hear it’ll take over the Lily Lounge at Bellagio.

— Vital Vegas (@VitalVegas) March 2, 2022

In a news release confirming the new lounge, Bruno Mars said, “I’ve been performing in Vegas for years, and I’ve always wanted a place where I could throw glamorous parties when I’m in town. A place that felt like my personal penthouse suite, with live music and sensational cocktails. The Pinky Ring is that.”

We love us some Bruno Mars, so we love that this lounge will finally be a thing.

The Bruno Mars concept was originally slated for Mirage’s Rhumbar space, but a change of hotel ownership (from MGM Resorts to the Seminole tribe) nixed that plan.

The change of course was an expensive one.

A $250,000 staircase was built so Bruno Mars could arrive discreetly at his glamorous party spot.

Rhumbar is still awesome, even Brunoless, mainly due to the destination monkey bread.

The party has moved, but we suspect if Bruno Mars is involved, The Pinky Ring is destined to see impromptu performances by Mars and friends, as well as being a hangout for celebrities, sports luminaries, influencers and sex workers.

Bruno Mars has a long-term residency at Park MGM, mainly to pay off his gambling debts (we joked, insulating ourself from a frivolous lawsuit), so he’s been known to do appearances at MGM Resorts venues like the Barber Shop at Cosmo.

No, really, Bruno Mars gambles a lot.

The Pinky Ring announcement was light on details, but it said, “Moody lighting, live music, DJs spinning vinyls, a specialty bar program and best-in-class audio will be the backdrop for an incredible night out at The Pinky Ring.”

Basically, they haven’t quite ironed everything out yet.

Pinky Ring featuring jazz is a twist we didn’t see coming. Some would say there’s a scarcity of live jazz in Las Vegas, which is true. Others would point out there’s a reason for that.

A new jazz venue recently opened at Downtown Grand, Fat Cat Jazz and Blues. Let’s just say it’s had as many customers as a Lasik surgeon with hand tremors.

Another jazz-forward spot, Bourbon Parade at Grand Bazaar Shops, recently shuttered. After one month.

Bruno Mars is very talented, so he may be able to make jazz enjoyable.

Either way, the place will have a new lounge smell and, we trust, wonderful cocktails that will cost as much as a gently-used recreational vehicle.

Just no doorpersons, please, Bruno. Or we’ll tell everyone your real name is Peter Gene Hernandez.

The post Confirmed: Bruno Mars Jazz Lounge is Coming to Bellagio appeared first on Vital Vegas.

Discopussy, a nightclub in the Fremont East Entertainment District, has some eye-catching new appendages.

The club recently got some colorful tentacles sure to grab the attention of downtown denizens.

Here’s a look at these new flourishes in an already quirky neighborhood.

The exterior tentacles are an extension of the theme established inside the venue.

The club features a distinctive, programmable, custom-built octopus featuring 10,000 laser-cut components illuminated by more than 5,000 LEDs. Yes, we counted.

The new exterior tentacles were created by artists who go by the names Filthy Luker and Pedro Estrellas. We suspect “Pedro Estrellas” is a pseudonym.

According to their Web site, “The duo have time [and] again proven to be pioneers in the inflatable medium as well as carving themselves a unique niche in the international Street Art movement with their larger than life sculptures and anarchic humor. Their pop-up installations never fail to turn heads, raise smiles and create epic scenes that shift the mundane towards the surreal, the sublime and often the downright ridiculous.”

They got the “ridiculous” part right, as the tentacles at Discopussy are ridiculously fun and whimsical.

Discopussy is owned by Ryan Doherty, a known art fan with a growing collection of downtown restaurants and bars.

Doherty’s downtown offerings include Cheapshot, Commonwealth, La Mona Rosa, Lucky Day, Park on Fremont, Peyote, We All Scream and Meatball Hero.

Discopussy’s space was formerly occupied by the shitshow that was Red. Long story.

The tentacles may not fit the throwback vibe of some of the spots on Fremont East, like the classic El Cortez casino, but they definitely represent a flair and flavor that appeals to youths, the club-goers and partiers who prefer bar-hopping on Fremont East over the tourist circus that is Fremont Street Experience.

