Q:

With the recent question about indoor pools, you had the link to your list of all pools and listed hours. I see only a couple hotels even have pools open past 5 or 6 p.m. If you can drink and gamble 24/7, why can't you swim 24/7? Especially since most list 'swim at own risk' and/or don't even have lifeguards on duty?

A:

The first time we addressed a similar question was in one of the very first QoDs, back in May 2005, and here's what we were told back then by a source in senior hotel management: "In the old days, it was a deliberate policy, designed to get guests back into the casino early in the evening. These days, it’s less about encouraging you to get back to the tables and more about safety and economics. There’s a greater liability involved in overseeing a pool once it gets dark and it’s not cost-effective to provide lifeguards, lighting, and cocktail service when most of your clientele is off partying somewhere else."

That does make sense, not least in light of tragic -- if senseless -- incidents, like the case a few years back of a guest drowning in the packed REHAB uber-party pool, when no one even noticed for awhile that there was a dead body in the water -- and that was in broad daylight. Even if the sign reads, "Swim at your own risk," what hotel wants that kind of publicity? Or to pay inflated insurance premiums so the occasional night owl can get their laps in? (Don't get us wrong -- QoD loves going for late-night swims at its own risk, but probably wouldn't allow it if we owned a hotel, especially in Las Vegas.)

It's not even necessarily about intoxication: QoD's father almost died in his 20s, diving sober into an unattended pool and misjudging the depth... Fortunately, someone appeared in the nick of time to pull him, unconscious, from the gradually pinkening waters.

Back in the day, the Tropicana was famed for having a pool that was both 24 hours and indoor/outdoor, but since the remodel that's a thing of the past. However, there are still a few options for after-hours dipping:

• Hooters: Located just off the Strip, this pool is open 24/7 and, what's more, is free for anyone to use. Yes, really!
  
• Westin Las Vegas: Another just-off-Strip property, the pool here's also open 24 hours, year-round, but it's for hotel guests only.
  
• Renaissance: Located a little farther off the Strip, on Paradise, this hotel's pool is also open 24/7 for guests (they request that you keep the noise down after 11 p.m., we were informed when we called.)

Those are the only three pools we're aware of that are late-night on a regular basis (drop us a line if you know of one we're missing.)

In addition, some of the party pools host late-night swim parties. For example, Daylight Beach Club, the new pool from Light Group at Mandalay Bay, is hosting weekly night parties called "Eclipse." The event debuts with a special Sunday session featuring Skrillex on May 26; thereafter, Eclipse will take place each Wednesday, from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. In addition, Daydream pool at M Resort hosts sporadic "Night Swim" parties, with the next two scheduled for June 28 and July 26 (details TBA, so check the Daydream website for details. XS at Encore formerly hosted Sunday night swim parties, but to date this event has not been confirmed for the 2013 season -- check our Cool Pools feature for updates on this and all pool events throughout the summer.