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The pool turns to whitewater as the crowd erupts to live house music spun by famous DJs on a Rehab Sunday.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010 | 2 a.m.
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Seven New Pools for Summer
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Seven new pool complexes are opening at resorts across Las Vegas to get ready for the summer - and in hopes of making money on the blossoming day life scene. With the flurry of new 21+ pools and pools that charge a pricey cover for parties, the day life scene is helping clubs during a down economy.
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In the old days — say, five or 10 years ago — a resort's swimming pool was a place to park yourself, maybe indulge in an umbrella drink and build a tan before heading out to dinner, a show or gambling.
But the emergence of nightclubs — and then swimming pools as daytime extensions of nightclubs — have altered the rhythm of Vegas night life, and even led to a new category of entertainment: day life.
And the wild success of Rehab, the notorious pool scene at Hard Rock that's entering its seventh season and has been the subject of a reality TV show, is spawning still more party pools.
At one end of the Strip, impresario Steve Wynn is spending $68 million to turn a side entrance of Encore into a party pool complex featuring 26 cabanas, eight two-story, 350-square-foot bungalows, a restaurant and poolside blackjack and craps.
And at the other end of the Strip, the Tropicana will soon open a 4.2-acre pool area in association with Nikki Beach, which operates pool parties worldwide and which will tie the new pool into the hotel's South Beach-style renovation.
All told, of the seven new or expanded pool complexes opening along the Strip this summer, five are playing to the pool-party day life crowd — Aria's Liquid, a new pool complex at Caesars Palace, an expanded beach club at Hard Rock and new pools at Encore and Tropicana.
In a bruised economy, pool parties are the new revenue darlings, even if they still fall short of the kind of money raked in at the nightclubs. In this economy, everything counts, and resort owners have realized the profit of spinning off their nightclubs into dayclubs.
"At night, people come out and they're loaded to the gills and ready to spend," said Anthony Curtis, publisher of Las Vegas Advisor, an industry newsletter. "I think the thinking with day life was, 'Let's get some more of it. Not everybody is going to the clubs every night. Let some people who wouldn't normally go out to the clubs get involved in what we're doing during the day.' I think it's more an extension of the club."
As if young, hard-bodied adults needed more than other young, hard-bodied adults as an excuse to while away the day under the Las Vegas sun, these pool parties host celebrities such as Paris Hilton and performances from Snoop Dogg. They rent miniature suites in the form of cabanas with beds, flat-screen TVs and around-the-clock service. They've got their own entrance lines with velvet ropes at the door and have the ability to charge night life prices, raking in as much as some of the city's biggest nightclubs on a busy weekend afternoon.
"They've gone from being these very small places where the high roller's wife would enjoy some sun to becoming entertainment complexes," said Caesars Palace President Gary Selesner, whose resort just spent tens of millions of dollars on a pool complex.
It's a trend that started on the yachts of St. Tropez and white-sand shores of Miami's South Beach, where the partying starts during the morning hours and the booze flows straight through sundown.
Before opening Encore Las Vegas, Wynn traveled to St. Tropez to see how the French had mastered this scene.
"There's a restaurant or a swimming pool. There's a DJ. And there's everybody lying on the sand and swimming. All the yachts anchor in the afternoon off the shore and they have lunch ... It's a long, late lunch, then everybody redresses and takes a nap and then hits the club scene at 10 or 11 until four in the morning," Wynn told the Sun before Encore's opening.
Wynn has tried hard to re-create the French Riviera vibe in his nightclubs. First, Wynn opened XS, which opens directly to an adult pool during the warmer months.
And now comes his Encore Beach Club, which will be situated directly alongside the Strip — where tourists will be tantalized by the sound of DJs and splashing.
The role model for these new pools is Hard Rock's Rehab, where each Sunday hundreds line up as early as 6 a.m. to gain entrance. On this year's opening day, the party brought more than 6,000 people to the pool. Cover charges start at $20, but can range as high as $200, depending on the headlining performer. Once you're in, cabanas start at $2,000 and cocktails are as much as $25 apiece.
"I think you have to tip your hat to the Hard Rock Hotel and the Rehab, the party scene on Sundays. I think that was probably the first indication that you could make real money with pool parties," Selesner said.
"We changed the model for this town," said Phil Shalala, vice president of marketing at the Hard Rock. "We opened up our pools to noncasino guests. That was very different from anyone else in town. People kind of thought that was a no-no, but it's proven to significantly increase revenue."
And it has for Hard Rock. Food and beverage revenue grew by $4.4 million in 2009, primarily because of a $2.3 million increase at Beach Club, the property said in an annual regulatory filing.
