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Las Vegas is still in first place for that final night of freedom. So much as mumble “bachelorette party” in front of starry-eyed maids of honor or “bachelor party” to newly minted best men, and just one thing comes to their mind: “Vegas.” And if it doesn’t, they should resign. Immediately.
There’s no question that Las Vegas is still the place for giving brides and bridegrooms-to-be the big sendoff into matrimony. I teamed up with Xania Woodman, Unofficial Guide to Las Vegas nightlife writer and, as per her business card, “Career Carouser,” to create a list of tips and venues for last-night-single gigs.
Get professional help
Got a clogged drain? Call a plumber. Need to get a Las Vegas bachelorette party whipped up stat? Consult with the professional event coordinators at Tao Group and Light Group. Both companies offer a full complement of party pools, lounges, megaclubs and chic restaurants, as well as the skills to get you into and out of them without so much as mussing the bride’s sash.
Get a suite — or a villa
So you’re not exactly what the world would call a card sharp. And you definitely don’t have comp privileges. But you can still get a sweet suite. Recently, Caesars Entertainment launched Anthology Las Vegas Suites & Villas, a program that makes more than 1,800 suites across the company’s Las Vegas resort portfolio available to the rest of us. Want to re-create that scene from The Hangover or stay in the Absolut Find Your Flavor Suite? Find out more at anthologysuites.com.
Go where the boys are
Feather boas, sweaty dance floor, go-go boys in tight briefs — you get the picture. Call ahead to make sure it’s cool, but plenty of experience says that many LGBT nightclubs welcome the presence of a gaggle of liquored-up ladies hell-bent on dancing the night away with anyone within grinding distance. Try Piranha (4633 Paradise Rd.; 702-791-0100, piranhavegas.com) and, soon, its sibling Gipsy, currently undergoing renovations just next door.
See some skin
Newsflash: Las Vegas has strip clubs. But chances are, so does your hometown. Why come all this way to do something you could have done on a Tuesday night back home? Still, if you’re looking for a little show, you can ogle prime beefcake at the Chippendales revue in the Rio — the theater has its own ultralounge. For guys looking to see the girls, Posh Nightclub (3525 W. Russell Rd.; 702-673-1700, poshlasvegas.com) is a regular nightspot with VIP bottle service, DJ, dance floor — the usual. And it just happens to be in the same building as the Crazy Horse III gentlemen’s club… in case you feel like taking a walk. Or something.
SEE MORE: How to get the bachelorette on stage at male revues
Go old school
If you’ve got a multigenerational crew (go, Granny, go!) or a combined bachelor-bachelorette party on your hands, there’s an old school answer to your very modern problem. Guys, dolls and Grams alike will enjoy an afternoon at The Mob Museum and The Neon Museum, followed by cocktails at Mob Bar or Bar Prohibition! at the Golden Gate and dinner at Oscar’s, whose claims to fame are “Beef, Booze & Broads.” To round out your coed evening, apply more social lubrication by hitting up some speakeasies, such as Downtown Cocktail Room (111 Las Vegas Blvd. S.; 702-880-3696, thedowntownlv.com) and the reservations-only Laundry Room at Commonwealth.
Clean up your act
Ladies, before your big club debut — you know, the one in which you and the ladies do a slow-motion entrance in formation like Beyoncé et al. — you might need to get a little work done. Reliquary Spa & Salon at the Hard Rock Hotel and Drift Spa and Hammam at Palms Place Hotel (4321 W. Flamingo Rd.; 702-944-3219, palms.com) offer relaxation and pampering as well as beauty services. There are even co-ed social areas, should you be ready for your close-up a little early.
Race cars, taste booze
Note the specific placement of the words in that order. Selfie your smug mug after five laps in a Lamborghini Aventador LP700 or 600-horsepower McLaren MP4-12C at Exotics Racing; then — and only then — catch a cab or party bus to “flight school” at The Whisky Attic. Boasting the country’s largest whiskey collection, this temple to grain spirits is secreted within an unassuming college bar that also happens to have the country’s largest beer selection. Here you’ll work your way through flights of scotch, bourbon, rye or exotic whiskeys of the world. Just say “Octomore, please!”
