The party starts early in Las Vegas. At 10 a.m. on Saturdays, the first thumping bass lines rise from the deck of Encore Beach Club at Steve Wynn's Encore casino resort.
Soon, a line will form outside the 55,000-square-foot, open-air venue, as young men and women in flip-flops, board shorts and bikinis clamor for entry into one of Las Vegas' top party pools. Once inside, they'll spend the next few hours sipping icy cocktails, grooving to tracks spun by A-list DJs and eyeing attractive strangers. It's just like one of the Strip's famed nightclubs — with sunscreen.
Even before summer hits in Las Vegas, it's pool season. Just as nightlife has emerged as a vital driver on the Strip, so has its little sister industry, daylife. Sunlit, poolside parties have taken all of the glamour and panache of Vegas nightclubs and brought them into the light. And with venues up and down Las Vegas Boulevard now starting the party before lunch, pool clubs are more important than ever.
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Today, nearly every major casino has its own daylife destination, from Mandalay Bay's Daylight to Drai's Beach Club atop the Cromwell to the chic Foxtail Pool Club at SLS to the one that started it all, Rehab at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino.
"The Hard Rock Pool itself in the late '90s was like a pool party, even if it wasn't a branded thing," said Sean Christie, managing partner of Encore Beach Club/Surrender. "It was just a natural progression. Rehab pretty much stamped the modern-day pool party."
The Hard Rock's legendary pool party is in its 12th season, and while the event is known for its spring break-like atmosphere and celebrity cameos — singer Justin Bieber and NFL player Rob Gronkowski have already made appearances this season — the legendary bash wasn't always intended to be tourist-driven debauchery.
"It started as a way to get industry folks over to the Hard Rock on Sundays," said Gary Scott, assistant general manager of the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino.
Tao Beach at the Venetian. Photo Credit: Al Powers
The party was so successful that it began to draw visitors, too, and soon other hospitality companies noticed the demand for daytime entertainment. Within a few years, Rehab, held at the Hard Rock's general resort pool, had inspired the creation of dedicated daylife venues at other casinos, like Wet Republic at MGM Grand, Bare Pool Lounge at the Mirage or Tao Beach at Venetian.
"For us, it was another way to throw a party," Lou Abin, Tao Group co-owner/managing partner, said of opening Tao Beach in 2007. "We were always trying to look for new and creative ways to throw a party."
A few years later, Abin and Co. opened Marquee at the Cosmopolitan, and with it Marquee Dayclub, the lavish outdoor component overlooking the Strip.
While Tao Beach is an intimate, Asian-inspired retreat, Marquee Dayclub is a sunshine- and vodka-fueled playground, a 22,000-square-foot space complete with two pools, a gaming area and theatrical features like a massive LED screen. Porter Robinson, Dash Berlin and other celebrity DJs man the booth, while guests splash in the shallow water or lounge in one of the luxury cabanas. For those especially dedicated to their partying, Marquee even offers poolside bungalows with bedrooms that function as hotel rooms, so you can essentially live at the venue for an entire weekend.
Before the emergence of the pool party scene, Vegas nightlife companies were relegated to, well, night. "From a club perspective," Abin said, daytime was "dead time." Day clubs have essentially doubled the hours that Strip nightlife companies can do business.
Celebrity DJ David Guetta at Encore Beach Club, which transforms into Surrender nightclub after sunset.
Encore Beach Club, which merges with and transforms into Surrender nightclub after sunset, closes for just three hours after the last swimsuit-clad co-ed leaves her lily pad or bungalow. In that time, the venue is completely cleaned, the DJ booth reoriented and a solid deck is assembled over the water. Christie tries to draw repeat customers through smart talent booking. "I think we do a good job of diversifying our artist offering or programming. … You're not going to see David Guetta at Surrender if you've seen him at EBC during the day."
At Tao Group, Abin said the goal is to capture guests three times throughout a single day: for the pool party, dinner and then a night on the town. The only time the hospitality company can't be of service: nap time.
So, is the market for daytime diversion already completely saturated? Both Marquee Dayclub and Encore Beach Club have focused on the pool party calendar, stretching their seasons through temperature-controlled tents and domes.
"As long as people keep on coming to Vegas, there's always room for growth," Abin said.
In fact, Tao Group's pool clubs have been so successful that the company has started opening rooftop pool decks in other cities, like New York and Los Angeles.
"People are trying to do it everywhere in the country. They want to enjoy the daylight," Abin said. "But the magnitude of the parties, no place in the country can rival Las Vegas."