Relive ’80s hair metal at Venetian’s Bourbon Room

There are no rules in the Bourbon Room at The Venetian.

Once you walk through the doors, anything goes, says the disc jockey, Marvelous Mark, as he moves from table to table, engaging guests in a little naughty banter.

And you believe him because, well, he looks like a guy with no rules. He's wearing a codpiece, for one thing. He's also wearing tight, pleather pants and long hair that's "jacked up to Jesus."

Obviously, the '80s are back. Or haven't you heard?

If not, you will when you visit the lounge, which opened June 1. It's modeled after the bar in the movie and stage show "Rock of Ages," a tribute to '80s rock music. And it's like nothing the hotel has ever done, says Philippa Hayes, The Venetian's director of beverage.

"This is a big change for The Venetian. Before the renovation, it was your old-school, Las Vegas casino lounge where you smoked a cigar and had a scotch," Hayes says.

Now, guests will be strongly encouraged to bang their heads while sipping bourbon or Bartles & Jaymes wine coolers.

It was hard to find wine coolers in Las Vegas, says lounge manager Kris Metic.

Part wine and part fruit juice, Bartles & Jaymes wine coolers defined the 1980s. And, just like Boy George's career, they practically vanished after the decade ended. The bottled drinks have to be shipped in from the East Coast just for the Bourbon Room, Metic says. All in the name of authenticity.

The stage version of "Rock of Ages" is scheduled to take over The Venetian's showroom by year's end. The idea is that guests will see the show and then want to live it. Or at least immerse themselves for a while in the atmosphere and music of the '80s.

"The '80s are coming back," says Hayes, who has never worn parachute pants.

When you first walk into the Bourbon Room, you may feel a bit disoriented, like you just rode in a DeLorean with Michael J. Fox. But you will not see people wearing pastel blazers, rocking out to Duran Duran and Cindi Lauper. This is more of a Quiet Riot/Guns N' Roses crowd.

Television screens on the wall broadcast a continuous feed of rock and hair metal. Cocktail servers, led by Jennifer Romas, sport teased hair, spandex and pleather pants, ripped T-shirts and lots of accessories wrapped around their wrists and ankles.

They take your drink orders and wait on you, like all good servers. They also entertain you, taking to the stage once an hour every night and doing an '80s-style dance. They perform five shows each night, starting at 8:30.

Don't expect to see the Running Man or Cabbage Patch dance; it's more like a devil-horn fist pumping, head bobbing, rock 'n' roll performance.

On a recent Thursday night, the servers filed onstage in a sexy conga line and danced to "Girls, Girls, Girls" by Motley Crue and "Just a Gigolo" by David Lee Roth. Marvelous Mark titillated the audience as the women donned police hats and wielded nightsticks.

The performance attracted several people who stopped to record the visual spectacle, no doubt uploading the videos to social media sites. If nothing else, the '80s looked remarkable.

When that show was over, Marvelous Mark borrowed Romas' leg and played "leg guitar" as Guns N' Roses' "Sweet Child O' Mine" blasted through the speakers.

The Bourbon Room is open from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. daily. It closes at 4 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.

Contact reporter Sonya Padgett at spadgett@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4564. Follow @StripSonya on Twitter.