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Monday, Dec. 24, 2012 | 4:30 p.m.
Nick McCabe, VP of Strategy for Angel Management Group, Scott Sibella, president and COO of MGM Grand, Neil Moffitt, CEO of Angel Management Group, and Eric Barth, director of operations for Hakkasan Las Vegas, sign the final construction beam at Hakkasan Las Vegas in MGM Grand on Tuesday, Oct. 9, 2012.
Hakkasan
Rival nightclub owners are stunned with the megabucks war the new monster venue Hakkasan is waging at MGM Grand. The restaurant and nightclub is nearing completion of a $100 million-plus makeover of the ex-Studio 54 space into the world’s largest and most luxurious entertainment and dining experience.
Hakkasan was set to open for New Year’s but now is planned for early spring because of even more luxurious additions. It started the Las Vegas superstar DJ wars by signing four worldwide toppers, including DeadMau5 and Tiesto, to two-year deals in a $65-million-plus contract package.
Since our first mind-numbing report Thursday revealing the Deadmau5 deal, more incredible DJ signing news came to light, which we reported Sunday.
“I’m going to be completely candid,” one Las Vegas nightclub operator told me. “Several of the clubs have been talking among ourselves, and we can’t compete with their numbers. There’s no way any of us could make money and throw these sky-high contracts up to steal the DJs they’ve got.
“They’re cleaning up the entire market. They’e going to take all the top staff from every club in town. They will completely change nightlife business in Las Vegas. They’re going to put several clubs out of business; not just one, but several!
“But what’s more incredible is how can they make money themselves with these kind of costs. Where are all the people coming from to put butts in seats, as we say? Who is throwing this kind of giant money around today? Perhaps the bigger question is why it’s being thrown around?!”
Hakkasan was created by 50-year-old Hong Kong restaurateur Alan Yau, who moved to England when he was 12 and barely able to speak English. Today, he owns a chain of Thai restaurants, Chinese noodle bars and the ever-growing, Michelin-starred Hakkasan empire with venues in London, Mumbai, the Middle East, Miami, New York , San Francisco and soon in L.A.
The 75,000-square-feet, five-floor Las Vegas platinum playpen is so huge with its restaurant, lounge, nightclub and daypool components that it will require 500 staff members, with a seven-day job fair starting Jan. 14. The property boasts rich interiors and distinctive modern Chinoiserie for a luxurious contemporary environment.
It’s a venture with Angel Management Group, which operates Pure and Venus adult pool at Caesars Palace, Tabu Ultra Lounge and Wet Republic at MGM Grand, LAX and Savile Row at the Luxor, Coyote Ugly and Dick’s Last Resort at New York-New York and Social House in Crystals at CityCenter.
But now for the ultimate Wicked Whisper & Racy Rumor! Las Vegas nightlife insiders have begun asking about the fortune involved in the huge construction costs and giant star DJ paychecks -- “Where is it all coming from?” one highly reliable insider asked, and then he gave me the amazing answer, which has been confirmed by another knowledgeable source.
“The Hakkasan venture is bankrolled and backed by a mega-wealthy Middle East billionaire. He was a regular high roller at another luxurious Las Vegas nightspot but became disgruntled when he was turned down for a specific table that he wanted one night. He said he was disrespected; he said he’d open his own place to teach them a lesson.
“So he backed the project and told Angel Management that it didn’t matter how much it took to make the Hakkasan project in Las Vegas the best in the world. He said it was an unlimited budget. He wanted to ensure that his previous nightclub hangout knew they’d done the wrong thing by him.
“He’s going to ensure whatever it costs that they learn a lesson. He will have the best club in the world, and nobody will ever match it. He wants the world’s top, best DJs, and he’s got them in contracts to ensure nobody else can have them.
“All because they wouldn’t give him the table he wanted. Incredible! Only in Vegas! We are the Nightlife Capital of the World, and now he’ll have the biggest and best of the lot.”
Robin Leach has been a journalist for more than 50 years and has spent the past decade giving readers the inside scoop on Las Vegas, the world’s premier platinum playground.
Follow Robin Leach on Twitter at Twitter.com/Robin_Leach.
Follow Vegas DeLuxe on Twitter at Twitter.com/vegasdeluxe.
Follow VDLX Editor Don Chareunsy on Twitter at Twitter.com/VDLXEditorDon.
MGM Grand, a AAA Four Diamond resort, offers 5,044 rooms and suites.
MGM Grand features KÀ by Cirque du Soleil; Brad Garrett’s Comedy Club; and world-class entertainment at the Grand Garden Arena and Hollywood Theatre.
The resort offers signature restaurants by celebrity chefs including Tom Colicchio’s Craftsteak, Emeril Lagasse’s New Orleans Fish House, Wolfgang Puck’s Bar & Grill and Michelin three star and Forbes Five Star restaurant, Joël Robuchon.
As part of its ongoing “Grand Renovation,” MGM Grand has remodeled all rooms and suites in its main tower and is adding several new experiences to its lineup including Hakkasan Las Vegas Restaurant and Nightclub, a new upscale dining/nightlife concept (coming in April 2013).
