Frommer's Las Vegas 2004

DANCE CLUBS 269
Once inside, you find a large, circular room, with a spacious dance floor taking
up much of the space. Giant video screens line the upper parts of the walls, showing
anything from shots of the action down below to catwalk footage. Comfy
circular booths fill out the next couple of concentric circles; these seem mostly
reserved, and when empty, they leave the impression that the place isn’t very full—
so why the wait? Music on a recent visit included a Madonna medley and the
perennial “Celebration,” not the most au courant of tunes. The total effect is of a
grown-up, not terribly drunken, frat and sorority mixer. The club opens at
11:30pm on Wednesday and 10:30pm Thursday through Saturday, and stays
open until about 4am each of these nights. In the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino, 3700 W.
Flamingo Rd. & 702/252-7777. Advertised cover $10 for men, local women free, out-of-state
women $5 (but frequently when we went by on a weekend night, the cover was $20 for everyone).
Drai’s After Hours Young Hollywood film execs and record-company types
are likely to be found here, schmoozing and dancing it up to house, techno, and
tribal music. Open Wednesday through Saturday from midnight until 9am.
In Barbary Coast, 3595 Las Vegas Blvd. S. & 702/737-0555. Cover varies, usually $20.
Light In contrast to the metallic high gloss that characterizes most trendy
nightspots, this is a grown-up nightclub (sister to an establishment in NYC)—
fitting, since it’s in the grown-up Bellagio—all wood and velvet and polite attitudes
from the staff. Music tends toward both modern and old-school hip-hop
and pop, with dancers (real ones) clad in rather modest costumes. Sometimes
there are other touches, such as a live sax player jamming along to the music.
Guests are probably all tourists, but tourists of the heir-to-the-hotel-fortune
sort; yet the club doesn’t feel exclusive, but rather like one big open party—a
nifty and tricky feat to pull off. Open Thursday through Sunday from 9:30pm
until 4am. In Bellagio, 3600 Las Vegas Blvd. S. & 702/693-8300. Cover varies, usually $20.
Monte Carlo Pub & Brewery Finds After 9pm nightly, this immense warehouselike
pub and working microbrewery (details on p. 134) turns from a casual
restaurant into something of a dance club. Rock videos blare forth from a large
screen and 40 TV monitors around the room, while on stage, dueling pianos
provide music and audience-participation entertainment. The pub is cigarfriendly
and maintains a humidor. There’s a full bar, and, of course, the house
microbrews are featured. You can also order pizza. Open until 2am Sunday to
Thursday, until 4am Friday and Saturday. In the Monte Carlo Resort & Casino, 3770 Las
Vegas Blvd. S. & 702/730-7777.
Ra The futuristic Egyptian-themed Ra is part of the new generation of Vegas
hot spots. It has that Vegas “we’re a show and an attraction” vibe, but is still not
overly pretentious. The staff is friendly, which is a rare thing for a hot club. It
might be worth it to go just to gawk at the heavy gilt decor. You’ll also find a
major light show, cigar lounges off the disco, draped VIP booths, and plenty of
little nooks and crannies. Current dance music (mostly techno) is on the soundtrack.
The later you go, the more likely the mid-to-upper-20s clientele will be
entirely local. Open Wednesday through Saturday from 10pm until 4am. In Luxor
Las Vegas, 3900 Las Vegas Blvd. S. & 702/262-4000. Cover $5–$15.
Rain At press time, this was the hottest nightclub in Vegas. Which means you
(and us—don’t think we aren’t standing there with you, shoulder to shoulder in
solidarity) probably will spend most of your time trying to convince someone,
anyone, to let you in. You and a couple of thousand of Size-2 Juicy Couture jeansclad
20-somethings who feel they will simply cease to exist if they don’t get inside.
We smirk and snicker at their desperation, because it makes us feel superior. But