zarjoe

....and it looks like I spoke too soon about the respectful tone of the thread....

Hey guys... discussions like this are the reason I read this board over all the other forums out there. It was balanced, insightful, respectful and informative. A house music lover myself (and professional/business owner) I am glad to see a resurgence in the house scene in Vegas, but understand the business drivers behind clubs needing to maximize revenue. Thanks for a great thread. One thing that wasn't discussed (other than east/west coast differences) was demographics of the crowds (especially generations... 30+ or new clubbers) and how that impacts both the spend and draw... their music tastes differ and their expectations in the Vegas experience are different too. Thoughts? We are coming out for MAGIC and staying on to party through LDW... hope to run into you both... but for the first time in a long time... we are NOT looking for a hook up/help from this board (unless you have some insightful suggestions for a house loving crew that lives in Vanacouver Canada and just got back from Miami).... we finally know enough people but can always use the insights of locals Thanks again... Zarjoe

The Labor Day Trip Report First of all, let’s start this off with some context. We are a late 20’s / early 30’s couple who go to Vegas several times a year for weekends of partying and sin. We are self-employed and travel very frequently even outside of our trips to Vegas for both fun and work. We know what we like to do and have some typical places we like to visit when we are in Vegas. But that doesn’t stop us from trying new things. We love to meet people, go to clubs, and party for days at a time while in Sin City. This trip was going to be a slight exception though, as there was a convention we needed to attend and it ended just before Labor Day weekend (why would we leave when we were already there?). So, we were going to be there for nearly a week and needed to pace ourselves. Therefore, the first 3 days were low-key and work-focused. The last four days were, however… well, you can read for yourselves. NOW, the whole trip report is rather long and detailed, but for those of you who want the short version, here it is…. Since we are going to skip Days 1 & 2 on this trip report, here are the CLIFF’s Notes for the trip: Day 1 – Travel/Work BORING Day 2 – Work, Convention, BORING Day 3 – Work, Convention, Good Dinner at Ruths’ Chris’, Sapphire, MIX Day 4 – Sapphire (Fun), Pure (HOT, No Line, No Cover), Drais (X-Rated ending) Day 5 – Jaguars (Sexy), ICE (Oakenfold, but fun), Seven (Dying) Day 6 – Sapphire (Still Fun), Rehab (Drama) BE (Too damn cool), Drais (Always hot) Day 7 – Travel Home (quiet, thank God) Let's start where the fun started... DAY 3 – Thursday (Work Ends, Play Begins) This is where the trip report will start to get a little more interesting for those of you who go to Vegas to party rather than gamble and eat!!! Work is OVER for the trip, we go back to the hotel to get ready. My girl goes up to the room to get ready and I hit the craps table. Again, a small hit downstairs ($200) and back to the room with the cash. She’s not quite ready to go so I throw a mix CD in the DVD player and IT PLAYS. The sound coming out of the 42†Plasma TV’s speakers is EXCELLENT and it turns out that it becomes the sound system for the weekend. HOT! So while we are finishing up getting ready, I pour my girl a Hypnotiq and a Red Bull Grey Goose RBGG for myself (gotta get the party started in the room). Our friends won’t arrive until midnight and will be checking into the Luxor, so we have some time to kill. She looks HOT and ready for a fun night. Let’s start at Sapphire Gentleman’s Club. We have always loved to go to Strip Clubs together and Vegas clubs have always had some of the most fun and hot girls. Sapphire is the largest strip club in Vegas (maybe the world) and has a fun, open layout that makes it easy to sit, drink, talk and do whatever you want. Drive over, pay the cover ($30 each) and get a table. Order a couple more RBGG’s (Red Bull/Grey Goose) and check out the scenery. The music is good, the lights are a little low and there are dancers everywhere. Since its only 10pm its not too busy yet. But things are a little different here. The girls aren’t as hot as they were last year. We talk to a few people throughout the week and it turns out that there are so many strip clubs and other opportunities for pretty young women in Vegas that this is the trend. The pretty dancers are harder to find, the number of clubs has diluted the scene! UGGH, what to do. It was relaxing and we had a couple drinks and chatted A nice time. We leave there when its time to meet our friends back at THELounge at THEHotel. Well, everyone shows up around midnight, we have a drink downstairs in THELounge (great service, and a little expensive - $150 for 2 rounds of drinks for 5 people). Now up to MIX on the top of THEHotel. We love this lounge/restaurant and have been there in the past for just dinner as well as met people there for drinks. The VIEW is the reason to go! It was Thurssday night so it was fairly empty even at midnight. No cover, walked right in and were seated at the patio with the best view of the strip by far. All five of us had a few drinks, the waitress (Dana) was attentive and excellent and the music was AWESOME. Although the crowd was small, very beautiful people were the norm. Lounge-type house music. It was a nice calm atmosphere and perfect for the first night. They closed early for us (2am) but since it was the first night, we decided to call it a night and head in. Its very rare for us to get in before the sun comes up in Vegas, but we had some things we wanted to do on Friday during the day with our friends and we had three very long nights ahead we needed to rest up for. DAY 4 – Friday (Let the games begin) Although the arriving friends were a little disappointed that we called it an early night on Thursday, they thanked us that morning and the following days several times over. Pace yourselves, party people. You will be able to go until Monday morning if you do. The first reason our friends thanked us on Friday morning though is we were going to a shooting range. As we live in Canada, most of us and our friends have never shot a gun so we thought “what better place than in Vegas.