We aren’t a nightclub person, but Ryan Doherty has created a bona fide music and dance destination with Octopussy and Commonwealth and We All Scream.

You can find out more about all these venues at the official Web site for Doherty’s Corner Bar Management.

Doherty is always opening something or refreshing something.

He acquired La Comida and rebranded it to La Mona Rosa. The restaurant serves the only shrimp dish we have ever loved (Camarones al Mojo de Ajo). Doherty recently reopened a renovated Park on Fremont, now with a an expanded outdoor patio and a focus on top-notch burgers. Another dance club across the street, We All Scream, is getting a Sorry Not Sorry Creamery. Cheapshot is a bar with entertainment, including burlesque. Our favorite new offering is the Meatball Hero truck next to Park on Fremont.

Each venue has its own vibe and energy, each has surprises galore (many not publicized, they’re intended to be discovered), from a painting of horses doing the wild thing at Park on Fremont to the color-shifting, LED-covered ceiling at Lucky Day to the incredible restrooms at Discopussy. No, really.

The restroom at Discopussy, tho. pic.twitter.com/HTuvWViSMe

— Vital Vegas (@VitalVegas) July 4, 2020

Add Discopussy’s new tentacles to your list of ‘grammable photo ops downtown.

The post Downtown’s Discopussy Nightclub Sprouts Tentacles appeared first on Vital Vegas.

Good luck keeping a secret in Las Vegas. We shared word of a new outdoor skydiving attraction in downtown Las Vegas back in July 2022.

Now, the scoop about Aero Vegas been confirmed, with more details about the adrenaline junkie-friendly venue and its adjoining restaurant/nightclub and bar, CrashNBurn.

Aero Vegas and CrashNBurn are set to open in the fall of 2023, but given it’s Neonopolis, the smart money’s on “whenever, if ever.”

The CrashNBurn restaurant and bar will be located on the third floor of Neonopolis, a shopping center next to the SlotZilla zipline tower.

As we also shared last year, the restaurant will be in the former Telemundo headquarters space.

New thrill ride coming to downtown's Neonopolis is named Aerodium, where riders will float over Fremont Street. Also in the works, a third floor remodel of the old Telemundo space, for a "bar, restaurant and concert hall." More to come.

— Vital Vegas (@VitalVegas) July 22, 2022

The news release has all the usual fluffery, “CrashNBurn is not your average bar or restaurant; it’s a destination in itself, with many Instagrammable opportunities to capture the memorable experiences. Situated on the third floor with the largest patio overlooking the iconic Fremont Street, guests will be treated to awe-inspiring views of Las Vegas’ dazzling lights and energetic ambiance. The indoor/outdoor bar serves up dazzling cocktails and ice-cold beers, while the restaurant’s tailored menu satisfies all culinary cravings. The VIP event space, with an integrated outdoor patio lounge, is the perfect setting for enjoying happy hour with friends, watching the games or celebrating special occasions.”

You know, a restaurant and bar.

In the evenings, CrashNBurn turns into a 21-plus nightclub.

While we enjoy food and drink as much as anybody, the real star of the show will be Aero Vegas, billed as “the world’s first rooftop open-air skydiving experience.”

According to the developers, “Imagine the thrill of skydiving without ever leaving the safety of solid ground. Guests will fly and soar against the stunning Las Vegas skyline, experiencing an adrenaline rush like never before.”

We first got wind of the attraction from Jonathan Borchetta, co-owner of The Nerd, a nightlife venue at Neonopolis. Borchetta was also co-owner of the now-closed Voodoo Zipline at Rio.

The Nerd has survived for years, despite being buried deep inside Neonopolis, so we have high hopes for Borchetta’s new venture.

Fun fact: The Nerd has a mechanical “bull” shaped like a giant penis.

The nearby SlotZilla has been printing money for years, so Aero Vegas appears to want a piece of that action.

The attraction is, technically, a skydiving simulator.

There’s another skydiving venue near the Las Vegas Convention Center, Vegas Indoor Skydiving.

The prices at Aero Vegas haven’t been announced yet, but sessions at Vegas Indoor Skydiving start at about $100. We’ll put the Aero Vegas over-under at $75. The upper line of SlotZilla is $69. We are not making this up.

