LALate.com - Review of Las Vegas Venues

[lalate]

Friday - OPM

Venue.

OPM is located inside Wolf Gang Puck's restaurant in the Forum shops at Caesar. The venue claims to be the top venue in Vegas and 8,000 square feet in size. The second statement is only true if you include the square footage of the separate restaurant.

The nightclub is an approx 3000 square foot balcony-designed venue on the second floor of the restaurnt. The decore gets a B+. The first floor dance floor is a standard square box design. That leads down a stunning Caesar-styled hall with majestic drapes and columns to a second room. That room offers great decore with low back retro sofas in a red-drenched colored room. The hallway then proceeds to a balcony bar, well lit, but small.

Overall the venue styling is attractive, but nothing great or inspiring like you would expect of Vegas.

Music.

The first room was hiphop, second house. The house music was good but not good enough to get people dancing. The hiphop room was packed from the beginning of the night. The dancefloor is too small, too crowded. You could not dance. The music was poorly blended but the track selection excellent.

Crowd.

Horrible. The crowd was perhaps the most unattractive you could ever imagine, all under one house. Down right hideous crowd.

Entrance.

We had a hookup and got in free. By around 11, there was a huge line.

Overall.

An average looking venue with average music and hideous people.

Friday Afterhours - Dre's

Venue.

Dre's is located in the basement of the Barbary Coast. Two things to consider. First, Barbary Coast is a non 4 or 5-star hotel. Second, Dre's is in the basement. These two factors help lend to the vibe that is Dre's, a down and dirty, less glossy Vegas styled joint. The venue is a series of small room in stunning decore. The look is hot red and jet black with splashes of animal prints. The lighting is good. The offering of a series of small/mid sized lounge rooms works well.

We arrived at 3 am and was told that would be too early. Well, every table was filled with half drunken bottles.

Overall, the vibe was the best we saw in Vegas. A naughty but not raunchy aura in the air.

The dancefloor was one of the smallest dancefloors we've ever seen.

Overall the venue styling is great but the dancefloor is too small.

Music.

There is one dancefloor and here the music (house, techno) was decent with horrible blending of tracks.

Crowd.

This was the surprise. One local told us Dre's is hit and miss. Well this night it was a huge miss. We left at 5:30 after doing a survey of the ratios in one room. This is how they stood. Back room - two girls out of approx 150 in the room. Dancefloor - approx 6-10 girls out of a approx 100+ people. Overall, the crowd was just a couple hand full of girls between arrival to depature at 5:30.

Entrance.

We got into the venue in a second. $20 cover. When we left, the line was from here to Kansas and again virtually all guys. The few local girls said the place has been hit and miss lately.

Overall.

Overall, the best vibe in Vegas but with no girls. Definitely worth returning to and hoping for a better night.

Saturday - Light

Venue.

Light is located in the Bellagio Hotel. Now pause for a second here. Bellagio has a lake in the front of the hotel that looks as big as the state of Delaware. So, of course, Light will have a huge dancefloor with all this land that Bellagio has, acres and acres of land? Wrong.

Another venue with an undersized dancefloor for the crowd it provides.

This venue receives the worse review of any venue. The decore .... there is none. It's a square box with the dancefloor in the middle and the bars on the size and tons of ramps and hallways. There is no decore. And don't be mistaken - this is not a minimalistic place. There is just no decore.

The design smells money motivation and no concern for clubgoer desires. Booths, booths and more booths is this venue. Just a sea of table services, one after another, as many as you can build, like a New York deli, in square pattern.

If you get on the dancefloor which is a chore until itself, you cant dance. No space.

Music.

Perhaps the worse music ever heard in a venue. From opening till 2 hours into the night, when we couldnt take it anymore, the venue would drop a hiphop track, then play Jackson 5, then another hiphop track, then Earth Wind and Fire, then hiphop again. Tracks were not blended. Tracks would literally just stop midsong. One time the DJ actually slammed on the breaks on the dancetrack to a quick stop and started a midtempo song.

Crowd.

Hot crowd. Very hot. Great ratios. Late 20s to Late 40s. The problem however is the venue is too dark to see anyone, too loud to hear anyone, has no cosy area (because the venue is one mere room), and no place to meet people. The bars' aisles were so packed you couldnt even walk. So despite how good looking the crowd was, you couldnt get to interact with them.

Entrance.

