bluecharleston

I may have the opportinity to move to Vegas. I'm an engineer and there may be opportunities with the City of Las Vegas or North Las Vegas. Is Vegas livable, or is it better as just a place to visit and party? What are the best and worst areas to live and work in?

Sorry darkvixen, wanted to do Drais but it just didn't work out this trip. Maybe next time! lalate -- I was given the PURE's host contact info from mrvegas and the guy does work for PURE, I am sure of that. Maybe I wasn't fully informed on what I was supposed to do or say once I got to the door, but just seeing all these lines made it undesirable for us to even be in that lobby, much less inside the club. However, this was a free list for no cover only, not for a table, so maybe that makes a difference.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 22ND: CENTRIFUGE, TANGERINE, VIVID, MIX Centrifuge – as some other board members have stated, this is a great bar. Great setup, not overly busy, and choreographed dance routines by the bar and waitstaff on the bar and platforms throughout the bar every half hour. And unlike most places, half-bottles of some liquors are available at the tables. Tangerine – This place was pretty cool, but it would have been so much better with half the amount of people in there. The burlesque act was good. The patio is kind of a joke because there is a view of practically nothing. The Sirens of TI show goes on, but you can’t really hear any part of it, as if that matters anyway. I can’t imagine how busy this place will be tonight (July 1st) with Carmen Electra performing. Vivid – Took the short walk over to Vivid. I really liked the layout, better than Tangerine’s. However, there was less than 50 people there, so we left. Tangerine & Vivid would have made for a perfect night if half of the crowd at Tangerine would have went to Vivid. Maybe with mrvegas at the Venetian’s helm now, Vivid can get the attention and crowds that it deserves. Oh, and the view from the balcony right outside of Vivid is beautiful, so much better than Tangerine’s patio. MIX – There was not much of a crowd here, so most tables were open. Great setup and nice place to chill on our first night in town. Really great view, but I think the Luxor light is too close and prominent and takes away from it. THURSDAY, JUNE 23RD: OPM, PUSSYCAT DOLLS LOUNGE, TEATRO OPM – This is a great club. Great layout to it, with the main bar centrally located with the DJ booth on the other side of it, it makes for a better crowd flow and feel. Great music and sound system in the main room. DJ Masterweb was spinning first, and then Andy Gil. Masterweb was better because he kept the mic closed. Andy kept speaking over the music every few minutes to remind people of the drink specials and such – nobody wants or needs to hear that – I think that stuff should be kept to his radio gig. That’s what flyers and posters are for. He also repeated a couple songs that Masterweb had just played a few minutes before. I say Masterweb should be the main guy! Pussycat Dolls Lounge – I think this place is cool, but they’re strict about their tables, i.e., you can’t use them even if they’re not reserved or if the party reserving them hasn’t showed up yet. The result was a bunch of people standing in the center of the space with a ton of empty tables surrounding the crowd. We watched one act and headed back to our hotel, the MGM, and hit Teatro. Teatro – This is a really cool bar. Apparently the burlesque theme that’s in all the write-ups about this bar has been dropped, as during our visit, it was just go-go type dancers on the catwalk. There are only a few dancers, so they do repeat, but they are very pretty and there is someone always on the catwalk, not just every 20-30 minutes. We loved the setup and music variety played on various nights, and went here more than any other bar besides Centrifuge. FRIDAY, JUNE 24TH: TEATRO, ICE, CENTRIFUGE Teatro – back there before heading to ICE. ICE – went to see & hear Donald Glaude. Love his new CD “This is Me†and had to check him out in person. He didn’t get in the booth until 2am, but he was awesome once he started. Love this club. Favorite dance club I’ve been to, only surpassed by crobar in Miami. The hip-hop room was very good, and the electronica in the main room was great. Only one criticism – the floor in the hip-hop room was uneven, almost wavy. I don’t know if this was by design or not, but I don’t think girls in heels care too much for that. Centrifuge – finished the night with a couple drinks here. SATURDAY, JUNE 25TH: TOP OF THE WORLD LOUNGE, PURE, FORTY DEUCE, TEATRO, CENTRIFUGE Top of the World Lounge @ Stratosphere – OK, so this isn’t the most happening place in town, but they make excellent Mai Tai’s and the view is great. PURE – we got to Caesar’s about 10pm and the scene was ridiculous. As others have reported, there were multiple lines, multiple lists. There’s the general line that is many hours long, girls only lines, and apparently various lists going on. Even the so-called VIP line or lines was probably an hour long. And there’s no persons or signs telling you which line you’re supposed to be in. We left after 2 minutes of this madness. I think it is pathetic that people would spend or waste their night waiting in a line or lines like that, and I think it is a pathetic statement on Vegas nightlife that these people felt it was a better option to wait around in that madness than to go to another club or clubs. It’s ironic that I read in this month’s Vegas magazine that PURE is supposed to have a South Beach feel, whereas you could get on a flight to Miami and be at a real South Beach club before the last person in line gets into PURE, if they even