MGM Grand also features a state-of-the-art, non-smoking conference center, the Grand Spa, Cristophe Salon, "CSI: The Experience" and an inviting pool complex featuring the tantalizing daylife of Wet Republic.
Upscale accommodations include The Mansion, an exclusive hotel within the hotel; the luxurious two-story SKYLOFTS at MGM Grand; and The Signature at MGM Grand, a luxury all-suite, non-gaming hotel located adjacent to the main resort.
The DJ format is so old school. Belongs in the past. If a venue is DJ-based, I simply won't go.
Wow! Money talks. With a 500 member staff I'd expect a slow exit of 1/3 of the staff 3 months after opening.
"The DJ format is so old school. Belongs in the past. If a venue is DJ-based, I simply won't go."
Old school?? huh? 'Star' DJs have been the huge draw at clubs worldwide for years now, not just no name DJs! There is a reason why those guys make 10s of millions a year, look it up.
Youd rather go see Celine Dione??
This is really a Story of Customer Service and the total lack of Professionalism by staff in many of the Las Vegas Top Hotels.
Poor Training, Low Salaries and the Pompousness of employees would not be tolerated in any Four or Five Star Hotel anywhere in the World. Some of the best training examples are the Ritz-Carlton and The Disney Institute.
DJ's seem to be bringing in a much younger and more monied crowd than found at many of the Old Stuffy Caesars and Locals Properties.
When DJs can sell 100,000 thousand tickets to the Electronic Daisy Carnival at hundreds of dollars a pop - Casinos had better listen.
You can literally gamble about anywhere and have more fun than Gambling in Las Vegas and their poor Comps and Payouts.
I don't understand the logic. Is not a DJ just a person who plays pre recorded music? What's the draw? His choice of music to play? For that he (or she) makes mega millions? For that money the clubs could bring in live name bands and still come out ahead.
Yawn!
This place will go Chapter 11 in three years.
The young who support this type of entertainmnet will pay,for a while and then they will demand something else and the debt service on these type of venues will close them faster than if a a-bomb had been dropped on them. As another poster wrote the staff will be diminshed by one third in the first six months and the bean counters will then begin to mark the days until bankruptcy.
If it ain't so why is Las Vegas and all of the big,fresh,new,dead nuts entertainmnet ideas failed in the past? Bigger is not always better and there are just so many people who can financially support these venues.
just another homogenous nightclub for the too-much-money and not-enough-sense crowd.
The only thing I can figure as to why MGM would allow a major rehaul of that corner is to compete with Caesars' Linq project. If a mid-east temper tantrum billionaire has the power to build something at the snap of his fingers he can bring it down just as fast leaving MGM with a 5 floor something or other to repackage and remarket. Personally, I never understood the whole DJ thing. And the way the economy is there will be less money for the youth that goes to such places. Nothing innovative here as MGM targets its youth market yet again. What MGM should understand is that drinking and partying is legal in 99.9% of the country - while gaming and entertainment venues is another matter.
Its a win/win for MGM - let someone else gamble the big dollars on this, they just rent the space.
what a disaster this is gonna be---the same group that brought you city center is at it again---man can they blow other peoples money! This could be the biggest club disaster in history---the same as city center was for casinos! You've got most of the property geared towards $5 bettors and budget travelers and then you stick a $300 to sit down club right in their face. How many idiots will plunk down 1K for a few hours at this joint????? Not enough im sure!
A 500 person job fair.....yes,no one over 25 will be considered.
Big deal. It will be just another place that will be full of smoke.
"Well, the people, corporate structure, labels, R&B artists, and clubs are all in collusion...and they all want a piece of the franchise action. They see an easy customer who just wants it fast, cheap and easy. They're not interested in educating. So that's why you have us and you have them. It's always been that way. " -Dennis Ferrer
Ignorance is BLISS - and DJS Don't Sell 100,000 tickets MONEY GRABBING PROMOTERS who steal grass roots, authentic music movements do.
I am amazed at the spoon feeding of HYPED UP ROCK concert styled DANCE MUSIC Shows, being pawned off to an unsuspecting United States Audience. And I weep for those that say the DJ format is dead. There are thousands of HOUSE music afficianados in the world and none of them would even think to shell out more than $40 for a great night out. A night that contains music that is not co-branded with RHIANNA and the POP MUSIC lolipop trackers.
Go out and explore, find the more intimate venues. Spend your money at clubs that promote HOUSE MUSIC. Create/Build smaller clubs to showcase the diverse club sound. Check out BERLIN, LIVERPOOL, BRUSSELS et.al, these are thriving scenes that don't rely on the big names and don't need to. Cuz the underground scene is not an amusement park its a way of living. And you all should really get some perspective and develop your senses to the possibilities of the true sounds of DANCE MUSIC cuz it certainly is not this. - Preacherman
The only clubs that this club *may* put out of business are one or two of the washed up hip-hop clubs. BFD.
There is more than enough demand in Vegas for electronic dance music to add this club (and the other new one at Mandalay) without pushing out any of the other EDM clubs (i.e. XS, Rain, Haze, Marquee). I was at XS and Marquee a few months ago, and you couldn't even move through the places because they were so packed (and I even had a table at XS).