Vegas Gambles on Super-Rich Ravers

Published May 7, 2013 | By skrufff

XS Vegas; click for more

‘$1,300 bottles of vodka, world famous DJs and nightclubs the size of football fields’ are saving Las Vegas’ faltering economy, Britain’s Daily Mail reported this week in an article examining the corporate strategies of the 50 such clubs now attached to Vegas’ casinos.

Noting how scores of clubbers cheerfully pay ‘a $10,000 beverage minimum upfront’ to sit on ‘VIP’ sofas, the Mail said typical entrance fees of $25 for women and $55 for men are designed to ‘weed out people who won’t spend on drinks’.

‘These clubs, if done correctly, are tremendous magnets,” MGM Resorts International CEO Jim Murren told the Mail.

‘We’re not interested in competing against everyone to get the 21-year-olds that are going to spend little to no money and are going to clog up the hallways.” (Mail; http://bit.ly/Yph8PT )

The casino clubs’ strategies differ markedly from that of new Brooklyn club Output which opened in January with door charges set at ‘free to reasonable’ and a dress code declaring ‘Brooklyn is the new black’.

“Output is open to anyone, but is not for everyone. Output welcomes individuals who value the communal experience of music over cameras and bottle service,” the club declares on its Facebook page and website.

“Encouraged: respect / equanimity / discretion / dancing”, the statement continues, “Discouraged: egocentricity / excess / distraction/ cell phones / glow sticks / suits”.

The club’s music policy so far appears to be heavily influenced by Berghain (Ben Klock, Steffi, Cassy, Marcell Dettman and Rødhåd all spin in the next two months) with a similarly Berlin style approach to marketing.

“Output does not facilitate requests for information, photos, interviews and guest passes. Members of the press are welcome to visit the venue and enjoy the music as patrons.”

https://www.facebook.com/OutputClub/

http://www.yelp.co.uk/biz/output-brooklyn (Output is open to anyone, but is not for everyone’: revellers respond . . .’)