get in. And I can’t imagine it being a very pleasant experience inside of that club when it’s at capacity. Guess I’ll never know, and I’m certainly OK with that. Forty Deuce – There was no line here, and we got a seat at a table in the bar area. This place is pretty small, and the bar is in an awkward place that blocks the view of the stage for a good portion of the bar. Funny thing is, right before the first show, we gave up our table so we could see the show as there was a wall with a painting on it between us and the stage. After the show started, we realized that the “painting†had been lowered or raised to make for a window so you could see the show from that table. It would have been a limited view, but still there was a view. This was definitely the best burlesque act we saw. The band looks really goofy though – those guys should NOT be center stage! The ventilation could be a little better, but it is a small place afterall. We tried to go to this place a couple other nights, but it was after hours only those nights, and the first show wasn’t until after 3am. Then it was back to Teatro and Centrifuge before crashing for the night. There were quite a few people living it up on the small dance floor at Teatro this night. This was also the busiest night at Centrifuge, but still comfortable for a drink or two. SUNDAY, JUNE 26TH: RISQUE @ PARIS Risque was the only place we went to this night, after seeing both “Skintight†and “Oâ€. We stopped in to see the new Vamp Girlie Revue, or whatever it’s called. It was a pretty good show, but the dancers screamed a lot and it was just strange and didn’t make a lot of sense. We watched a couple acts and that was enough. Risque is setup pretty cool. I think it’s similar to OPM, but OPM is better in layout and sound system. However, Risque does have the outdoor balconies with cool strip and fountain views that can be reserved as opposed to the Forum Shops balcony at OPM. MONDAY, JUNE 27TH: CENTRIFUGE, TEATRO, “KAâ€, FOUNDATION ROOM Centrifuge & Teatro – back here for a couple drinks before seeing “Ka†(the best show in town, IMHO). Foundation Room – this place is most definitely overrated. Nothing special about this place at all, and the view from the balcony is a joke. It faces the airport, and you almost have to stick your head out and to the left to see the strip. The view from MIX is infinitely better. It was over-crowded, and not worth the $30pp cover. If you must check this place out, then try to get on the list so you don’t waste your money. TUESDAY, JUNE 28TH: GHOSTBAR, “3†@ MGM: STUDIO 54, TABU, & TEATRO ghostbar – This is a very cool place on a Tuesday night, but I bet it would be terrible on a Friday or Saturday night. The setup is cool, and I think this may be the best view of the strip from a bar, but you can’t see the Eiffel Tower. I think the view of the strip from the Eiffel Tower is the best, but unfortunately it’s just a tourist spot. The sound system at ghostbar was pretty lame – surely they can afford better. “3†@ MGM: Studio 54, Tabu & Teatro for a total cover charge of $15. It’s free for the ladies, and since we stayed at MGM under the Ultimate Package, the $15 is comped. It was EDEN night at Studio 54, and it was house music. The music and sideshows were very good. Tabu was cool, with the multi-colored center bar and tables that made for individual dance floors. And then finished the night and trip out at Teatro. OTHER COMMENTS: Table service – the so-called “VIP†table service has gotten out of hand. Most are for 4 or more people and require 2-3 bottles to be bought. Couples and most of the general public can’t afford to sit down inside of a bar or club, and that is just sad. There should be more creative options such as offering tables for couples and half-bottles to allow for a variety of liquors and/or wines. Maybe these tables could be offered on a half-hour or hour increments to allow for turnover and more cash flow. Currently, couples get screwed. But I guess if the clubs are packing the crowds in and selling out tables, there’s no point for them to change. Hotels – We stayed at the MGM Grande and have visited just about every other major hotel in Vegas. The MGM is the most contemporary and happening hotel and casino in town with excellent restaurants and nightlife. I wouldn’t recommend any others for “cool†adults under 40. All of the room options are great. We stayed in the West Wing this time, which is the old Emerald Tower. The rooms are small for Vegas, but normal in relation to rooms in South Beach. The West Wing rooms are very contemporary with flat screen TVs in both the bedroom and one built into the bathroom mirror. The West Wing also has its own cool little bar/lounge, right near Centrifuge (go past the Rainforest gift shop). This bar doesn’t attract much of a crowd, so if you want a little retreat, this is a great space. The West Wing is similar to THEhotel in décor and style, but much cheaper. The room size is larger at THEhotel, but so what, all we did was sleep there and get ready for nightlife. Also, the BEAUTY of the smaller rooms at the West Wing in the MGM is that the rooms allow for an occupancy of only two per room, meaning that there are NO KIDS in this area. Never saw one, not even on an elevator. Guest lists – my experience was that the lists work. I used NapkinNights.com for several clubs including Tangerine & Risque, and DJ Masterweb’s link worked for OPM. Another hookup method is to signup for email lists for the clubs. They’ll email out invitations to be added to their lists for certain nights or events, for example this worked very well at ICE. I was added to the list at PURE by one of their VIP hosts, but as stated above, we bailed due to the chaos.