†Drove out to the Las Vegas Gun Shop and Firing Range on Blue Diamond just south of the Strip on I-15 and rented a Berretta and PK. Got some quick training and each shot 50 rounds at a target. Very fun, but not to be done with a hangover (very loud). Now, off to see the Wynn, the Ferrari dealership (overrated, just visit the gift shop) and then lunch at Margarita’s at the New Frontier. We have loved this restaurant for a few years. Great Mexican food and good service has been the norm. Well this time the service was good, but the food quality has dropped dramatically. We will not go back. Now the afternoon is getting late, so we head back to the hotel to freshen up and get a “disco nap†in before our first big night out. Tonight is going to be HOT – Pure and then Drais. Everyone says Pure is impossible to get into. And it was going to be even harder to get in on Labor Day weekend. BUT, we had been there before and gotten in. However, we were on a list and had a name back then. This weekend there was NO LIST. All the hosts said the only way to get in was to buy a table and a bottle. The best offer we got for our group was $1600 for two bottles, a table and tip. We said “no way†we’ll take our chances. Other people said, you need to go at 9pm, get in line and get a stamp. Then you can leave and come back. We don’t go out that early, so that was out. Well, here is how it went down: We went to Jaguars’ Gentleman’s Club. (By far the best in Vegas right now). Scores is taking over this month and the girls are already looking better. We had such a good time that we didn’t get out of there until 12:30am. So then off to Pure… we were going to have a tough time getting in PRIMETIME at Pure. We drive up to Caesar’s and the sign is up “Valet Fullâ€. I get out with the keys and hand the guy a $10 bill and said “think you can find room?†He says no problem and gives me a claim ticket. We walk through the entry over to the Pure entrance. It is one of the largest crowds and lines we have ever seen. There are 3 or 4 separate lines with hundreds of people in each of them. They wind around the casino and waiting area in such a haphazard fashion that you can’t tell where they start and end. Well, we never wait in lines, so my hottie grabs me by the hand and walks us to the front where the security guys are letting people out and in. I have a benjiman in my hand to give the guy a $100 handshake if I need to. She walks up, dressed so hot, and we drop the name we used last time. He says “what, do you want to get in sweetie?†She says yes, he says “who are you with?†She points to me and the other couple we came with and he waves us in, stamps our hands with a special stamp (that to our surprise meant no cover) and we walk right through without paying cover. Less than 2 minutes, no greasing the palm of the bouncer and NO COVER which was $40. Even on Labor Day weekend, Pure has a passable line if you look and act the part! The place was packed and the music was good as usual. Hip hop downstairs and house upstairs. It was impossible to get a drink and we took turns weaving to the bar for rounds. After awhile we found a nice place upstairs to chill and dance (away from the awful misters) and about 3:30am thought we should head over to Drais. The scene in the Barbary Coast lobby is always packed outside of Drais about 4am. This was no exception. It was the same experience as Pure. We walked to the front of the line, my hottie is talking to a girl with a list (Jennifer) and she tells my girl “sorry I don’t have you on the list†my girl says “Not Possible†and as we were about to leave, this guy literally moves this Jennifer chick out of the way, opens up the velvet rope for my girl to walk in. (and the 3 of us as well). Again, no tip to that guy or any guy/bouncer, but at Drais, we paid the $50 per person. Drais was packed, pretty people, the usual….danced and had a blast, met this hot stripper from San Diego, and these hot girls from Boston, (both sooo into my girl, but not into each other, so we had to pick ) and went home with the HOT Boston girls at around 6 ish, the rest is X rated (you figure it out). DAY 5 – Saturday (Let the games continue) Back to the hotel at around 9ish, catapulted into bed and continued until noon…………. finally got some sleep that afternoon, woke up at about 6pm (Damm, missed the pool again) and went down to the casino while my girl was getting ready. We always feel like vampires when we go to Vegas, sleep all day, go out hunting all night! Broke even at the casino, the girl was ready to go when we got back, so we headed to Sapphire’s for some lap dances. The girls decided to check the men’s side while my buddy& I stayed for some lap dances. I don’t know what on earth happens on the other side of that room, but a “I’ll be back honey in10 minutesâ€â€¦turned into a 2 HOUR disappearing act. Hell, I thought I would start getting major lap dances from every girl to show her, but my buddy decided It would be a good time to drop a happy pill (his way to save my pocketbook) and so at around 12:30 the girls come back with a “I know I’m busted but don’t care smileâ€. Thanks to the happy pill my girl & I kiss & make up (till today don’t know the details….and don’t want to). We head off to ICE to see The dinosaur himself, Paul Oakenfold,………..it was everything you can imagine of a dead genre. Although I love trance, it was even a bit too techno