Much of its business has become centered on Rehab. Shalala said Hard Rock's weekend check-in trend has changed, with guests checking in on Saturdays, rather than Thursdays or Fridays, and staying through Mondays to experience the debauchery at Rehab. The hotel gives its guests complimentary entry to the Sunday party.
Demand for pools at Hard Rock increased so much that it added a 2.5-acre complex with a sand-bottom pool, and another pool and its bar two stories above the main level.
Other resorts have followed suit with the day life trend. Nightclub and restaurant operator Light Group opened its first pool, Bare, at the Mirage in spring 2007 and MGM Grand opened Wet Republic in spring 2008.
Selesner said more party pools will be coming.
Caesars Palace opened its newly expanded Garden of the Gods pool complex in March 2010. The resort added five new pools, creating a massive eight pool, 5-acre pool complex in the center of its collection of Roman-style building.
Caesars Palace spent about $60 million and took two years to build the Garden of the Gods complex. The resort opened five of the eight pools this summer, creating a massive three-level, 5-acre pool complex in the center of its Roman-style buildings.
"With a pool complex of this size, we can attract 5,000 to 7,000 people," Selesner said. "When those people pay their admission and have their drinks and use some of the other attractions we have going on here, that can generate a lot of revenue. But equally important to the revenue it generates, it creates a lifestyle experience that makes Las Vegas different from any other town. I think that is what is driving business in particular this summer in what is still an economically challenging period."
Selesner said the resort tried to build different environments for all of its clients — pools for families and hotel guests, secluded pools for VIPs and the adult pool party at Venus.
Venus is one of six topless pools in the Las Vegas Valley and is run by nightclub operator Pure Management Group. The price for a Venus cabana starts at $1,000 and includes a "complimentary" bottle of champagne. For another bottle, pool patrons have to pay at least $250.
"Nightclubs came to Las Vegas in a really big way 10 years ago, and in Las Vegas' continuous evolution to reinvent itself, pools have become an area of opportunity to drive marketing and incremental sources of revenue," Selesner said.
One of three pools on the main pool desk at the Aria Resort & Casino.
Light Group opened its second party pool at CityCenter's Aria this spring. The 16,000-square-foot complex, called Liquid, averages crowds of more than 1,000 people, but has more of a low-key and upscale vibe compared with other pool parties in town, Light Group President Jodi Myers said. Myers said a party pool such as Rehab doesn't make sense at all resorts.
"We had to be respectful of the Aria brand," Myers said.
But sometimes the pools aren't always for parties. Sometimes resort pools are just that — such as the new pools at CityCenter's resorts Aria, Vdara and Mandarin Oriental, and some of the pools at Caesars. It's all part of appealing to a range of guests.
"In the old days, the central focus was of course gambling," Selesner said. "As we've evolved over particularly the last 10 years, we're attracting people who are coming for entertainment, for nightclubs, for celebrity chefs, for shopping — and the pool has just evolved with that."
You really have to attribute the Rio Hotel & Casino for starting both the pool party trend and the resort megaclub trend here in Las Vegas.
The Rio's Sunset Beach Party began in 1991-92. It had food, drinks, live entertainment and corporate sponsored sand volleyball tournaments all in an oasis-like setting. They charged admission and made money off food and alcoholic beverages.
Then, in 1996, Club Rio (now ND Fuego's and formerly Prince's 3121) was the first club built inside a hotel-resort. It's predecessors were all independent free-standing venues. Although the bottle-service phenomenon didn't take off until 1999, this was the club that changed the game here.
Today's hotel pool scene is childish and stupid . It's just like spring break type crowds who are all drugged and boozed up showing off their ugly tatted up tragically inked bodies which someday they will regret disfiguring themselves when and if they ever sober up. The Hotels are taking advantage of these idiots by fleecing them at these stupid pools. When I relax by the pool, just give me peace and quiet, and a little shade and a good book.
Comment removed by moderator. Vulgar language.
They attract garbage business that operators threw out not that long ago.No wonder the Hard Rock posted A loss.Yes they generate profits but hurt other profit centers in the hotel.Vegas used to cultivate gaming business now they cultivate garbage business.Operators are standing too close to the tree to see the forest.
They couldn't possibly pour enough chlorine to get me to enter the water in most of those pools. They're pretty much giant petri dishes of human waste products and other assorted bodily fluids. Nasty.
labdaddy is right. the water in the pool at rehab is more like syrup. nasty.
