As pool season kicks off in Las Vegas, new takes on daylife abound — indoors and out — generating a variety of options for guests and additional revenue for venue operators. Never one to sit still, N9NE Group debuted High Society this past weekend at Novo Italiano on the 51st floor of the Palms Casino Resort tower. Thanks to Zen Freeman and Mark Stylz’s spinning, the indoor Sunday soiree is high energy, taking on an Italian piazza flair, with strolling musicians and a portrait artist, along with a market-style offering of foods ranging from brunch favorites to paninis and pizzas. To wash it down? Champagne bottles and half bottles of spirits for $99.
The pool party that started the daylife trend, REHAB at the Hard Rock, returns for its record-breaking seventh season this coming weekend; 4,000 people are expected to show up to party in the sun with the likes of A-list celebs including Wyclef Jean, who will perform. TruTV will be on hand to kick off its third season, and DJ Vice and DJ Irie will be back to keep the party going all day every Sunday. While cover is usually $20 for ladies ($40 for the guys), this year local ladies can waltz in at no charge. REHAB nabbed the Ongoing Promotion of the Year in the 2010 Nightclub & Bar Awards.
But the big news in the Vegas daylife scene this year, which we first reported here, is that Steve Wynn is diving in head first with the opening of 60,000-square-foot Encore Beach Club at Encore. Brought to us courtesy of Sean Christie, the man behind Blush Boutique Nightclub at Wynn Las Vegas and more recently Society Café at Encore, Encore Beach is set to open in May — the construction crews are hard at work at this point and the curious are craning their necks to get a peek of the developing site. Setting it apart on the suddenly ultra-competitive daylife scene will be three tiered pools, 40-foot palm trees and eight double-decker VIP cabanas with views of the Strip and the pool, each with their own hot tubs. Other club features include lily-pad-like lounges scattered in the shallows and cooling shower poles for dancing to the grooves of DJ Kaskade’s signature house music. Catering to the sophisticated party set (think XS), it’s doubtful any bottle will go for $99 at Encore Beach.
Turning up the heat a few more degrees is the launch of LIQUID Pool Lounge from Light Group at Aria Resort & Casino, the new jewel at CityCenter. Towering palms throw shade and provide privacy to partiers, who can also avail themselves of luxury cabanas complete with flat-screen TVs, Wi-Fi, iPod docks and semi-private pools. Rather than operate one day a week, LIQUID is open Thursday through Sunday until May 1, when it will go to seven days a week.
Apparently, WET Republic at MGM Grand isn’t the only venue declaring war on nightlife.