Neonopolis can use all the help it can get. The landlord is notoriously challenging to deal with, and there’s been a good degree of churn with tenants over the years. Fremont Arcade, Banger Brewing and Cannabition, a cannabis museum, are among the closed venues.

Watch the official Web site for more news about Aero Vegas and CrashNBurn.

The post Outdoor Skydiving Attraction and Restaurant Confirmed for Neonopolis appeared first on Vital Vegas.

Chateau Nightclub is out at Paris, a new rooftop lounge is in, Cheri (technically, Chéri, but we are anti-accent marks).

The new lounge will debut in the fall of 2023.

Such rebrands are often the result of a venue underperforming. We know this because successful venues don’t close in Las Vegas. This isn’t rocket science.

Cheri comes from the folks at JRS Hospitality, the operators of Alexxa’s and Beer Park at Paris and Cabo Wabo at Planet Hollywood. You know, the places with irksome CNF charges (confessin fees), so we never go.

We have been to Chateau, however, and it’s a great space with a fantastic view.

Here are some words from the news release: “As the sun sets over Las Vegas, Cheri will transform into a Parisian paradise, inviting guests to revel in a journey that marries lush greenery with avant-garde design by Campbell House, inspired by the city of lights, Paris. A truly one-of-a-kind experience, guests can enjoy Cheri’s incomparable, sweeping views while tucked within one of the city’s most iconic landmark replicas, the Eiffel Tower. Centrally located within the venue will be the lounge, with ornate design elements featuring sparkling chandeliers, plush banquette seating and two bars. Entertainment will take hold nightly, with interactive, surprise-and-delight moments alongside live DJs.”

We are crushed Cheri won’t be immersive, but nobody’s perfect.

The 9,000-square-foot space will host private events with up to 1,000 guests.

The lounge will operate from 8:00 p.m. to “late.”

In Las Vegas, “late” used to mean “the next morning,” in many cases it currently means 10:15 p.m. or so.

Las Vegas is weird now. Our formerly 24/7 grocery store in the suburbs closes around noon. People have turned into babies. We are a night owl, so we only get our evening started at 9:00 p.m. Dinner at 10:00 p.m. Gambling and fornicating at midnight.

Just kidding, there’s no set time for the fornicating. From what we remember of it, roughly eight years ago. But we digress!

We love when venues shake things up and rebrand and tweak the decor and refresh the drink menus. Prices on refreshed menus always go down! It’s the first rule of Las Vegas.

You know we’ll be checking out Cheri rooftop lounge when it opens in the fall. Technically, fall starts at on September 23, at 2:50 a.m. A few weeks away.

Which makes us think the rebrand of Chateau to Cheri isn’t going to involve a substantial renovation.

New is still new, so let’s cover up our drinks with our hands and twerk like nobody’s watching and shout at each other and hook up with strangers, already.

The post Chateau Nightclub at Paris to Get Rebrand to Cheri Lounge appeared first on Vital Vegas.

A new musical festival is coming to Resorts World, Forever Midnight.

The festival’s dates are Dec. 30 and 31, 2023. The event is organized by Insomniac, the EDC (Electric Daisy Carnival) people.

There will be a simultaneous event in Los Angeles, but who gives a crap about things that aren’t happening in Las Vegas?

Anyway, the official announcement of the Forever Midnight festival included the location: LV FestPark.

Which we’re pretty sure isn’t a thing. Or wasn’t, until the announcement of this festival. Basically, it’s an empty lot at Resorts World where they’ve had a couple of failed attractions, Transfix and Enchant. “LV Empty Lot” doesn’t have the same ring to it.

The space was supposed to be hotel towers, but Resorts World shelved those plans when reality set in. They also planned to have live pandas. ‘Nuff said.

Here’s the poster with the line-up.

Here’s the list of performers slated for this festival: Anotr, Archie Hamilton, Bakke, Ben Sterling, ChaseWest, Cristoph, Deeper Purpose, Dennis Cruz, DJ Tennis b2b Chloe Caillet, Eric Prydz, Fisher, Green Velvet, Jamie Jones b2b The Martinez Brothers, Kaytranada, Kyle Walker, Lucati, Malone, Masha Mar, Mind Against, MK, Nicole Moudaber, Sofi Tukker, Solomun and Tinlicker.