for me. But it was low cover for the girls ($20 girls, $60 guys) and no line, and the people inside were good looking. Again, we ended up in the VIP area (where you were supposed to have wrist bands) we obviously had none, but the bouncer liked my girl and we were respectful so he let us in. We decided to leave as we were watching the only guy dancing to Oakenfold with his glowsticks………..not good. We headed to Seven out of curiosity really, and it was what everyone’s been saying, really dead, no people, music good, but too cold ‘cause it was too empty……….had one drink and left. We wanted to get up at a decent hour to go to Rehab. Got to the hotel at around 5am and fell in the arms of Morpheus (finally). DAY 6- Sunday Got up at 10am and headed to the Hard Rock for Rehab………..it was already packed by the time we got there (jeez, what time do these people wake up to get in line????) And waited……….Rehab opens at 12noon, and so everyone had to wait. Once it opened several individuals waiting in line, went straight to the front and got in. We were really tired and hungry (no breakfast yet) so we decided to try our luck again, and went to the front of the line (which was really a moshpit, all these people trying to get the door guys attention and get in) and my girl caught the eye of this high roller, who paid like 3000 buckaroos, to get in with his posse. He told the bouncer to let my girl and myself in, and off he went. The problem was that the couple we were with did not get that invite, and was not allowed in. ….. bummer. We were actually INSIDE the venue and our conscience got the best of us, and we couldn’t go in without our friends (who were looking at us from the wrong side of the velvet rope with puppy faces)……..so close but yet, ugly friends…..haa haa haa (kidding) We were starving so we left Rehab with the satisfaction that we got in, but with two angry friends in tow….and decided to shop & eat. I wanted food, and my girl wanted boots…….needless to say less was spent on food than boots, but we were able to get back to the hotel mid afternoon for a much needed “disco nap.†Time to get ready for the last big night: Body English & a return to Drais. Again, the girl is getting ready so I head to the tables……and make another hundred. She’s ready to go when I get back, so we head to Sapphire’s to start the night.. After a drink or two we head to pick up our friends and head off to BE. NOW, after our experience at Rehab this afternoon, we were NOT going to take any chances at BE. So I called my old friend Bill Lee. Remember this name. Remember. Side note: Over the past year, when I’ve been with a group of guys or a large group at a hot club, Bill has arranged table service for us and done a great job. I’ve never called on him just to pass the line, (my hottie usually takes care of that) but tonight was an exception. Bill was happy to hear from us, and said he’ll meet us at BE around 11ish to walk us down. We hooked up at the hard rock, shortly after 11 and, true to his word, he weaved us through hundreds of people in line, past the bouncers and down into the club without cover. His hosting services were worth every penny. Even our ugly friends felt like VIPs haahaahaa Once down there he invited us to his VIP table upstairs and we partied for the next three hours with Bill and his crew. Bill Lee is for real, and he’s the man. Thanks Bill! It was around 4 and we decided to head to Drais, (we noticed a lot of people leaving BE heading for Drais as well). Drais was packed already, huge line outside. My girl (who doesn’t forget a face) walks to the front sees the guy from Friday night and tells him “ Hi hon, We’re back†and he’s all smiles and lets us in. Tonight Drais was $30 per person, not bad we thought. We get in, and you could almost smell it was going to be a wild night, we had the great instinct to get a table for $400 that we split between three friends. With tip, for less than $150 per guy we had a table that sat 6-8 people and got to attract a ton of hotties! It was the second best money spent on the trip (after Bill Lee) and the best decision of the night. Within minutes the club got so packed you couldn’t even walk! Having the table was awesome! We had some hot Latina girls from Nordstrom’s in Beverly Hills join us and partied the night away. The club is bumping and there are tons of pretty people, the dancers trickle in after 5 and the crowd is distinctly more local than on Friday night. But I can’t do anything but stare at this amazing hottie across the table from me. After a weekend of partying like a rockstar, all I really want to do is take my own hottie back the THEHotel and show her the reason she is the center of my world. Around 6ish my girl & I decided to head back to the hotel for some kamasutra play. As we are leaving Drais, there is a huge line outside. People are trying to get in, I am sure this scene re-enacts itself every long weekend, but tonight was so packed. We get back to THEHotel about 7am and call for a late check-out. The concierge says “no problem Mr. XXXX, ohhh, and the host has taken care of tonight for youâ€. Cool, just a little gambling but at least one free night. My hottie and I spend the next couple hours doing what we do best and finally fall asleep about 9am to wake at noon and check out by 1pm. DAY 7 – Return to Reality After check out (on the phone), we head to pick up some Vegas memorabilia, do some work at Kinko’s and get some lunch. We get to the airport a little early for a 5pm flight but who can possibly tell the time after 7 days in sin city. The flights home were uneventful and we only wish we had more sleep. But there is nothing we would have traded to get even an extra hour of sleep. Another trip to Vegas and another batch of memories to never forget. Can’t wait to get home…. Can’t wait to get back to Vegas. Isn’t that the way it always is?