I am sure Mr. Wynn has noticed the absence of yachts, sand, and ocean water from the Las Vegas Strip...these pools are for kids who have no money except for party goods...shut them all down.
environ,
You might be the cheapest person in vegas. "peace and quiet, and a little shade and a good book" I bet you want to be comped rooms for just sitting there. These kids that you make fun of are pumping more money in the hotels than you do in a year in one weekend. They are the ones that deserve the comps. Believe it or not some of them work for it.
It's the cheesy side of Vegas. Older people with more money like to enjoy the day by the pool. They shouldn't have to listen to a bunch of drunk screaming 21 year olds peeing in the pool.
The Rio was nice in the early 90's with those golf packages. They included rooms with floor to ceiling windows and pre tournament parties. And excellent buffets.
Just a suggestion for further revenue enhancements. OK!
navedd, do you read his comments often. he's a joke
I'm also into the pool scene...
I bought a nice foreclosure that has a jacuzzi outside and 2 pools on the premise including one heated for use during the winter.
I can run up to my place and get a bottle of Vodka which I bought on sale from the store down the road for about 2.5% of the price charged at those day-clubs. ** Bonus Points? **
Also I can read a nice book without having noisy childish behaviour to ruin my blessed day in LV.
LV Rocks!
Jerry,I'm a joke? How so?
JerryWayne & navedd :
You little boys go on with yer bad selves, and remember : Don't pee in the pool, we don't swim in your toilet..
6,000 pretentious partiers
just what i wanna hang out with on a sunday!
nothing but shallow posers at these pool parties
peace out
Stayed at Excalibur last year and what a bunch of swill. Several lifeguards, a cocktail lady, and a group of rowdy kids and adults acting like kids. Guests didn't pick up after themselves, staff didn't clean up the mess the guests left throughout the day, an experience that left me needing a shower due to filthy conditions. Off the strip tends to be better kept, even without lifeguards and the pools are open more than just the summer. Will stay at Caesar's with my boyfriend in a few weeks on his company's dime, would never pay $200 some for a room that doesn't even come with complimentary fitness center, etc. So will see how the pools are. We can get away with a $1 tip for a drink while gambling, would be nice to have cheap drinks at the pool that don't come in those tacky giant plastic containers.
United_727 = environprotector?
Why else would United leave that comment? Environ must have forgotten he was logged in as another sock.
Girls with Tats, nothing quite trashier then that!
How do these 20-somethings afford to pay $2,000 for a cabana and $25 a drink..In this economy it shocks me that there is an endless supply of youngins who are willing to spend that kind of cash for a hangover when they may not even have or be able to get a job.
At that age I was a college student and starting to look for work.
Must be nice.
figures someone with nothing to do but complain and whine and moan would have two accounts.
JerryWayne :
Get over your bad self..
If both of those accounts belong to environ - then he really takes internet trolling seriously.
He alters his punctuation spacing and capitalization to make it appear that they are not the same person.
OK once and for all environprotector and United_727 are NOT.. I repeat NOT the same person!! It's impossible anyway every account must have a different email address.. And no I do NOT have two email accounts..
environprotector, I am not sure if you two are the same person - but that is probably the worst argument I have ever heard on the internet that two socks are not the same human being.
And your comment makes it sound like this is not the first time this accusation has been brought up.
Geez,i'm sorry if my comment about the girls in the picture hit a nerve. Guess that makes me a 'sock' or whatever cute thing I was called . Maybe someone is trying to be cute and making it rhyme with another word. Who knows ;-) Who cares.Another internet tough guy,I guess. {{{{Scared}}}}
If these pool scenes are not for you, then don't go. I realize that's not as fun as trashing people from behind a curtain, but still ... Grow up.
These comments get more ridiculous by the moment. What a waste of bytes.
By navedd
May 11, 2010
7:51 a.m.
environ,
You might be the cheapest person in vegas. "peace and quiet, and a little shade and a good book" I bet you want to be comped rooms for just sitting there. These kids that you make fun of are pumping more money in the hotels than you do in a year in one weekend. They are the ones that deserve the comps. Believe it or not some of them work for it.
By JerryWayne
May 11, 2010
9:27 a.m.
[referring to environprotector]navedd, do you read his comments often. he's a joke
By United_727
May 11, 2010
9:47 a.m.
Jerry,I'm a joke? How so?
United_727, that was your very first comment on this story and your account has never made a comment about the girls in the picture.
Jerry stated that environprotector was a joke - you then commented in the first person asking why Jerry was calling you a joke. So I can only assume that you are also environprotector and you forgot you were logged into another account. I am sure after you realized that you gave yourself away that you frantically clicked "suggest removal" over and over again. Just in case you do get the comment removed I wanted to repost it.
