SceneLasVegas’ Friday to Sunday nightclub hopping circuit

SceneLasVegas’ Friday to Sunday nightclub hopping circuit

We’ve been flooded with requests for a “Weekend In Las Vegas” club guide; and of coarse we were more than happy to put one together for you. We understand that other than locals, most people want a quick weekend snapshot of the night clubs and Lounges to visit and when to visit them. So we’ve compiled our favorites for Friday through Sunday night; we’ll even throw in a Monday just in case you’re having so much fun that the $200 to change your flight seems insignificant.

So you come in Friday night, run and check into your room, throw your bags on your bed and your ready to roll out in hopes of finding that first night hook-up. We’ve got two clubs in mind: Tryst at Wynn and Moon at The Palms. With Tryst you can first stop of at one of their lounges for pre-club mingle. We’ve found lots of ladies at the Wynn on Friday night, a lot of locals too, which makes for a better all around atmosphere. At Tryst you can enjoy and indoor waterfall, plenty of room to move about in search of that perfect group of three girls to match up with your group of three guys. We find the club goers and staff alike, enjoyable to be around; definitely give this venue a chance. Moon at The Palms is also one of our top choices for Friday, if you happen to be closer to that side of the Strip. On Friday, most people are in such a hurry to get out and party they don’t venture too far from their hotel, and we like crowd at The Palms Hotel and Casino. Besides, who doesn’t want to stop off at The Playboy Club first! If you’ve got the time hit ‘em both up- The Playboy Club is definitely worth checking out, you might just end up dedicating the whole night here. If not, head straight up to the Moon nightclub to enjoy a truly spectacular view, not to mention a pleasant ratio of girls to guys.

Saturday, honestly most nightclubs are going to be packed, so be prepared to handle a lengthy wait; especially if you wait till 11pm to start getting ready. However, Studio 54 at MGM, for some reason is a little easier to get into and we are confident you’ll be quite pleased with this venues girl/guy ratio. A lot of outta town girls and guys are found here on Saturday night. Not only is the line fairly easy to deal with, but there is plenty of room once inside this clubs’ two story interior. Its high-energy environment will captivate you, if it doesn’t, I’m sure the many talented Go-Go dancers will; we think you’ll definitely enjoy your time here.

For Sunday your choice is easy, Body English at The Hard Rock. This large and elegant venue has everything you’d want to close out your weekend. Lots of beautiful girls, and for you ladies, our female reviewers say if it’s dancing and cute guys you’re after, then there’s no place you’d rather be. On Sunday, Body English does well by taking care of all the locals and military out there, with reduced entry cover.

Like we said, if you happen to extend that flight out a couple more days, then your destination for Monday should be Prive’ at Planet Hollywood. Although you’ll find a very selective door at this nightclub, if you get there early enough you should be able to get in without too long of a wait. Grab a few girls that you see on there way to the club and ask them if you can all go in together; that usually helps reduce the wait time at venues like these. Who knows, you might strike up a good conversation while in line, where they might actually be able to hear all those pick-up lines you’ve been working on. Girls, you’ll find plenty to dance to, in either of their two DJ inspired rooms; one playing house, the other with pop and hip hop. With the party lasting well past 3am, this spot should make for an exciting conclusion to your Vegas weekend. Have a great night out!

-Jon Anthony
Find out more about your favorite nightclubs in Las Vegas at SceneLasVegas.com

TIPPING WHO? HOW MUCH? AND WHAT DO I GET?

TIPPING WHO? HOW MUCH? AND WHAT DO I GET?

1) Bouncers/ Doormen- Typically $20 a person- Only if they let you skip the line and possibly cover charge

2) Bartenders- Recommended $2 a drink $10 a “round”- Good tippers are remembered regardless of crowd size

3) Cocktail waitresses- 15% expected, 20% recommended- Faster service, don’t be the one they avoid

4) VIP Host- $10-$20- Taken to table and possibly a business card for return visit special bottle price incentive

5) Bathroom attendant- $1 every other visit should do- Not much, but shows politeness. Their job ain’t fun help them out.