Hit the pole, then hit the Strip
Responsible banker type by day, exotic dancing sensation by night! Or at least you can be after a pole-dancing class at Stripper 101 in the Miracle Mile Shops at Planet Hollywood — don’t forget your souvenir stripper license — or get serious with the master, Fawnia Dietrich, at Pole Fitness Studio. Once you’ve got your fireman spin down pat, take it to Tryst nightclub at Wynn Las Vegas, where a guest pole awaits your interpretive vertical stylings, or to XS at Wynn Encore, with more than a dozen poles. Just keep your feet below your head at all times. Security gets suspicious if you’re too good…
Suffer no more
You can still hit one more pool party before boarding that Sunday-night flight back to reality. Start or end your final day in the relaxing, recuperative atmosphere of Reviv, a wellness spa at the MGM Grand. Targeted to such maladies as hangovers and jet lag, intravenous treatments start at $99, but with bachelor and bachelorette packages beginning in March, brides and grooms get a free IV treatment of their choice when they book a reservation with at least four in their party. Retreat solo to a dimly-lit treatment room with a massage chair and lap blanket, or round up the gang and take over the lounge while you all get bagged together.
See the real wild west
About 30 minutes southwest of Las Vegas, in the one-horse town of Goodsprings, Nev., is the Pioneer Saloon (310 W. Spring St.; 702-874-9362, pioneersaloon.info). The saloon is pretty much the same as when it was built in 1913, with interior and exterior walls of stamped tin manufactured by Sears and Roebuck. Decorative accents include bullet holes from brawls dating back to 1915. The saloon became famous in 1941 when actress Carole Lombard’s plane crashed not far away. Her husband, Clark Gable, sat at the bar chain-smoking for three days while awaiting word of Lombard’s fate (all 22 aboard were killed). Bachelor and bachelorette parties are a specialty and can be combined with overnight camping if designated drivers are in short supply.
Cows as playmates
Also southwest of Las Vegas is Sandy Valley Ranch (1411 Kingston Rd., Sandy Valley NV 80901; 702-242-0955; sandyvalleyranch.com), where you can get in touch with your inner bovine. Cut a steer from the herd, round up cattle and chase them into the corral, or trail-ride in the southern foothills of the Spring Mountains, all followed by a dinner featuring big wads o’ meat and a near-conflagration of a campfire. No riding experience necessary — the horses are very smart and sweet (ask for old Gonad Stomper). The Ranch goes all out for prenup gigs and also hosts weddings.
Have a down-to-earth experience
Only a half-mile west of the Strip is Dig This Heavy Equipment Playground, where you can play with real bulldozers and excavators. Following an orientation and a breathalyzer test —hey, it’s Vegas — your personal instructor takes you out on the lot to move some dirt. Communicating with you over a headset, he actually teaches you to operate the earth-moving equipment (squishing the highway cones is considered bad form). The dig site can be illuminated after dark and the experience won’t mess up your party outfit or hairdo. If you schedule a party, try to be one of the first to drive so you’ll also be first at the bar afterwards. We’ve not seen a bride-to-be trade her bridegroom for an excavator, but this experience is a real power trip for the ladies, who are often tempted to quit their day jobs.
Meh — Just wing It
No plan? No problem! Not everyone comes to Vegas with a complete itinerary and a personal travel secretary in tow. But you would increase your chances of fun tenfold by putting yourself right in the heart of the action at The Cosmopolitan Las Vegas, where you can dine, dance, drink or do all of the above. Guys, check out the Groom’s Essentials package (includes transportation, VIP check-in, a stay in a Terrace Studio or two-bedroom City Suite, $200 resort credit, VIP table at Marquee, brunch at Wicked Spoon buffet and a personal concierge). Ladies, bachelorette packages at Rent the Runway (702-698-2500) start at just $25 per person and include 15% off same-day dress rentals, bubbly and a personal stylist. Next stop should be The Cosmo’s enigmatically named new supper club
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