From Pure's VIP host: "PURE is open on sunday's, just the main room, not the patio or Red Room.....Its a little more mellow on Sunday's, but still a good time"

I've also been to both Ra and crobar, and crobar seems much larger although it is 16,000 sf (and also has high ceilings, but that doesn't really matter). However, 19,000 sf is what the Ra website (and others) states as its square footage, so that's all I have to go on. Layout means a lot though, that's why I said that info may be "somewhat" helpful, as it doesn't tell the whole story.

Thought this info may be somewhat helpful (in square feet): Body English - 7,500 Forty Deuce - 4,500 ghostbar - 9,000 ICE - 17,000 Light - 7,000 OPM - 8,000 PURE - 36,000 Ra - 19,000 RAIN - 25,000 Risque - 5,000 Studio 54 - 22,000 Tabu - 7,000 Tangerine - 6,400 Teatro - 2,850 Vivid - 9,000 Anybody know the sizes of Drai's, the Foundation Room, rumjungle, MIX, V Bar, and Caramel?

How are PURE and OPM on Sunday nights? Also, how long of a walk is it between PURE and OPM?

Thanks. Do you spin at OPM on Thurs? I'll be in Vegas 6/22-6/29.

Are the front-of-the-line passes that are sold on Vegas.com worth it? Do they really work and are they always necessary? Specifically for Ice (on Fri/Sat), OPM (Thurs), and Tangerine (Wed)? I guess the only hope at Body English (Sat or Sun) is to get there early?

Need advice from someone who knows both Vegas and South Beach: Going to Vegas 6/22-6/29...most favorite club I've ever been to is crobar in South Beach. Don't care too much for Mansion, Prive, Opium Garden, etc. Love crobar with both electronic and hip-hop nights. How does this preference translate to Vegas? Where should I go?