-Jon Anthony
Find out more about your favorite nightclubs in Las Vegas at SceneLasVegas.com

THE BAR IS PACKED AND YOU WANT A DRINK!

THE BAR IS PACKED AND YOU WANT A DRINK!

First, let us give you a little background into what your tip to the bartender does. Most high end clubs with a lot of bartenders use “tip sharing.” This means the $1 or $2 tip you just slid to the bartender after receiving your drink, gets divided up 20 ways. So in actuality, you just tipped them about 5 or 10 cents. A tip like that doesn’t exactly make you memorable and you’ll probably continue to get service like anybody else. Now that doesn’t mean not to tip, or they don’t make good money, because you definitely should and they certainly do, and for good reason. They are working hard back there trying to serve thousands of people and the club probably wouldn’t be as much fun without the drinks.

Let me tell you about one of my friend’s first run in with the “tip sharing” system that quite frankly amazed me. I was at a club visiting a cocktail waitress friend of mine. She had put me and some friends on “the list.” We made our way to the bar and I ordered some drinks which she “covered” (no charge). My friend was so impressed with the drinks and the “hook-up” she provided, he took out a $100 bill and slid it her way. She in turn slid it back to him and walked away. He looked at me and said, “Did I do something wrong? What just happened there?” I had to explain to him that after sharing that with 19 other people, she would only get a few bucks. So, because of the fact that she and I were good friends, it meant more to her to have us show up and say hi. Not to mention the fact that we had brought a “list” full of people that would spend money to her club, and probably visit that same establishment again. You see there is a lot more to Vegas than people think.

Alright, with all that being said, we can help you out with that drink at the bar. If you’re not making any progress getting the bartender’s attention- take out a $20 bill, fold it a couple times, and put it between your fingers with your hand palm down on the bar with the bill sticking up like a flag. This lets your server know a couple things: One, you’re paying cash so they’ll be taking your tip home at the end of the night rather than waiting on credit card receipts. Most people we know in the industry would rather get cash tips- providing someone doesn’t get crazy and tip them triple digits on their daddy’s card. The only people who love credit card tips are the IRS. And two, people who make sure the bartender sees money are typically trying to showoff a big tip.

When you finally get a round of drinks, pay for them and slide your server a $20 dollar tip. He or she will be quite appreciative, as believe it or not the majority of patrons don’t tip that well. In fact, we’ve seen people order $100 shots of liquor and NOT tip. We’re not saying tip them a 20 every time, but we can pretty much guarantee if you get your drinks from the same location all night that server will most definitely recognize you before the person in front of you. Not to mention the fact that you may find quite a bit more alcohol in your beverage, versus the guy that’s about to tip a nickel.

-Jon Anthony
Find out more about your favorite nightclubs in Las Vegas at SceneLasVegas.com

HOW TO AVOID THAT TWO HOUR WAIT IN LINE

HOW TO AVOID THAT TWO HOUR WAIT IN LINE

Just because the line to your club destination appears long enough to keep you there all night doesn’t mean they are waiting for people to leave before you can enter. It’s a clever trick club managers use to get you interested in their venue. If you haven’t heard the term “sour grapes” before, it basically means wanting what you can’t have. By holding people from entering the club, it draws attention, and who doesn’t want to be inside somewhere that looks happening enough that people would wait an hour or two to be admitted. So by queuing up for a couple hours to be one of those lucky people doesn’t seem that bad considering the reward. Short of shelling out enough to get your own table, and on average $350 plus tip mandatory bottle there are two simple solutions we’re surprised people don’t use more.

One- If the club opens at 10, show up about 9:30. Grab a quick drink at one of the nearby bars in the Casino, wait for a couple people to start heading in, then finish your drink and follow suit. As long as you don’t look like you just got done changing the oil in your car, you should get right in. You’ll usually have to wait inside for the club to pick up, but it beats the alternative.

