Vegas Magazine - Niche Media - There is a place beyond the crowds, beyond the ropes, where dreams are realized and success is celebrated. You are invited.
Issue link: http://digital.greengale.com/i/124284
fabulous years Stretch limo service is the norm for VIP guests at Vegas casino resorts. luxe life AS THE STRIP'S TOP RESORTS TRIED TO ONE-UP EACH OTHER, IT WAS A GREAT DECADE TO BE A VIP. BY AARON RASMUSSEN as Vegas has always been a city of extremes, and the way it treats its VIPs is no exception. But over the last 10 years, the city's establishments have found even bigger and better ways to pamper the crème de la crème. For VIPs, that means the white-glove treatment starts on their way into town. If a high roller isn't flying in on a casino's jet, it's now in vogue to hop on a private charter. "Las Vegas has reliably been a top 10 destination for XOJET," says Stephen Lambright, XOJET's senior VP of marketing and business development. Ten years ago, a casino's limo picked up preferred guests; today, Wynn has upgraded to Rolls-Royce. Once they arrive at the exclusive properties, big gamblers and celebrities are afforded separate entrances away from the hoi polloi. Their over-the-top mega-lodgings usually can't be rented by anyone for any amount of money. One L example: a sprawling suite at Cosmopolitan with a waterfall that cascades from the ceiling. A fur hammock hangs in front of a bank of floor-to-ceiling windows, and there's a theater room equipped with a giant screen (UFC viewing parties are hot right now). Another plush Cosmo suite has giant prisms suspended from the ceiling that cast brilliant rainbows around the room, but only when the light hits them just right during one month of the year. The suite is so exclusive, it's been available to paying guests only once, when Twitter execs rented it for $20,000. But one of the biggest additions to the scene— hidden even from the majority of a hotel's staff—is private VIP casinos near the nicest suites. Encore has five of these secluded salons on the uppermost floors. There, a high roller has access to his own table games, dealer, cocktail waitress, and bodyguard, so he can comfortably and privately wager millions. Meanwhile, as at all the Strip's top resorts, VIP butlers are on hand 24/7 in case that particular whale has a craving for a favorite food or needs a sparkler with which to propose. Not available in Vegas? No problem. The casinos will fly a private jet anywhere in the world to secure anything desired. Less romantic are the errands VIPs need doing. "We once had a request to smog a Ferrari that was registered in California," says Keith Salwoski, executive director of PR at Venetian and Palazzo. "So we drove it over the state line, smogged it, and drove it back." Special treatment for nightlife aficionados has also been increased. "My team and I meet weekly to discuss better ways to take care of VIPs," says Norman Ly, Light Group's VP of customer development. He recalls a time when clubs like The Bank had one bouncer "you didn't want to get into it with" at the entrance. Now several staffers man special entrances to welcome A-listers. Inside, hulking bodyguards keep watch over tables to 134 VEGASMAGAZINE.COM 128-137_V_Feat_Anniversary_MAY/JUNE_13.indd 134 4/23/13 3:01 PM