Lavish XS

It's rumored to be one of the most expensive nightclubs ever built, its budget in line with that of an effects-laden Michael Bay action flick or double the payroll of your average NBA franchise, if you believe the hype.

Not that XS needs any.

In terms of hot-under-the-collar opulence, the new high-end club at Encore is like a cross between Fort Knox, a nude beach, "Caligula" and the jewel-encrusted sheen of a queen's tiara.

It's decadence defined, like feasting on Dom Perignon and whipped cream for breakfast.

A mammoth, 40,000 square foot indoor-outdoor space, which opens on New Year's Eve, this is the place where ids -- and breasts -- run bare.

Inspired by the "sexy curves of the human body," XS is tailored in rich golds and browns, gleaming like precious metals beneath the sun. The club is awash in dance poles designed to look like lanterns, mirrored mosaics, gold crocodile embossed leather, chandeliers, close to 100 V.I.P. tables and 30 outdoor cabanas.

More than 10,000 individual light sources illuminate the club, the focal point of which is a large circular dance floor surrounded by V.I.P. seating.

XS also opens to a shimmering, illuminated pool, which features topless sunbathing and comes complete with its own bar.

Unique to XS is the $10,000 "Ono" cocktail, a blend of Charles Heidsieck Champagne Charlie 1981 and Louis XIII de Remy Martin Black Pearl cognac that includes men's sterling silver cuff links embossed with a stingray and the XS logo and a woman's 18-karat white gold chain with a black pearl pendant and XS logo.

Overseen by nightclub impresario Victor Drai, who also helms Tryst at Wynn and Drai's at Bill's Gambling Hall & Saloon, XS somehow manages to pole vault over the already precipitously high bar set for luxury in Las Vegas' teeming nightclub scene.

At this time last year, the short-lived 40/40 Club at the Palazzo opened to a cost of $20 million, which is barely a barometer for how costly these lavish properties have become.

But then again, you know what they say: Nothing exceeds like XS.

Contact reporter Jason Bracelin at jbracelin@ reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0476.