Ridiculous. We got there early and got in a second. $20-25 this venue was not worth it. We left and returned later around 11 and the line was so long that it felt like a convention itself. We had more fun meeting people waiting to get into club then in the club itself.

Overall.

A venue with no decore, badly dj'd music, and zero vibe. With the longest line of any club we've seen in ages, this venue has exceptional public relations for offering a horrible, overpriced clubgoing experienced. This venue should be skipped.

Saturday - Risque

Venue.

Risque is located in arguably Vegas' most stunning hotel, the Paris Hotel. And to no surprise, Risque is stunning too. Risque was one of the best designed venue we've ever seen.

The venue has mutliple layers. Two rooms are offered - a hiphop room and a house music room. The hiphop room is stunning. This room gets an A+ on design. There was so much to see and enjoy. Later in the evening, a G-rated striptease show goes off on the bar courtesy of the venue. The drinks are powerfully strong.

The veune offers a series of balcony and hallways. The house music room was drenched in dark red hues.

Risque doesnt do what Light does - kill the venue with booths. It offers some, but not too many. What Risque does do is attention to details. Case and point - bathrooms. Sinks are stunning stainless steel filled with Parisian glass beeds.

Overall, this venue lives up to what you would expect for top design for a Vegas venue.

Music.

Good. Well blended tracks, good track selection. The house music room was very avergage (and for some cities would be considered below average).

Crowd.

Very average. The ratios were great. About 2 guys to 1 girl. This crowd was average looking in extremely average looking attire. If you are hoping to see hot people in hot attire, that's not the case here.

Entrance.

Easy. And pleasant staff.

Overall.

A stunning stunning venue with good music, strong drinks. Better to bring a date then look for one.

Vegas Summary.

There are many venues in Vegas that we didn't hit up, some that we wanted to but didn't have time. And every venue is different every night and depending on the weekend. Some venues are good one night and bad other nights.

But from those we attended on these nights, we saw a trend of very bad dj'd music and a greater attention to making a buck for the venue than a vibe for the venue.

Overall, we rated the total nightlife experiences (venue, music, crowd, etc.) at these venues on these nights extremely far below an average Los Angeles venue.

[BillLe]

I'd say you're right on about OPM and maybe Light. But to call Risque..

"Risque is located in arguably Vegas' most stunning hotel, the Paris Hotel. And to no surprise, Risque is stunning too. Risque was one of the best designed venue we've ever seen"

I'd have to highly disagree with you there. Ice is an awesome club, I feel it's a clubbers club. I htink those here who have been there will agree to it.

You missed out on some other great venues. Tangerine, Body English, Curve...all with nice decors, great staff and a good vibe.

I think the only real difference from LA nightlife and Vegas nightlife is lack of culture. I agree that Vegas has lost it's sense of the culture or couture and is $$$ driven. But did you expect anything less from Vegas?

I'm a San Francisco native where plush bars and clubs were a recent injection. I like the old dive bars and hole in the walls where there is emphasis on music and diversity.

[teampowahh]

So I went to this comedian the other night who's show consists of hypnotizing the crowd. This one guy up on stage hypnotized was told to just start rambling about whatever was on his mind. So he began to discuss how the biggest prime real estate in the United States is in Arizona. Arizona?!?! His reasoning was because there was going to be a giant earthquake in L.A. that would reshape the western coastline, thus making Arizona the new oceanfront and skyrocketing the real estate in that area.

I just wrote that for 2 reasons...one, because i just wasted your time by making you read that. Just like La La boy wasted my time with his Constitution thread starter. So we're even. Secondly, reading that ridiculously awful message written by someone who should be rating his own 2 am closing clubs in fuckin L.A. instead of boring people with false reviews of Vegas, refreshed my memory on why it is that i hate L.A.

Go home dooshebag, no one wants to read your shit.

[lalate]

Would agree 100% on hardrock. The whole mood of the casino and clientele was very different than your standard Vegas casino - predominately 20 year old, hip, very good looking people everywhere. Even the staffing of the businesses w/in the casino reflected that. And the doormen on Rehab were very cool. Wanted to spend more time at Hardrock but couldnt. Next time will

[pk1]

So I went to this comedian the other night who's show consists of hypnotizing the crowd. This one guy up on stage hypnotized was told to just start rambling about whatever was on his mind. So he began to discuss how the biggest prime real estate in the United States is in Arizona. Arizona?!?! His reasoning was because there was going to be a giant earthquake in L.A. that would reshape the western coastline, thus making Arizona the new oceanfront and skyrocketing the real estate in that area.

