LOVING THE ‘DAY LIFE’

Not a few hours into their Las Vegas visit, Kate Weese and Jean Thayer -- along with local friend Carla Friend -- were faced with a hard choice: Watch the view from their bungalow or turn on a movie?

The bungalow view, framed by white, wind-blown privacy drapes, presented the three women with hunky, shirtless men to the left and tanned, muscled guys to the right. The movie would be seen on a 52-inch LCD television and Blu-ray disc player (complete with DVD library) that beckoned from a few feet away.

Luckily, they had hours to fill with inactivity in their swank $1,000-plus Wet Republic bungalow at the MGM Grand. So the women had time to do both, it was just a matter of figuring out their order.

"It's been great," Thayer says of their hours already spent poolside on this recent Friday, lavished with premium service from model-servers, plied with gourmet food and surrounded by accommodations that put many hotel rooms to shame. "I have a feeling we're spoiled."

That's the point, says Anthony Olheiser, MGM's director of night life and the operator of Wet Republic. Billed as the city's first "ultrapool," Wet Republic is the newest incarnation of the poolside nightclub, only open during the day. They're calling it "day life."

Featuring six VIP bungalows, 10 party cabanas, 18 daybeds and dozens of chaise lounges, the pool had a soft opening April 10 but celebrates its grand opening Friday.

Guests such as Weese, Thayer and Friend can choose to watch movies while relaxing on their king-sized daybed or play video games on the Xbox 360s that are found in every cabana and bungalow. They can mingle with the crowd in two, four-foot deep pools -- saltwater pools, a first on the Strip -- or they can kick back in the private spas in front of the bungalows.

Saltwater was chosen because it set MGM apart from other pools, such as Bare at The Mirage and the Palms pool, Olheiser says. Plus, saltwater is easy on color-treated hair.

When it gets too hot, guests can cool off with a drink or snack at the 60-foot marble bar. The pounding house music spun by a DJ, along with the chic drinks and heavy security at the entrance, round out the nightclub feel.

"They're trying to capture night life by the pool," says Friend, who has lived in Las Vegas for six years. She's not much of a clubber but has been to Pure and likes to dance at Studio 54.

Wet Republic, and other pools like it, are part of the Vegas scene now, she says. Guests will spend thousands of dollars on table service and a cabana and they expect the best amenities, she adds.

"I don't know that it's that big of a change from what they were doing before. The level of service has been raised and people expect this kind of treatment when they're at a (resort) pool," she says.

MGM made an effort to distinguish Wet Republic from other, similar pools on the Strip, Olheiser says. There's a heavy focus on the food and drinks. Guests won't get an ordinary hamburger or nachos. Instead, there are Kobe sliders with caramelized onions; lobster gazpacho gelee and toro tuna tartar, and drunken popsicles.

What's in it for the local? This pool was built for you. Well, sort of. While it's nestled at the base of MGM's Signature hotel and is adjacent to the official hotel pool, Wet Republic has thrown a couple of bones to locals.

Local women are always free, while admission for others will range between $20 and $40, depending on the day. Next month, a separate parking area is scheduled for completion, which will give locals the option of parking outside Wet Republic's doors and walking into the pool, without walking through the casino.

That in itself is a major departure for any event taking place at a casino, Olheiser says. Usually, the whole idea for having hotel events or amenities is to get guests to walk past the dinging and clanging slot machines and table games, in hopes that you'll stop and feed a few bills into one.

But Olheiser thinks that Wet Republic will become an entrance into the hotel.

"We want to keep ... guests here during the day and at night," he says. "So the idea was to create an anchor venue that will keep them here during the day and then put them in clubs at night."

Contact reporter Sonya Padgett at spadgett@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4564.