Two- If you’re in a group of say four, pony up a twenty spot a piece, and go shake hands with the bouncer. Be careful with this tactic because some bouncers “tip share” (share their take with the rest of the bouncers) and some don’t, so they don’t like broadcasting it for the world to see. Some may even want to know the amount and have you deposit it directly into their suit pocket, usually the right side. We suggest it go something like this: “Hey bro, (reaching out to shake hands and allowing him or her to see a small glimpse of the cash) it’s my friends and my last night in Vegas and we really want to check out your club.” As you shake, lean in and tell them you have four in your party and eighty dollars in your hand. The going rate is $20 a person. Depending on the Club and the bouncer, he might have the authority to waive the cover as well, but they will usually let you know if you’ll be expected to pay on your way in. This works well for locals and ladies as well, and usually a lot less expensive to pull this off if you fall into one of these categories. If you’re military, always show your military ID rather than your driver’s license. Regardless what you hear on the news, the majority of the world appreciates what the military does for the United States and some door men are active duty personnel working part time (except Body English- Local NV ID works best and we don’t understand why).

Try one of these approaches on your next venture out. We’re confident that rather than wasting time in line, you’ll be partying it up inside with others in line waiting to see you. If you run into any problems at any of the clubs let us know here at Scene Las Vegas and we’ll be happy to research it for you.

-Jon Anthony
Find out more about your favorite nightclubs in Las Vegas at SceneLasVegas.com

LET’S DO SOME BOTTLE SERVICE MATH!

LET’S DO SOME BOTTLE SERVICE MATH!

Let’s do some simple math to find out if bottle service is right for you. Say there are five people in your group and you average about four drinks a person during your time at any given night club. Maybe three for yourself, and one for a cute girl you meet while inside. That comes out to about $240 dollars between you and your friends. This is how it adds up- 20 drinks between all five of you, at an average single drink cost of $10 plus a $1-$2 dollar tip. Guys, you can count on at least $20 dollars a piece for a cover charge, so that equates an additional $100. So now we’re up to about $340 for your parties’ night out. Now, stay with me this is where it gets interesting.

The least expensive bottle of Vodka, on average, will run you $300-$350. Let’s meet in the middle with $325. With your table and bottle service you can assume at least a 15% gratuity, but we recommend 20%. So with around a $65 tip, you’re looking at around $390. I’m sure by now you can figure out where we’re going with this- With $340 on average for a party of five, and your group standing in line like everyone else; it only saves you a whopping 50 bucks ($10 a piece). Or, you spend the $390 and have a spot of your own to set up shop and entertain some ladies, where you can tell them all the clever alter-identities that you and your friends came up with on your 4 hour plane ride out to Vegas. Great ones like, “I work for a company who pays me to go to clubs and talk to hot chicks.” Oh, wait, that’s our job! Don’t worry, we’ll help you out with some of those lines in our up and coming tip section titled- NO, YOU DIDN’T JUST SAY THAT.

Ladies, due to the fact that most clubs would love to have you, your admission is less expensive or free. So the bottle service math doesn’t work out as well in your favor. Besides, we’re confident that there will be plenty of guys out who would love to buy you a drink or two, or possibly give you an invite to their table and a drink off their bottle. Unless, of course you and your girls just wanna do a little dancing and stay away from all those “one liners” you joke about in the ladies room. Yes, we know- SceneLasVegas.com has women on staff too. If you and your girlfriends are just looking for that hook-up free night at the club sitting with your girls, then maybe a table and a bottle might be just what you need. Just make sure you go give the bouncer watching you section a kiss on the cheek and inform him of your plans to be left alone. That should provide for a pick up free environment.

-Jon Anthony

Find out more about your favorite nightclubs in Las Vegas at SceneLasVegas.com