JoAnna Haugen
The “average” nightclub appears to be a thing of the past in Las Vegas — at least for now.
To survive in Las Vegas these days, nightlife venues have to offer something unique that sets them apart from other nocturnal hotspots while also attracting enough customers to keep their doors open.
Consider some of the recent nightlife venues to successfully hit the scene in Las Vegas over the last year or so:
• Light at Mandalay Bay became the first nightclub to combine headlining DJs with the costumes, choreography and performance elements of Cirque du Soleil.
• Rose.Rabbit.Lie. at the Cosmopolitan is part nightclub, part restaurant and part variety show. And with varying performances in different parts of the venue every night, one person’s experience could be different than another’s even on the same evening.
• Beacher’s Madhouse at MGM Grand, which MGM touts as a vaudeville-inspired show with “the energy of a nightclub and the atmosphere of a circus,” with acts like the "Beau Joie Flying Midget Bartenders." 
Additionally, venues that would historically be considered run-of-the-mill nightclubs have elevated their game with A-list performers such as Ne-Yo at Surrender, Avicii at Encore Beach Club, and Tiesto and Calvin Harris at Hakkasan.
“Nightclubs now are DJ-driven,” said Marian Lyn of Tzell Travel Group. “The DJs have a very big following. Visitors are here and they want to go to certain clubs because they want to see a certain DJ.”
A lot of people who visit Las Vegas want to embrace the city’s slogan, “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.” As such, they look for crowded places where they can have fun dancing and partying the night away with strangers, and then disappear the next morning.
“They don’t want people to know they’re there,” Lyn said. “They don’t know who they’re standing next to, nor do they care.”
Novelty. DJs. Crowds. These are the keys to a successful nightclub right now, but things are always in flux in Las Vegas, and what sells this month may not be what’s popular next month.
“This industry is constantly changing,” Lyn said. “It’s the kind of industry that has to, to stay on top.”