While gay entertainers and drag queens are a long-established and integral part of this city's entertainment history, in terms of Las Vegas having a mainstream entertainment scene for the LGBT community, both local and visiting, that has only emerged in recent years. As former Las Vegas-based writer Steve Friess wrote in his introduction to Huntington Press' 2007 publication Gay Vegas:
"For the past year, virtually every time I told a friend I was working on a gay guidebook to Las Vegas, the sarcastic response was a variation of: 'Boy, that'll be a short book.'
"Har har. Funny, yes. But true? Not anymore."
Friess goes on to describe how much the city had finally evolved, LGBT-wise, over the preceding decade, since he'd first arrived in town, with the advent of Las Vegas as a high-end dining and retail mecca, iconic gay-friendly headliners like Cher, Bette, and Elton in residence, Cirque's risqué Zumanity show headlining at New York-New York, and several major hotels catching on to the potential of a neglected and financially attractive market and finally promoting actively to LGBT travelers.
Last year saw the debut of the Las Vegas Gay Visitors Bureau and now, in addition to Blue Moon, described by GayCities.com as a "frisky clothing-optional men-only resort", Las Vegas has Paris, Luxor, Mirage, Caesars Palace, Bally's, Tropicana, Encore, Mandalay "Gay", Stratosphere, Rumor, and Artisan, to name a few major resorts, all catering to LGBT visitors with specific programs and incentives, often including specialized microsites like wynnpride.com, and amenities ranging from national-event hosting, to pool parties, to commitment ceremonies, to room packages, to nightlife options, to specialized concierge services, and more.
Still, when it comes to gay bars and clubs, they have traditionally been relegated to certain acknowledged "zones," including the famous "Fruit Loop" located close to McCarran International Airport, Commercial Center on E. Sahara, and stretches of W. Saraha Avenue and W. Charleston Boulevard. To the best of our knowledge, when it debuted in the Miracle Mile Shops at Planet Hollywood in 2004, Krave was the first fully-fledged gay club on the Las Vegas Strip, and located in a major resort-casino mall, if not actually on casino property.
The club, which had a great reputation for being friendly and inclusive, operated there happily enough for the next eight years, with highlights including an impromptu performance by Lady Gaga, following a headlining show up the street at MGM Grand. Then, in 2012, founder Sia Amiri sold his interest to his business partner Kelly Murphy, who announced grandiose plans for the "world's largest gay club" downtown. Krave closed at the Miracle Mile, then found temporary refuge in the Rio's (appropriately confused) Crown Theater (now King's Room), while construction was in progress on the five-room Krave Massive venue in Neonopolis.
That downtown entertainment disaster zone might better be named Necropolis, for the number of businesses that have languished within its echoing bowels (see Today's News 9/2/13), but in this instance it seems less the fault of the challenged location and more a case of gross mismanagement and possible criminality. Krave Massive opened late -- very late, in June -- after failing to hit a promised New Year's debut, then was unceremoniously shut down less than three months later due to permitting issues, as rumors of Murphy's shady personal history (including prison time) and financial improprieties began to surface. In October of the same year, both Krave and its sister property, Drink 'n Drag, were denied the tavern license essential to their operation -- right on the eve of the Las Vegas PRIDE festivities -- which spelled the end.
Or did it? At first downtown redevelopment impresario Tony Hsieh, a minority shareholder in Krave Massive -- hinted that he would buy the club. That plan evidently came to nothing, but then founder Sia Amiri stepped back into the fray, repurchasing his club's (now slightly tarnished) name, digital entities and guest databases, while re-hiring former valued employees from the club's former incarnations. Coming almost full circle, in October of last year it was announced that Krave's new home would be very close to its original location, back on the Strip in the building that formerly housed Club Utopia, Empire Ballroom, Boulevard Theater, and -- briefly in 2013 -- a previous gay club called the Affair, and is now the Tommy Wind Theater.
All was quiet until May, when it closed yet again, but this time ostensibly for a remodel. The club duly reopened after a week, but then without much warning, or any explanation, shut up shop once more at the end of July. A new Latin-themed (we think) gay club called Equalibrium apparently opened in the space, but we can't find any evidence of it still being operational (nothing remains of its Facebook page but the familiar bandaged thumb, while the official website is still there, but lists no upcoming events). The ever-optimistic Krave still swears it will return, but we're not putting any money on it, or at least not on the staying power of any future incarnation (opening has never been a problem; it's the stamina to stay in business that's been lacking since that first ill-fated move).
Still, Krave or no Krave, Las Vegas Boulevard South now has a bona fide gay club that's actually inside a major Strip property and that property, as unlikely as it sounds, is Bally's. This center-Strip casino, that adjoins Paris, is one of those seemingly identity-less properties we tend to forget about, like the Monte Carlo. Traditionally one of the more staid resorts, historically it's attracted a more mature crowd, and seemed stuck in the past with its neon tubes and showgirls. But over the past couple of years much has changed at the formerly bland Bally's, which temporarily housed Victor Drai's famous and ground-breaking after-hours club during the Cromwell remodel. As the time drew near to return "home" across the street, Drai announced that he was turning his temporary digs at Bally's into a fully fledged LGBT nightclub, and he kept his word. Liaison opened in May and while it hasn't lived up to an early promise to be open nightly, the 7,000-square-foot club is currently open Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays.
As a post script, we'd feel it remiss of us not to mention the REVOLUTION Lounge at the Mirage. While ostensibly a Beatles-themed venue that debuted alongside Cirque's LOVE show, REVOLUTION has for several years now featured REVO Sundays as a regular weekly fixture, a night "for boys who like boys...and their girlfriends!", as it's billed. So, while Las Vegas has not had a dedicated gay club within a casino before, it's certainly had a dedicated LGBT night in a club within a casino.