We just cut and pasted that list, so have no idea if the commas are in the right places, and we have literally never heard of even one of the acts in the line-up, which probably says more about us than them, but still.

If you can squint, you can make out the blurred item as John Summit.

John Summit, whoever that might be, appears to have commitment issues.

Anyway, scheduling an event in Las Vegas around New Year’s Eve is certainly ballsy, and we aren’t even talking about the freezing temperatures.

Why is it risky? Because the town is already packed for, you know, New Year’s Eve.

It’s why many are shaking their heads about hosting the Super Bowl in Las Vegas. More on top of full makes little sense, but hoopla!

Anyway, EDC is very popular, and Insomniac has built a relationship with Resorts World.

EDC did a sort of takeover of Resorts World for this year’s festival, with the Strip resort dubbing itself “Hotel EDC” during the event.

The downside of music festivals, of course, is the folks who do such festivals don’t spend money on drinking (it’s a drug thing) or gambling or shows. So, while the organizers may make money on tickets and concessions, and hotels on rooms, others in town tend to suffer.

It might be worth a try during a slow period, but peaking the peak, not so much.

We also sort of don’t get how a New Year’s Eve event can happen over two nights. New Year’s Eve is just the one night. Maybe it’s like those people who insist upon having a “birthday month” rather than having actual accomplishments to celebrate.

We haven’t seen ticket prices for Forever Midnight, but it’s safe to guess they will keep these EDM-loving youths Forever in Credit Card Debt.

When it comes to Las Vegas, the more events the better! Except for F1. But anything else is welcome!

Let’s dance! Or shuffle. Or tut. Or wave. Or whatever the kids are doing now!

The post Forever Midnight Musical Festival Slated for Resorts World appeared first on Vital Vegas.

A big-spending, high-maintenance nightclub patron’s tantrum has resulted in a larger-than-life nightlife scandal on the Las Vegas Strip.

The still-unfolding saga involves Resorts World, Wynn Las Vegas, their respective nightlife venues and a cavalcade of ugliness, hilarity and WTF.

We’ve got all the exclusive details, of course. Our sources have asked to remain anonymous.

The series of events started at Wynn Las Vegas on Saturday, August 5, 2023, where a known whale (described to us as a “trust fund baby” from Australia), Ben Ralph, was partying at Encore Beach Club.

As day transitioned into night, it seems Ralph turned his attention to Wynn’s XS Nightclub, which hadn’t opened yet. We’re told the guest demanded the club open an hour earlier than usual, just for him.

This, obviously, was a no-go for XS, for myriad reasons. The news his request couldn’t be accommodated was delivered by the manager of XS, Niko Samarxhiu.

Apparently, the interaction got heated, and Ralph proceeded to threaten Samarxhiu and his family.

Ralph was barred from Wynn Las Vegas, and law enforcement was contacted.

A verbally abusive guest being kicked out of a nightclub or resort isn’t uncommon, but what happened next certainly is.

Ralph proceeded to post a profanity-laced series of angry and xenophobic messages on his Instagram account, specifically calling out the manager of XS, including one referring to Samarxhiu as a “broke ass immigrant.”

It gets worse.

As Ralph was raging on Instagram, he made his way to Resorts World’s nightclub, Zouk.

He is rumored to have spent more than $200,000 at the nightclub, and as part of the table packages at Zouk, guests can request messages appear on the massive video screen on the side of Resorts World.

The first message displayed was “Ben’s House.”

This first volley was seen as a swipe at Wynn Las Vegas, as this “baller” had moved to a competing venue to spend his money.

With no context, it was an amusing move, akin to the biggest negative Yelp review, ever. Yes, things can be funny and terrible at the same time.

The next message was far more concerning.

The video screen also had “Food stamps for Niko” on it. No, this isn’t Photoshopped.

There’s a lot of WTF to unpack here.

We get that the guest was spending a lot of money. We get that he was upset and made the request for this message to appear, but the fact a Zouk executive approved it is beyond comprehension.

Attacking an employee of a competing venue, by name, is unforgivable. Beyond that, using a politically-charged phrase like “food stamps” on a casino’s video screen is fraught with peril, even if it was intended as a joke.