I just wrote that for 2 reasons...one, because i just wasted your time by making you read that. Just like La La boy wasted my time with his Constitution thread starter. So we're even. Secondly, reading that ridiculously awful message written by someone who should be rating his own 2 am closing clubs in fuckin L.A. instead of boring people with false reviews of Vegas, refreshed my memory on why it is that i hate L.A.

Go home dooshebag, no one wants to read your shit.

[edlosangeles]

So I went to this comedian the other night who's show consists of hypnotizing the crowd. This one guy up on stage hypnotized was told to just start rambling about whatever was on his mind. So he began to discuss how the biggest prime real estate in the United States is in Arizona. Arizona?!?! His reasoning was because there was going to be a giant earthquake in L.A. that would reshape the western coastline, thus making Arizona the new oceanfront and skyrocketing the real estate in that area.

I just wrote that for 2 reasons...one, because i just wasted your time by making you read that. Just like La La boy wasted my time with his Constitution thread starter. So we're even. Secondly, reading that ridiculously awful message written by someone who should be rating his own 2 am closing clubs in fuckin L.A. instead of boring people with false reviews of Vegas, refreshed my memory on why it is that i hate L.A.

Go home dooshebag, no one wants to read your shit.

Can you be any more of a ****!

A guy came to Vegas and went to a few spots. He threw up his review of a few places. What's wrong with that! Even a fellow Vegasian, BillLe freakin agreed with him on a few points.

You hate LA just the same reason everyone else does, Jealousy.

Yeah, I hate when the clubs in LA close at 2am, but if you haven't picked up by 2am son, it's time for you to go home.

LALate,

Good review!

PM me on some new palces to goto in LA. I've been to the website already.

[BillLe]

c'mon fellas it's all about love. What happened to the old days of plur?? Yea whatever lol.

Everybody has their own opinions on Vegas Nightlife. To each his own.

[lalate]

Can you be any more of a ****!

A guy came to Vegas and went to a few spots. He threw up his review of a few places. What's wrong with that! Even a fellow Vegasian, BillLe freakin agreed with him on a few points.

You hate LA just the same reason everyone else does, Jealousy.

Yeah, I hate when the clubs in LA close at 2am, but if you haven't picked up by 2am son, it's time for you to go home.

LALate,

Good review!

PM me on some new palces to goto in LA. I've been to the website already.

Thanks. Everyone dislikes clubs that close @ 2 am. Even if you arrive at 10 pm, its too short a night.

Personally, havent gone to a club in LA on a weekend that DOES close at 2 am in a few months LOL ... 5 am, 6 am ... etc is the best. (And luv arriving at a place at 3 am and hooking up at 3:30 lol. That's the best lol)

Pm me anytime.

[edlosangeles]

c'mon fellas it's all about love. What happened to the old days of plur?? Yea whatever lol.

Everybody has their own opinions on Vegas Nightlife. To each his own.

Your right, BillLe. All good.

Sorry for the "LA moment".

Truth be told, if I had $200 or $2000 in my pocket and a free weekend, I'd be headed to Vegas everytime!!

[BillLe]

Yo Ed,

I owe you from last time when I forgot to stop by the table at Ice. Next time you come back here I'm gonna set you up at a few clubs.

[BillLe]

I find it too funny how the east coast peeps rag on the LA folks and vice versa. I'm here in Vegas so I just pull up a seat.

[pk1]

Its actually more fun to rag on the east coast guidos over here.

[edlosangeles]

I've only been to Philly. A couple of NICE places in Philly. Just wish I could remeber where I went!!!! This was a few years back.

I also went to Atlantic City. Way different then Vegas. This is slot-heaven.

More slot machines then the Mustang Ranch! hahahaa

In Philly, I just remeber going to Hard Rock to have a few beers (I always go to H.R. to drink when travleing) and eating a chesse steak somewhere else. Good damn food!

[lalate]

We sometimes have some east coast people come onto CPLA and try to cause huge fights and no one responds to them.

It's very-LA to be chill and not to fight lol.

[Sapexec]

Vegas clubs cater to tourists from the midwest or south who have never ventured into any kind of nightclub that doesnt resemble a TGIF at happy hour. If you go clubbing in Miami or NYC, you wont be that impressed. And at every club the dude to ho ratio is 5-1.