Hey, on the ICE website it says that he is playing on Saturday 9/3! http://www.icelasvegas.com/home/event.asp?eventdate=9/3/2005 Hope to see you all there. ZJ

Arielmoses! Thanks for the welcome at Seven last Friday night. We had a blast with Twisted8 and crew! We are coming back to Vegas for Labor Day WEEK.... but remember you told us you were going to be up our way in Sept (Victoria?). Which weekend are you going to be up here....? We will for SURE make the trip to Victoria to see yall! See you in Vegas in a few weeks. Zarjoe....

Greenie! Now, I get it! Yes, I think that was you! We actually went from there to 5150 cuz it got so late/early. Naw, you didn't freak us out... we were in the same state! HA! Those always make for the best weekends. Anyone up for Labor Day?

Ok all, I told you we needed trip reports and you guys are getting better... since I was down this weekend and saw some of you... I figured I OWED y'all a trip report myself. THE SETUP: We come down 3-4 times a year to Vegas just to let loose. Me and my girl... damn we love vegas! This trip was just us and some local friends. We thought it might be a low key weekend. WRONG! I will tell you what we remember... THEflight: Alaska Air, direct, free MVP Gold Upgrade to First Class. On time and uneventful... bags came off quick too. THEcar: Dollar Rental Car - Chysler 300m, ready and no waiting. THEhotel: Yes, this is our place, we stayed here again and we are NEVER disappointed... perfection. Stopped for some grey goose and hypnotiq on the way to the hotel, checked in by midnight. Got up stairs to unpack and get ready to go... the girl wants to go to BED! It's Vegas, no way, OK just a disco nap she says. I'm like OK... down to play craps. I come upstairs at 2am, she is OUT. I am drunk and making $$$ so back to craps! in 5 hours, I made enough to pay for the weekend. One night in Vegas down, but enough $$$ not to worry about playing more. Friday: Shopping, Desert Passage & Venetian. They had a bunch of stuff we didn't need but wanted and bought it anyway. Then lunch with friend's at PF Chang's on paradise. Food was great, drinks too. 3 of us ate and drank for $80. Not bad. Now back to get changed, this is going to be our big night, tons planned. Got a call from Twisted8... what's her plan? Damn, that sounds like ours... Starting at 11pm, here was the schedule: Krave (a private party): great crowd, nasty music, we had a drink and went to ICE. ICE: Got there at 12midnight. No line, Clubplanet list and no tip. Walked in and were there for an hour before DJ Irene played. A VERY HOT SET... hard house and trance. Her opener was a Resident who was almost as good. We partied hard here until 3am or later. We need to move. Where to??? Seven. Twisted calls and says we should meet her there! SEVEN: We love this club, the music is always on and we love the layout. The crowd was fun but SMALL. We had lots of space to dance, hung out with Twisted8 and company (she has some VERY fun friends!) then wanted a bigger crowd so we headed with a couple people to DRAIS. DRAIS: With the help of one of Twisted8's friends who knew a couple people at the door at Drais, no line, just cover at the bottom (its 5am+). The crowd is hot, great house music... mostly progressive, later it switched to harder trance....we were here until 8am... then .... The Asylum/5150.... this was the club we thought we would run into Twisted8 at. There she was.... with the whole crew from Seven. We got there before 9am... the club is nice, the music awesome... but again the crowd was small. It needs to be said... TWISTED8 can party beyond the best of them. At 5150 we had a couple drinks.... looked at the watch, looked at the girl and it was time to go. Imagine the laugh we