So, how did a message like that get approved?

Since the incident, we’ve learned more about the process at Resorts World and Zouk, and we suspect the “process” is getting a major overhaul as we write this.

It seems there’s a way for Zouk Nightclub personnel to post content directly to the side of Resorts World (because of the aforementioned “perk” included with their VIP packages).

We’re told the head of nightlife at Resorts World, CMO Ron Nicolli, wasn’t aware of these specific messages being approved for the digital sign. Same for the resort’s president, Scott Sibella.

This embarrassing episode at Resorts World is the last thing they need given other recent events. Sibella has been in the headlines related to a federal investigation alleging casino employees may have paid off illegal gambling debts with casino assets. It’s complicated, but messy.

Don’t be surprised if there are some personnel changes at Resorts World resulting from the nightlife fiasco. It would appear Resorts World will be forced to do some sort of public apology.

Wynn Resorts has been fairly tight-lipped about the series of incidents, but did share a glorious statement with us: “We will not dignify the behavior of the guest toward our employee nor Resort’s World’s actions with a comment.”

See, mean and classy aren’t mutually exclusive. Take note, Ben.

Wynn Resorts has a contentious relationship with Resorts World, at one point suing the resort for copying its exterior design.

This entire baffling “only in Vegas” episode qualifies as a candidate for “Strangest Las Vegas Story of the Year.” We thought a Circa cage manager hand-delivering a million in cash to criminals would clinch this distinction, but maybe not.

Our sources say Ben Ralph’s money may not be welcome at other nightlife venues, as it’s believed he’s now banned from Zouk, along with Tao Group clubs like Omnia and Hakkasan.

This blow-up is a glimpse into a world most of us will never see, where resorts bend over backward for high rollers spending unfathomable amounts of money, providing guests a “celebrity” experience where pretty much anything goes. The competition for whales can go to extreme lengths, and there’s fallout for having the audacity to say “no.”

The typical nightclub fracas would fly under the radar, but it was a little tough to hide this one given it transpired on one of the biggest video screens in the world.

There’s a lot of public interest, as our Tweets about the altercation have garnered more than 1.5 million impressions. We aren’t sure what Tweets are called now, but you know what we mean.

We’ll keep our eyes and ears open for what’s next in this ongoing brouhaha, including any arrest reports, more eighty-sixing, brilliant ways of saying “no comment” or more rigorous approval procedures for messages appearing on a digital screen so big it can be seen from the surface of the Moon.

Update (8/7/23): Following the publication of our story, Jon Opas, Executive Director of Lifestyle Marketing for Resorts World, reached out to say the operational team at Zouk was not aware of the events earlier in the day prior to the posting of the messaging on the digital screen. After the incident, Opas went to XS to personally apologize to Niko Samarxhiu.

Update (8/8/23): Our source says Jon Opas has been suspended as this incident is investigated. This is not yet been confirmed by Resorts World.

Update (8/8/23): Our story was picked up by Channel 3 here in Las Vegas, and the station got a statement from Resorts World: “The LED sign on the West Tower was activated on Saturday night with a graphic requested by a nightlife patron. The team members who approved it were not aware of the background behind the request. Regardless, this was a mistake, and the messaging displayed does not reflect Resorts World Las Vegas’s values, and we regret that our LED screen was misused in this manner. Our leadership is handling this internally to ensure the assets displayed on the LED screens are in full alignment with the brand and our values.”

Update (8/15/23): A source says Jon Opas is no longer with Resorts World. We’re told the issue was not just related to the questionable on-screen messaging, but also involved extending a reported $250,000 in credit to the guest without a credit card on file or signed bill. There were apparently concerns the guest would leave without paying his bill, and ultimately a friend paid it on the guest’s behalf. We were also told a point of contention was the fact Opas reached out to us to comment on our story, despite being instructed to not comment or make any statement about the story to any media outlet. These details have not been confirmed to-date by Opas or any Zouk or Resorts World representatives.

Update (6/7/24): Niko Samarxhiu, through the legal firm of Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, has filed a lawsuit against Ben Ralph seeking $2 million in damages. The shithead has officially hit the fan. Here’s the Complaint (.pdf format).

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