1 male 3 females on a mission to have the most amount of fun while spending the least amount of money. We were lucky enough to have access to a private home not far off the strip so we stayed there as opposed to in a hotel.
Saturday 8/7 Arrival/Pure
Big thanks to Brandon Ring for setting us up with a table in the 'hip hop' room at Pure. When I got to the ropes the bouncer told me that since I booked through Brandon they would seat us immediately as opposed to other promotor's guests who would still have to wait. I would have preferred a table in the 'main room' but as the theme of this trip was 'ballin on a budget' that wasn't in the cards. I also have to give credit to our amazing security guard by the name of Carlos. I took care of Carlos and he took great care of us. Kept bottle whores and creeps off the table all night. Music was pretty damn good and the crowd was young and decently attractive. I know Pure isn't a "hot" club in LV right now but we had a blast at a great price.
Sunday 8/8 Recovery/LAVO (restaurant)
Sunday my group was way too beat from the night before at Pure to do anything. I was down to party, but my companions weren't; so we took the day easy. Had dinner at LAVO which was not bad at all, but I wish the "Risotto with Braised Short Ribs" actually had ribs in it as opposed to the teaspoon of shredded meat I was served. Fairly priced and decent overall. I wanted to use our free admission stamps to check out LAVO in the evening, but my group was not up for music/dancing so I just spent the evening losing money in the Venetian Casino.
Monday 8/9 EBC, JET (sort of), and Revolution Lounge
Big thanks to Mikey T for getting me an AMAZING price on a daybed at EBC. I know Monday is a slow day and much easier to catch a price break, but Mikey T's offer blew away the other promotors' I spoke with by leaps and bounds. We had one of the daybeds by the front entrance with a great view of the pool. It wasn't as packed as I'd imagine it gets on Sundays but by like 2 oclock it was very full. Most daybeds and lilypads were occupied. Only a handful of cabanas were in use but I didn't expect more than that on a Monday. Our servers Melanie and Ray were absolutely outstanding and helpful. However I had one MAJOR beef with EBC. I seriously don't think there was a drop of alcohol in our drinks. We ordered several pitchers and several mixed drinks and not one person in my party even got the SLIGHTEST buzz. I realize the pitchers aren't exactly going to be jungle juice but if I'm ordering a drink with vodka, at least put enough in there that after an entire pitcher I can feel it. We paid in pitchers/drinks almost what a low end bottle would have cost, I wish we just got the bottle so we'd know what we were getting rather than spending a few hundred on fruit juice and margarita mix. Other than that issue EBC was absolutely amazing, so great that I can honestly look past the alcohol issue and give it two thumbs up. We left around 5-6pm and there were still some people there. Again thank you so much Mikey T, but please have EBC do something about their alcohol. If they actually served us some it would have been PERFECT.
After we got back from EBC we got ready to hit up JET. Dave Roberts was very helpful and agreed to guestlist us with free admission before 12. Unfortunately I was traveling with 3 girls and they took a little too long to get ready. Dave told me to "arrive by 12." Well we "arrived" around 11:15 and the line was HUGE. We got in the guestlist line and were near the front but our line barely moved an inch. The line next to us was for some type of "VIP" people (I think local industry people) and they were being rushed in as fast as possible. Long story short we got to the cashier at 12:15 and they wanted us all to pay $40 cover, my friends and I weren't up for it so we left and went to Revolution Lounge down the hallway. I should have known by the lack of a line and lack of a cover charge that this place was bad news. It was semi-full. As 'the situation' would say it was full of zoo creatures. The DJ also seemed more the sweet 16/wedding type than the vegas club type. I mean the went from Sidney Samson Riverside to Journey... I don't know. I know I'm a house music snob but really? Journey? Anyway I made the best of this night since the alternative was going home and sleeping.
