Kristen Owens, right, celebrates her bachelorette party at the Lure nightclub in Wynn Las Vegas. Photos by Jane Kalinowsky.
Wynn Las Vegas recently ceded control of Lure, where patrons mingle above, and La Bete to nightclub impresario Victor Drai. Observers say the move was smart for Wynn.
When it comes to running a successful late-night venue, the self-styled emperor of Las Vegas resorts wasn't wearing any clothes, local nightlife industry sources said.
Still, Steve Wynn's recent inability to produce a buzzworthy nightclub at his $2.7 billion Wynn Las Vegas was anything but groundbreaking. And neither is his smart solution for breathing new life into the resort's posh-but-underachieving nightclubs, La Bete and Lure.
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Less than three months after the hotel-casino's April 28 debut, Wynn Las Vegas in late July ceded control of La Bete to Victor Drai, an independent nightclub impresario whose Drai's After Hours at Barbary Coast regularly ranks among the city's hippest late, late-night venues.
That partnership with Wynn followed two failed negotiations to place a Drai-operated nightclub at Bellagio, which Wynn sold to MGM Mirage in 2000, and at Wynn Las Vegas before the resort's recent opening.
"They're realizing they need somebody to run the club; it's very different from the hotel business," Drai
said of Wynn Las Vegas management. "Finally we found something we could do" with Wynn.
Drai will close La Bete on Nov. 1. Following a $3 million remodeling that will change its look and functionality, the venue will reopen in late December as Tryst.
Drai also took over Lure in mid-September, and said changes are in store there, too. Exactly what they'll be won't be known for a few more weeks, however.
"It's gorgeous, but it's not used properly," Drai said of Lure, whose primary goal for now is to lure more customers from the visitor pool already at Wynn Las Vegas. The same applies for La Bete, whose existing design, Drai said, is better suited for a restaurant than a nightclub.
"There were lots of mistakes made on the floor plan, on all of the basics of a club. ... Nobody knew what they were doing," said Drai, who explained La Bete offers just 55 tables compared with Tryst's nearly 85. Its carpeted floors are also a nightclub no-no.
Wynn did not return a call seeking comment Thursday.
Local nightclub industry veteran Marc Jay said casino developers will learn from Wynn's initial failure, just as Wynn should have learned from other Strip operators' past mistakes.
"Hotel executives have not got a clue how to run nightclubs," said Jay, who is public relations director for the Ice Las Vegas nightclub at 200 E. Harmon Avenue. "(Wynn) is at the top of his field in hotels, but he made a huge, and very expensive, mistake opening those clubs himself."
Bringing Drai's team into the mix, Jay added, was a "very smart" correction on Wynn's part.
Jay said Mandalay Bay similarly stumbled when it opened its Moorea Ultra Beach Lounge in July 2003 under the sole direction of its hotel food and beverage department. That decision was quickly reversed, and Las Vegas-based Garrick Entertainment came aboard to market the outdoor nightspot, which did not open this summer as new resort owner MGM Mirage evaluates its late-night options for the site.
"Getting the right feel for a nightclub takes a certain expertise that, frankly, we as a company didn't have," said Scott Voeller, vice president of marketing at Mandalay Bay. "You've got to know the right crowd, have (guest) lists and be into the underground marketing scene. ... We decided if we were going to do a club, we'd do it right, so we made sure to partner with the right people."
Other independent nightclub operators in Las Vegas include The Light Group (Light at Bellagio, Treasure Island's Caramel); Pure Management Group partners Jennifer Worthington and Robert Frey (Coyote Ugly at New York-New York, Pure at Caesars Palace); and Brad Johnson and David Rabin (V Bar at The Venetian).
Just last week, New York's Strategic Marketing Partners opened a Las Vegas version of its popular Tao Nightclub at The Venetian.
Among La Bete's biggest early mistakes, Jay said, was its failure to take care of local customers.
"That's the key, because it's the valets, busboys and dealers who tell (visitors) where to go, and where not to go, to party," Jay said. "Why should they send somebody to La Bete when (La Bete management) wanted to charge them $20 to get in?"
Jay believes Drai's management team -- which includes brothers Jesse and Cy Waits, whose past experience includes running night spots at Mandalay Bay's House of Blues, Drai's After Hours and MGM Grand's Tabu -- has reversed La Bete's fortunes even before the pending remodel.
Drai said his team has tripled La Bete's sales, adding the club recently drew more 2,500 people on a recent Saturday night. That's a far cry from the sparse attendance under Wynn's reign, Jay said.