had when twisted sent us a message at 10am and said "i knew you couldn't hang"! That was a night! Saturday: Slept until dinner...pre-party at MIX at THEhotel. Great crowd, good house music, expensive drinks. Off the Tangerine... just as reviewed. This club is too small with a layout that is not meant for crowds or dancing much. We loved the music outside (house) and if you like hiphop, inside was good too. Again, no line, no cover (we were with some people).. stayed for a few drinks... then it was too crowded on the patio and we got a call from some girls we met at Drais that they were at Body English. So we were off to BE. Body English: got there at 1am on Saturday, huge swordfest in the line, but we were with 3 guys, 3 girls.... the bouncer was generous and pulled us from the line. Paid the cover and went down. GREAT VENUE! Love the layout of the club... HATED the music. Don't mind the hiphop, but have to say the rock mixed with the hiphop doesn't sit right with me. We were watching the clock to know when to get to Drais! Drais: 4am... starting to fill up... look at the people. Got a booth handed to us when someone bailed... hung out until 6am... met some great girls... so the girl and I bailed with them. By 8am, and its our last day... let's got back out... to Seven, then back to drais... we were going to go to 5150 at 10am... but we needed to check out of the HOTEL! Ha Then to the airport and on a plane. Its Tuesday and we are still trying to recover. On the whole... the reviews on this board are accurate and tell you what you need to know. The host here are particularly good at telling people the real story. Its all about what YOU are looking for. EVEN FOR US... we like HOUSE music and pretty people (Vegas has turned for the most part to HIPHOP music and bulging/drinking people), but we still found our Venues! Thanks board, we had a blast and will be back the last week of August for MAGIC and labor day weekend! Zarjoe p.s. get some sleep if you are planning on trying to keep up with Twisted8.... she does not slow down. C___ thanks for a blast this weekend!

Thanks SMX... sounds like you had a blast... we only stay at THEhotel too... just got hooked last year!

Pete & DJMasterWeb... Thanks to earlier advice and some higher level craps play than I remember at MB over a year ago, I called MB and found a host who said no problem! We have a bed both days. He also said that he'll watch my play this trip and try to do something about the room charges, beds and misc.... so we'll see. But either way, we got the bed! Thanks DJMasterweb! Pete, yeah we heard something about that group too, but its the weekend after the 4th so it shouldn't be too packed.... and it should make for some interesting people watching FO REAL! Have fun....

Great posts! Thanks for the ideas and advice.

UKJay: Thanks for the great trip report and keep going, long weekends in Vegas never seem to end (and who wants them to!). Have fun!

Double nice.

Yeah, I know, that's why I gave you props in the opening sentence! Keep em coming!

OK, LaLate does great weekend reviews (as do DJMasterweb, Twisted8, Darkvixen and many others)... but each time I go to Vegas I see HUNDREDS of fun party people out at the clubs (most NOT Vegas locals)....yet there are very few trip reports posted here from those of us benefiting from the knowledge on this forum (Greenie... you are the exception of course). I just spent the day lurking on Vegas Trip Report boards and can hardly find ANY anywhere from people OUR age who live a nocturnal party life when we are in Vegas. Suggestion: Let's start posting trip reports here people. We are going to be there 7/7 - 7/10.... trip report 2B posted upon return! Whatdya think? Help a brotha out? Holla...