Tuesday 8/10 MOON
Helped by a promotor whose name escapes me. My friend found him I didn't get the name from JC. Everyone else wanted a cover from me and this guy offered us a table in the main room up against the windows for a $150 minimum (which we easily met). For a Tuesday it was pretty crowded. Mediocore crowd though, way too many zoo animals for my tastes. However the DJ was almost as bad as the one at Revolution Lounge. Like I said I'm into house music, but I do understand thats not for everyone and the DJ needs to mix it up with some top 40 and hip hop, but again this guy was dropping "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" and the like. Not for me. The club dancers were beautiful though and had some great bodies. For a Tuesday night with such a low minimum I can't complain. Good times were had, not to mention a great view.
Wednesday 8/11 Surrender
I'm not quite sure how I feel about Surrender. Dave Pappas hooked us up on the guestlist. When every other promoter wanted me to pay a cover, Dave gave me free admission and we barely waited in line. Thanks Dave! The music was great and the crowd was stunning, but I really don't like the layout of Surrender at all. As EBC the layout works, but as an outdoor venue the off limits pools really hurt the creation of a party atmosphere. It was much more like a chill outdoor lounge. Now I know "the inside room" is for dancing, but we made a good 3 or 4 attempts to get in there and dance but everytime we were met with frustration. The dancefloor is so small we could barely make room enough to move, and we were constantly being bumped into by bouncers and servers making their way around the tables. Ended up leaving early. I can't say I hated Surrender, I just don't think it "works" if that makes sense.
Thursday 8/12 TAO
The last night we had dinner and went out at TAO. I had the Chef's sushi Roll and the Salmon with Udon Noodles. Very good and not over priced. We got stamped to go upstairs and we went right in with no line and no cover. Overall it was just the usual TAO, same as when I went last year. Extremely crowded with a young and pretty good looking crowd. Drinks were actually pretty cheap (for Vegas) at $11. My only problem with TAO is that the dancefloor just gets soo packed you can't even get out there to move, which is why I usually spend more time in the side room. Not because I like the music better but because you can actually dance and enjoy yourself. This was the last night out there so I made the best of it and had a good time.
Hope this TR helps you all plan future trips, any questions at all don't hesitate.
Saturday 8/7 Arrival/Pure
Big thanks to Brandon Ring for setting us up with a table in the 'hip hop' room at Pure. When I got to the ropes the bouncer told me that since I booked through Brandon they would seat us immediately as opposed to other promotor's guests who would still have to wait. I would have preferred a table in the 'main room' but as the theme of this trip was 'ballin on a budget' that wasn't in the cards. I also have to give credit to our amazing security guard by the name of Carlos. I took care of Carlos and he took great care of us. Kept bottle whores and creeps off the table all night. Music was pretty damn good and the crowd was young and decently attractive. I know Pure isn't a "hot" club in LV right now but we had a blast at a great price.
Sunday 8/8 Recovery/LAVO (restaurant)
Sunday my group was way too beat from the night before at Pure to do anything. I was down to party, but my companions weren't; so we took the day easy. Had dinner at LAVO which was not bad at all, but I wish the "Risotto with Braised Short Ribs" actually had ribs in it as opposed to the teaspoon of shredded meat I was served. Fairly priced and decent overall. I wanted to use our free admission stamps to check out LAVO in the evening, but my group was not up for music/dancing so I just spent the evening losing money in the Venetian Casino.