GUIDOS UNITE >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

[bebebootay]

wow...just got back from vegas and risque was my least favorite of all...and had a kick ass time at Light... the best by far, hands down is body english

[BillLe]

He only went to a handful of clubs, Light, Risque and OPM. Most of which I don't go. Tangerine, Body English, Ice and others weren't on that list. I'll be at Risque for the first time in about 8 months on Sun, the only reason...my boy Moe and Scott Stubbs is spinning.

No offense, but the review is a bit half baked. He went to one hot spot, which was Light. Stay here for about a week and hit the clubs on the right nights. But your 2 cents is as worthless as mine. People know what they are looking for when they come here.

[Capo]

Vegas clubs cater to tourists from the midwest or south who have never ventured into any kind of nightclub that doesnt resemble a TGIF at happy hour. If you go clubbing in Miami or NYC, you wont be that impressed. And at every club the dude to ho ratio is 5-1.

GUIDOS UNITE >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

agreed

[outofthebox]

Not to bring up an old point, but this thread MAKES ME SICK!!

Even in his HORRIBLE review of OPM, he mentions that IN AUGUST, on a Friday, OPMs SLOWEST night, the line was RIDICULOUS at 11pm AND the club was SO PACKED inside that you couldn't even move. How many venues can brag about that PROBLEM! Even Billhe's hot spots don't attract that many people by 11pm in the 110 degree summer!

But the crowd was "hideous." Let me tell you what he meant by hideous. The crowd was 90% BLACK because Friday was OPM's biggest urban night over the summer. And for someone to just make a blanket statement that this crowd is "hideous" -- well that makes me sick. And then Billhe, in his usual hate-on-OPM-because-they-don't-pay-him-commission, chimes in with how the reviewer didn't go to the hot spots. Let me once again remind all the house heads that just because a venue doesn't primarily cater to your niche music preference and your snotty "good looking" non-urban crowd, but instead caters to an urban hip-hop crowd, that doesn't make the venue any less hot, nor does it make the crowd UGLY.

Man, I hate people with closed minds - it's pathetic.

[BillLe]

Even Billhe's hot spots don't attract that many people by 11pm in the 110 degree summer!

And then Billhe, in his usual hate-on-OPM-because-they-don't-pay-him-commission, chimes in with how the reviewer didn't go to the hot spots.

Are we really, really going to go at it again box? Second statement partly true. I don't get paid any commision from clubs. So please don't go off and say I only recommend clubs based on that. I just don't like OPM...period.

But the sad fact is that it's true. He didn't go to all the clubs to give an accurate review of the Vegas scene. That's like me going to LA, hitting 2-3 clubs and saying all the clubs suck and all the people at the clubs suck. I have been to 98% the clubs here in Vegas (some clubs I just choose not to go to), I have been a part of the nightlife scene for the past 10 years. I have worked with SFLNC (San Francisco Late Night Coalition), Dancesafe and a host of other nightlife organizations. I held a rally back in SF called "Save The Rave" which featured Dj Polywog, Tomslik, Dyloot, Enemy, Dj Denise (Dj D) and Mars of Mars & Mystre. I know nightlife and what it encompasses. I think my opinions hold more weight than a person that came here only to flame me on the boards, or someone offended that I dissed on a club that her BF spins at.

Also your race argument is getting real old. Just because someone says a club sucks and the people there suck doesn't mean it's a racial thing. It has to do with the vibe that they represent at that particular venue. I hate Studio 54, are you going to tell me I am being racist against white people? I hate OPM, but because of that you are going to tell me I have some sort of thing against black people. Have you seen me at the club lately?? I am always with a white boy and a black guy. You can call us the f*ckin UN. But not a fuckin racist. One of my best friend back home in Sam Francisco, the dj I used to book for and hang out with was black. www.koroma.com (cheap plug lol)

Let me once again remind all the house heads that just because a venue doesn't primarily cater to your niche music preference and your snotty "good looking" non-urban crowd

If anyone sounds like a racist it's you. Just because a venue or club doesn't cater to your crowd doesn't mean you have to call it snobby. When are you goign to learn it's a matter of preference. Beccause I choose not to go to certain clubs because of crowd and vibe you are so quick to call me a racist. "He who lives in glass houses shall cast no stones" Your the only one on this board that has ever referred to a particular club with the reference of "snobby white people". You've been the only one to throw in the race card. So if you want to let me throw it back. No one has ever dissed on a club because of the race or ethnic make up but you.

P.S. it's BillLe not Billhe thanks.

