Why, certainly.
From what we've managed to glean from our research, the concept of buying a whole container of booze at a bar/restaurant and saving what you didn't drink for later originated in Japan during WW2, when Tokyo businessmen would buy bottles of sake and store the unfinished portion in lounge lockers. We're not sure if we completely believe that this was the earliest instance, since people have had favorite local watering holes for centuries and having seen the old tradition in English pubs where regulars would have their own ale tankard kept at the bar, it seems logical that some people would have reserved a bottle of their favorite tipple, too, especially in more exclusive establishments like private clubs or if it was something particularly hard to come by. Still, whatever the origins of this custom are, it's certainly come a long way since then.
The next charted phase in the evolution of this modern nightclub phenomenon is reported as having taken place in Paris, where a popular club called Les Bains Douches began selling table reservations in the late '80s, where the table came with a complimentary bottle. Then, in 1993, New York's famous Tunnel dance club began offering bottles of booze for $90 to promote an "intimate" 200-person section of the club. With regular drinks priced at $6, this actually represented a drink-for-drink saving, but this would not remain the case for long.
Scroll forward a couple years and the owners of Spybar, also in New York, introduced a twist on the concept, where prohibitively expensive booze was used as a barrier to entry and a way of keeping the club exclusive. Initially, the concept was introduced only to the VIP room, with mixed results, but the following year they introduced it club-wide at their Chaos venue and the $175/bottle Stoli was greeted far more favorably (unfortunately).
By the early 21st century, the fad had spread to other party cities, including Las Vegas and Miami, and the price for a bottle kept going up and up, whereby today $250-$450 is not unusual for call spirits in a regular nightclub or strip club. We did a quick call-around and here are some specifics we were quoted by a few random hotspots:
For comparative purposes, we called the Lee's Discount Liquor chain for their current prices and were told a regular bottle of Absolut is $26.99 (they had a special on the liter bottle, currently on sale for $27.99); Grey Goose is $24.99 (strange!); and a bottle of Cristal retails at $299.99.
So, what does your $400+ get you? The way it generally works is that the purchase of the bottle secures you VIP entry (on average $20-$40 per person at a nightclub), a reserved table for your party -- which usually comprises a four-person minimum -- plus mixers, and most likely a host/hostess from the club to pour your drinks when necessary and make sure you don't run out of anything. In the unlikely event that you don't finish all your liquor, you'll usually be allowed to take it out with you -- we checked with Wet Republic at MGM Grand and they were fine with this; Blush at Wynn said it's fine to take it if you're a guest and staying on property, but you can't take your bottle of booze with you if you're heading to another hotel.
The plus side of bottle service is that it guarantees you painless entry to the club and a table for your party once you're inside. Neither is to be underestimated, since getting into a popular club, especially without a long wait, is a crapshoot unless you have plenty of attractive females in your party, and it is a welcome luxury having a "base" for your party to chill out in when you've exhausted yourselves on the dancefloor or want to invite others to meet/join you. With the cost of drinks in clubs easily running at the $10-$15 level, one of the less expensive bottle options isn't necessarily such a costly play, in relative terms.
The downside is that it can make you a magnet for freeloaders (Las Vegas clubs are known to employ "atmosphere models," basically attractive women who are just there to mingle, add to the "beautiful people" quotient, and very probably invite themselves to join your party and quaff your booze), so you'll likely end up paying way over the odds for the night, not only in terms of drinks but also for the expected tip to your host(ess). Your perceived popularity with the opposite sex will very possibly fade in direct correlation to the diminution of the booze level in your bottle, or when the table next to yours steps up the pace with a couple bottles of bubbly that make your Absolut look distinctly low rent.
As one club aficionado put it in a blog we found while researching this answer, "I can't help but laugh every time I see a table of real estate or investment guys dressed in striped shirts and designer jeans, at the end of the night, their bottles nearing empty, no girls, trying in vain to salvage their night with some weird dance moves. But there is no saving them. It's like when you stab someone in the jugular with a big serrated knife and you twist. The ambulance might be on its way, but it's too late, you are losing too much blood..."
For more tips on navigating the club scene and bottle service, check out this established Vegas club guide.
