In the not-too-distant future, you'll be able to find all the information about Las Vegas pool parties, special events, and amenities right here on this site in the Cool Pools section.
For the past two years, we've built out a uniquely comprehensive guide to the whole Vegas pool scene, including which pools are open to non-guests, which have concerts and parties, those that permit topless sunbathing, and much more. As the season progresses we also list which celebrities have been spotted where, and readers write in with their own comments and reviews of who has the coolest scene.
This year promises to be interesting, and we're anticipating some shake-ups in pool-land. Traditionally, Las Vegas' pool season ran from Memorial Day to Labor Day. For some time most properties have maintained at least one year-round heated pool (click for details), but the "party season" spanned the summer months. There have been some significant shifts in recent years, however.
Firstly, as Las Vegas became a world-class nightclub destination attracting a younger party crowd, pool parties rapidly evolved from the relatively sedate affairs of yore, when you could expect food and drink specials and probably a live band entertaining around the hotel pool in the evening to what's been dubbed the "daylife" scene that extends the club vibe poolside, with name DJs, celebrity guest appearances, underwater sound systems, and cocktails flowing all day. MGM Grand opened Wet Republic -- a whole new pool complex separate from the main guests' pool -- to cater to this crowd, while Rehab at the Hard Rock remains the infamous mother of all pool parties, even spawning it's own reality TV show.
Similarly, there's been a recent explosion in the number of "European-style" pools that permit topless sunbathing. It peaked in 2009 when the opening of Encore brought the count up to 12, ranging from the sedate guest-only scene at the Wynn properties, to the party scene at the Flamingo's GO Pool, to the strip-club collaboration at the Rio's Sapphire pool that saw topless strippers cavorting in the water with beachballs. TAO Beach, Cherry Pool, Ditch Fridays at the Palms, Daydream at M Resort, and Las Vegas' only GLBT pool party at Luxor -- the 24-hour party scene was truly a reality for a couple of years. By late last summer, however,there was a sense that things were getting out of control.
The current writer recalls receiving text updates from a friend who had a cabana at one of the major pools last summer, relating how a group of drunken "douchebags" had gotten into a fight with a bunch of "'roided-up looking dudes," over a "did you spill my drink/bump my girlfriend's lounge chair"-type scenario and suddenly an ugly scene was bouncing all over the pool complex. The Sapphire Pool at the Rio got busted for prostitution and drugs (go figure) and was promptly shut down, while Rehab also had its knuckles rapped, amid more charges of girls soliciting and drug use (a well-known athlete allegedly OD'd on Ecstasy one Sunday last summer). Station Casinos have been making some fundamental changes to their nightlife scene property-wide and the recent closure of Cherry nightclub at Red Rock spelled the end for the Cherry topless pool, too, which previously used to host regular parties.
So, we're really interested to see what transpires this year and if the pool scene will be tamer. How many topless pools will survive? After the less-than-stellar experiments at TI with Seamless and the Rio with Sapphire, not to mention the GO Pool losing its stripper pole, we don't see any more pool/strip club collaborations in the near future. The clampdown on nightlife following the problems at Privé has already spilled over into the daylife scene, so we reckon the peak of poolside decadence has been reached and passed.
Still, does that mean pool parties will revert to the way of the past, or will the younger "daylife" vibe still rule? Over the past couple of years there's been a lot of experimentation with poolside concerts, movie screenings, live entertainment, fashion shows, spa treatments, al fresco gambling, wine tastings, and even tattooing, so it will be interesting to see what sticks and what's out.
One thing we can reveal already is that this promises to be the longest pool season ever, with several properties (Rehab, Wet Republic, Mirage, to name just three) already having conducted their casting calls for beautiful people to serve cocktails and tend bars, with plans to open as early as March. Keep checking back with our Cool Pools feature for updates.