Monday 8/9 EBC, JET (sort of), and Revolution Lounge
Big thanks to Mikey T for getting me an AMAZING price on a daybed at EBC. I know Monday is a slow day and much easier to catch a price break, but Mikey T's offer blew away the other promotors' I spoke with by leaps and bounds. We had one of the daybeds by the front entrance with a great view of the pool. It wasn't as packed as I'd imagine it gets on Sundays but by like 2 oclock it was very full. Most daybeds and lilypads were occupied. Only a handful of cabanas were in use but I didn't expect more than that on a Monday. Our servers Melanie and Ray were absolutely outstanding and helpful. However I had one MAJOR beef with EBC. I seriously don't think there was a drop of alcohol in our drinks. We ordered several pitchers and several mixed drinks and not one person in my party even got the SLIGHTEST buzz. I realize the pitchers aren't exactly going to be jungle juice but if I'm ordering a drink with vodka, at least put enough in there that after an entire pitcher I can feel it. We paid in pitchers/drinks almost what a low end bottle would have cost, I wish we just got the bottle so we'd know what we were getting rather than spending a few hundred on fruit juice and margarita mix. Other than that issue EBC was absolutely amazing, so great that I can honestly look past the alcohol issue and give it two thumbs up. We left around 5-6pm and there were still some people there. Again thank you so much Mikey T, but please have EBC do something about their alcohol. If they actually served us some it would have been PERFECT.
After we got back from EBC we got ready to hit up JET. Dave Roberts was very helpful and agreed to guestlist us with free admission before 12. Unfortunately I was traveling with 3 girls and they took a little too long to get ready. Dave told me to "arrive by 12." Well we "arrived" around 11:15 and the line was HUGE. We got in the guestlist line and were near the front but our line barely moved an inch. The line next to us was for some type of "VIP" people (I think local industry people) and they were being rushed in as fast as possible. Long story short we got to the cashier at 12:15 and they wanted us all to pay $40 cover, my friends and I weren't up for it so we left and went to Revolution Lounge down the hallway. I should have known by the lack of a line and lack of a cover charge that this place was bad news. It was semi-full. As 'the situation' would say it was full of zoo creatures. The DJ also seemed more the sweet 16/wedding type than the vegas club type. I mean the went from Sidney Samson Riverside to Journey... I don't know. I know I'm a house music snob but really? Journey? Anyway I made the best of this night since the alternative was going home and sleeping.
Tuesday 8/10 MOON
Helped by a promotor whose name escapes me. My friend found him I didn't get the name from JC. Everyone else wanted a cover from me and this guy offered us a table in the main room up against the windows for a $150 minimum (which we easily met). For a Tuesday it was pretty crowded. Mediocore crowd though, way too many zoo animals for my tastes. However the DJ was almost as bad as the one at Revolution Lounge. Like I said I'm into house music, but I do understand thats not for everyone and the DJ needs to mix it up with some top 40 and hip hop, but again this guy was dropping "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" and the like. Not for me. The club dancers were beautiful though and had some great bodies. For a Tuesday night with such a low minimum I can't complain. Good times were had, not to mention a great view.
Wednesday 8/11 Surrender
I'm not quite sure how I feel about Surrender. Dave Pappas hooked us up on the guestlist. When every other promoter wanted me to pay a cover, Dave gave me free admission and we barely waited in line. Thanks Dave! The music was great and the crowd was stunning, but I really don't like the layout of Surrender at all. As EBC the layout works, but as an outdoor venue the off limits pools really hurt the creation of a party atmosphere. It was much more like a chill outdoor lounge. Now I know "the inside room" is for dancing, but we made a good 3 or 4 attempts to get in there and dance but everytime we were met with frustration. The dancefloor is so small we could barely make room enough to move, and we were constantly being bumped into by bouncers and servers making their way around the tables. Ended up leaving early. I can't say I hated Surrender, I just don't think it "works" if that makes sense.
Thursday 8/12 TAO
The last night we had dinner and went out at TAO. I had the Chef's sushi Roll and the Salmon with Udon Noodles. Very good and not over priced. We got stamped to go upstairs and we went right in with no line and no cover. Overall it was just the usual TAO, same as when I went last year. Extremely crowded with a young and pretty good looking crowd. Drinks were actually pretty cheap (for Vegas) at $11. My only problem with TAO is that the dancefloor just gets soo packed you can't even get out there to move, which is why I usually spend more time in the side room. Not because I like the music better but because you can actually dance and enjoy yourself. This was the last night out there so I made the best of it and had a good time.
Hope this TR helps you all plan future trips, any questions at all don't hesitate.
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