Columnist Jerry Fink: Ten reasons why night life thrives in Vegas

Friday, Jan. 2, 2004 | 9:32 a.m.

Jerry Fink's lounge column appears on Fridays. Reach him at jerry@lasvegassun.com at (702) 259-4058.

The top 10 list of night spots in Las Vegas has been announced by Zagat Survey, one of the nation's leading publications that rates restaurants and nightclubs around the world.

Zagat used responses by more than 3,000 local restaurant and nightclub enthusiasts in 2003 to arrive at the results that appear in its 2004 publication.

For the past two years I have served as the Las Vegas night life editor, condensing surveys down to a paragraph about more than 100 area clubs.

If you have a favorite club you would like to submit to Zagat for consideration in next year's survey, contact me at the address that appears at the bottom of this column.

The ratings of the venues are based upon the opinions of those surveyed, not myself.

The top 10:

No. 10: Ra, The Nightclub at Luxor, which fans describe as "A New York-style hip spot set in ancient Egypt," featuring world-renowned DJs and "fire-breathing bartenders, scantily clad go-go girls" and cage dancers -- a party palace "oozing with sex."

No. 9: Rain in the Desert at the Palms. It has "more beautiful girls per square foot than anywhere else in the world" wrote one enthusiastic fan on his survey response. Lavish special effects permeate the club, including awesome displays of fire, water and fog.

No. 8: Coyote Ugly at New York-New York. There are nine Coyote Ugly saloons around the nation, all of them patterned after the original in New York City (which inspired the 2000 film of the same name). At Coyote Ugly, dancing on the bar isn't only allowed, "it's encouraged."

No. 7: Drai's After Hours at the Barbary Coast. Wrote one of those surveyed: "Its subterranean location gives it the feeling of a speakeasy." The venue is a restaurant until midnight, when it morphs into a dance and party mecca for a youngish crowd that is "beautiful" and "wild" -- "holy hot chicks, Batman."

No. 6: Studio 54 at MGM Grand, a club where "buff sexy dancers in cages," "on swings" and "even on bungees" add to the energized atmosphere created by fans dancing to music that ranges from the Top 40 to hip-hop to disco and techno.

"It's hard to get bored" in this 22,000-square-foot club, patterned after the original Studio 54 in New York. It includes four separate dance floors.

No. 5: Red Square at Mandalay Bay. A decapitated statue of Lenin greets fans as they enter this hot spot that sports a bar made of a solid block of ice and features 100 varieties of vodka.

No. 4: ghostbar at The Palms is a "super-chic joint" with "ultra-hip surroundings." The indoor-outdoor venue is on the 42nd floor of one of the hottest casinos in town. Floor-to-ceiling windows allow a spectacular, panoramic view of Las Vegas. Celebrities often stop by the sleek, ultra-modern lounge, giving us peons something else to look at.

No. 3: Light at Bellagio is described as "bold, brash, noisy and crowded," apparently a perfect combination to make it one of the top places for party animals who enjoy prowling. The club itself is a sleek combination of wood and deep-red drapery with soft lighting, modern furniture and a small, intimate dance floor area.

No. 2: House of Blues at Mandalay Bay, where "the hippest bands in the desert" perform and there is "a not-to-be-missed gospel brunch" on Sundays. Every variety of music is welcome at this franchise (founded in Cambridge, Mass., in 1992) -- from alternative to zydeco. Bands who will be performing here in the weeks ahead include Goo Goo Dolls, the Bangles with Sarah Thiele, Dread Zeppelin and more.

No. 1: rumjungle, also at Mandalay Bay (which features three venues on the Top 10 list). Wrote one of those surveyed, the club is where you can dance the night away and "play 'Sex and the City' " with "beautiful people" beneath "acrobats swinging from trapezes." The lavish decor includes walls of water lined with fire, and there are dozens of varieties of rums from which to choose.

Lounging around

Jimmy Buffett's franchise nightclub Margaritaville, which opened last month at the Flamingo Las Vegas, will host a grand opening Jan. 22. The multilevel entertainment venue includes two outdoor patios overlooking the Strip, a tropical-themed restaurant, five bars and live entertainment nightly (both indoors and outdoors). Margaritaville is open 11 a.m. until 2 a.m. Sundays through Thursdays and 11 a.m. until 2:30 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays.

Speaking of Buffett, Tommy Rocker (whose fans are typically Buffett fans) will perform at the Treasure Island's Kahunaville lounge from 9 p.m. until 1 a.m. Wednesday.

Entertainment legend Blackie Hunt died Tuesday of heart failure. His rubbery face, his sense of humor and his performances on the piano will be sorely missed by his legion of fans.

Hunt, who arrived in Las Vegas in 1955, was one of a dying breed of entertainers who helped put Las Vegas on the world map.

I first met him a couple of years ago when I started writing about lounges and lounge performers -- he was appearing in "Off the Cuff" with another legend, Sonny King, at the Bootlegger Bistro, a gathering place for entertainers who are fighting to keep Vegas-style entertainment alive.

With the loss of Blackie Hunt, the battle has become a little more lonely.

Buffett's franchise nightclub Margaritaville, which opened last month at the Flamingo, will host a grand opening Jan. 22. The multilevel entertainment venue includes two outdoor patios overlooking the Strip, a tropical-themed restaurant, five bars and live entertainment nightly (both indoors and outdoors). Margaritaville is open 11 a.m. until 2 a.m. Sundays through Thursdays and 11 a.m. until 2:30 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays.

Beginning at 8 p.m. Monday the Palms's Palapa Lounge will feature "Rock the Lounge." The weekly rock show will feature a variety of performers, starting with Don Dokken. The following Monday, Jan. 12, the featured entertainers will be Kip Winger with special guests Kelly Keagy of Night Ranger and Reb Beach of Winger/Whitesnake.

On Jan. 19 Jani Lane of Warrant will perform and on Jan. 26 it will be Gilby Clarke's Blue Mafia, featuring Teddy Andreadis of Guns & Roses, Eric Singer of Kiss and Ryan Roxey of Alice Cooper. Tickets are $25 at Ticketmaster and the Palms Gift Shop. For more information call the Palms at 942-7777.