[outofthebox]

Then answer me this BillLe:

#1: Do you get paid commission when you bring people to gamble in casinos? Or do you host people who come to Vegas just out of the kindness of your heart?

#2: When was the last time you stepped foot in OPM?

#3: If it is NOT a racial comment, please describe the features of the people who wait in line for hours to get in OPM, that would categorize them as a "hideous" looking crowd, that would categorize the club as NOT hot, since you were so quick to agree with L.A.'s RIDICULOUS statement.

#4: If ICE is so hot, as you state all the time, and OPM is NOT, why did ICE have to close every night of the week (due to no business) except Friday and Saturday, while OPM is cracking 5 nights a week! Maybe most people don't categorize the "hip hop" crowd as hideous and they actually go to the spots that bring a party more than one night a week!

[Dale Davis]

1st time post here. I have been following this back and forth between out of the box and BillLe. I think out of the box has a good point. The person who reviewed the club sounded stuck up and L.A. snob like. He called a crowd hideous all under one room and that crowd also happened to be a nearly all black party. Maybe he didn't say it but it is obvious that he was calling that type of crowd disgusting. I think out of the box has the same right to criticize that post as the poster had the right to criticize the clubs. BillLe if you haven't been to the club in a long time as you've stated how can you authoritively criticize it. Maybe you should drop in there sometime again and see if it has changed as you already indicated in other posts.

Dale Davis

[BillLe]

#1: Do you get paid commission when you bring people to gamble in casinos? Or do you host people who come to Vegas just out of the kindness of your heart?

Forst question, yes. I am a casino host. That's what I do for a living. If I didn't get paid a commision I'd be broke. Clubs are a different story.

#2: When was the last time you stepped foot in OPM?

It has been quite sometime. I'll admit that. But I have no desire to go there. Also from the people I know that have went I never hear anything good, so why would I bother.

#3: If it is NOT a racial comment, please describe the features of the people who wait in line for hours to get in OPM, that would categorize them as a "hideous" looking crowd, that would categorize the club as NOT hot, since you were so quick to agree with L.A.'s RIDICULOUS statement.

The people I saw the past times I went to OPM were riff raffs. nuff said.

#4: If ICE is so hot, as you state all the time, and OPM is NOT, why did ICE have to close every night of the week (due to no business) except Friday and Saturday, while OPM is cracking 5 nights a week! Maybe most people don't categorize the "hip hop" crowd as hideous and they actually go to the spots that bring a party more than one night a week!

Ice is hot, but only when they have a headlinging dj. Like this Saturday when Christopher Lawrence will be there (cheap plug). I have never categorized the hip-hop crowd as hideous.

[BillLe]

1st time post here. I have been following this back and forth between out of the box and BillLe. I think out of the box has a good point. The person who reviewed the club sounded stuck up and L.A. snob like. He called a crowd hideous all under one room and that crowd also happened to be a nearly all black party. Maybe he didn't say it but it is obvious that he was calling that type of crowd disgusting. I think out of the box has the same right to criticize that post as the poster had the right to criticize the clubs. BillLe if you haven't been to the club in a long time as you've stated how can you authoritively criticize it. Maybe you should drop in there sometime again and see if it has changed as you already indicated in other posts.

Dale Davis

This back and forth with box has been going on as long as the conflict between the palestinians and the isrealis. What it boils down to is a difference in opion. Know the history first.

I agree with you that lalate's review is half baked. he mearly went to a few clubs and thought he had the up on vegas clubs. I have clearly stated otherwise before.

BillLe if you haven't been to the club in a long time as you've stated how can you authoritively criticize it.

My review was written back in July. Read it as such. I haven't passed judgement on it since then, I just choose not to recommend it. But I still personally wouldn't recommend it. When someone asks me where they should go, they are asking for opinions. I have never knocked box for recommending OPM, but yet she feels the need to knock me for my recommendations.....bull shit. If you feel OPM deserves a recommendation, then go ahead and recoomend it. I will never knock you for it. But box feels the need to take it ona personal level that I don't.

**The preceding program and views expressed are not neccesarily those of Club Planet.** Thank you for watching.

[lalate]

But the crowd was "hideous." Let me tell you what he meant by hideous. The crowd was 90% BLACK because Friday was OPM's biggest urban night over the summer.

I dont know what you are "implying", dude. I will tell you that the person I stayed in vegas with was my ex, and she, sir, is an African American.