Just to clarify what I mean when I refer to environprotector/United_727 as a "sock":
A sockpuppet is an online identity used for purposes of deception within an online community. In its earliest usage, a sockpuppet was a false identity through which a member of an Internet community speaks with or about himself or herself, pretending to be a different person, like a ventriloquist manipulating a hand puppet.
From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sockpuppet_...)
I'd rather drink molten lava than attend anything involving Paris Hilton.
United_727 :
Help me out here, not that I really give a crap, but the above Jerry think's you and I are the same poster!
We love to swim in nice, warm, clean pools. MGM's was the best on our last trip: great music, food and drinks. We're not into the bar scene - pool scene as we actually swim.
I did make a comment on this story . It was deleted. I commented on how woman in the picture that was first used for this article should not be wearing a bikini. She was very unattractive (to me). But,I said it in a nice way. And I am nobody else on this site,either.
(Whenever a comment is deleted, the poster's name remains with a "comment deleted" message. Therefore, I call BS.)
What does it matter? If a person wants to have 2 or 3 handles, "big deal". Anyway, the Mandalay Bay pool rocks. They have a water park and great Mai tyes.
United_727/environprotector, like RPJ said if your comment was deleted your name and the time stamp would still be shown on the page.
You got yourself caught, plain and simple. Your explanations don't make any sense.
To woobert: It is not that big of a deal when someone uses multiple handles on the internet. But it is against the commenter rules of this website:
"By posting on LasVegasSun.com stories, blogs, or any other part of this site, you agree not to have multiple personalities on our site's commenting features. Each reader may have only one log-in. If you would like to change handles, please e-mail us. Usage of multiple log-ins will result in our removing your posting privileges under any screen name."
So if any Sun staff is reading this please check out the IP addresses of both environprotector and United-727 and respond accordingly.
What do you get for a $25 drink? Talk about price gouging... What is the ratio of dudes to girls at these events?
Sounds like with cover and drinks one needs at least $200-$300 for a good time at a pool party, unless you are some hot babe and can hustle drinks from all the chumps.
Thank you LV Sun for the nice photos from the Rehab party at the HC: #'s 9,11,& 15 were quite lovely...
jaycooke :
What is so funny is that you are absolutely wrong about your charges. LV Sun please check out the I.P. addresses of environprotector and united_727 and prove to this idiot jaycooke that he is wrong, to stop harassing us.
IP addresses can be easily manipulated or hidden.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zK2VIPEiq...
Environprotector - I am not harassing you. I am merely pointing out that you revealed your alternate commenting account. You have yet to produce a decent explanation for the comment by United_747 and you can only resort to name-calling.
To RPJ: I agree it is very easy to hide an IP address. But environprotector's arguments show that he/she is not technically savvy.
I can confirm through IP addresses that environprotector and United_727 are not the same person. Now hopefully this can get back on topic.
Thank you Tim...after all...who really cares...it is just people giving opinions...everybody wants to be a cop and catch somebody for no reason...does it make people feel good? Are they now Sherlock Holmes?
If the Sun Staff says that the IP addresses are different then I accept that fact and will drop the matter.
And no, I do not think that "catching" united_727 makes me Sherlock Holmes. The comment was out in the open and it was suspicious to me.
How do they afford it? The wonderful world of credit, that's how. Most of the people lurking in the Cabana's are VIP's or have some sort of credit. Keep in mind that when it comes to "bottle service", you've gotta pay before you drink. These cards are charged or pre-authorized for whatever the total amount is FIRST, then brought to your table, cabana, etc.
I'm 29yrs old, heavily tattooed, and have worked in the nightclub industry for 8yrs now. Getting a "bottle", table, cabana, or vip section is just a fad, trend and craze that has turned into a mainstream of young adults and has quickly a form of ethnocentrism of sort.
Cocktail Waitresses are trained to pour a more stiff drink, that way you use up and consume your $400 bottle of Grey Goose quicker and they can coerce you or your friends into getting another bottle, and padding their wallets by day or nights end. I definitely don't agree with it, but in there early 20's "its what everyone else does" so they might as well follow suit. Either way you look at it, these guys and gals are pumping money into Las Vegas' economy. They just have no idea they're being blindsided.
Pictures 11 and 13 out of 20 are the best ;-)
My wife and I recently went to a club for the first time in over 10 years. It was at a property that has a big mountain in front. We ordered the birthday girl a shot, $22. I almost fell over. I sat at a table and a staff member told me i could not sit there and if i did i would have to "buy" the table for $500, i almost passed out. In the mean time, the place was full of a bunch of half naked girls/kids and drunk, testosterone filled boys. Never again, i could not imagine a pool party. These kids have no money and pray on those that do. After the door charges, they are tapped out. How about a 40+ club?