Why
she made the list: NapkinNights.com might not have been
the first of it's kind, but it certainly is one of the most visited
and recognized nightlife websites on the planet. In fact, it might
be THE most visited nightlife website on the planet (the jury
is out on that one, but do average about 20,000 visitors a day)!
The great accomplishments that the ever popular NapkinNights.com
have enjoyed in Las Vegas over the past three years have, in many
ways, actually managed to have influenced the success or failure
of the nightclubs that are covered on their site! That's some
pretty serious marketing power. This makes Tracy Lee, the co-founder
/ co-owner of NapkinNights.com, an automatic choice to be included
in the list of the 31 Most Influential People in Vegas nightlife!
How
you should know her: If you visit Las Vegas nightclubs
pretty frequently, or attend any of the "must attend"
events, you've probably seen Tracy running around a time or two.
She's fairly tall, will have a camera in her hand (instead of
a cocktail), and won't hesitate for even a second to sit down
with you and learn all about your life. That's Tracy in a nutshell.
Outgoing and in more places at one time than most people can grasp.
This kind of begs the question, does Tracy Lee have a clone?
Hmmm...
Tracy is about
as easy to track down as the President of a foreign country. I'm
not kidding. One day she is in Phoenix, San Diego, Miami, Sacramento,
or God knows where. I was actually trying to call her last week,
but to no avail. Her cell phone wouldn't go through because she
was partying in Haiti! I didn't even ask. Regardless, sit back
and enjoy yourself as we get to know half of all that is NapkinNights.com:
JC:
How long have you lived in Las Vegas? If not from here originally,
where did you move from and what brought you here?
TL:
I have lived in Las Vegas for about 3 and a half years now. I
came out here to expand Napkinnights.com. I wasn’t originally
going to live here, but that became necessary, and I’m super
happy that it happened. I LOVE Vegas! I spent the first 2 months
I was out here sleeping on my friend Troy’s couch with a
girlfriend of mine who moved out here with me.
JC:
I know how that goes (laugh). How did you get
your start in the nightlife industry?
TL:
Wow, it was so long ago. I was 15 years old, working for an underground
(literally) rave dance club called Ooga Booga. It was every Friday
night in Sacramento and I wanted to be able to get in, so I passed
out fliers and helped with set up every week so that I was able
to come and go as I pleased. I saw some of the top DJs at the
time there. A lot of those DJs are the grandfathers in the house
music industry now. It’s the time period when I became a
fan of Donald Glaude. I also started promoting for a nightclub
called The Rage. It existed up until earlier this year. Now it’s
gone...
JC:
Give me a brief “resume” for yourself?
TL:
1993-1994 Promoting for Ooga Booga and the Rage
1993-1996 Worked in a Snowboard Shop
1997-1998 Worked for the California State Lottery
1998-1999 Professional Clothing Removal Artist, Centerfolds, San
Francisco
2000-2001 Airtouch Cellular
2001-2002 Onemain.com, Earthlink
2002-2003 Verizon Wireless, AT&T Wireless, Napkinnights.com
2003-Present Napkinnights.com
JC:
California State Lottery, eh? Did you ever get to write
the winner’s name on the giant check?
TL:
I tried to write my name in once, but they tackled
me and locked me in room full of lottery tickets (the scratchers).
No matter how many I scratched, I never won. It was a nightmare..
Wait, maybe it really WAS a nightmare… hmmm…
JC:
You were the first business of your kind in Las Vegas.
What challenges did you face to get to the level of success you
are at now?
TL:
We weren’t the first, although I would love
to say we were. CoolVegas.com was out here doing the same thing
before we were here. We tried to contact them on any number of
occasions to see if we could work together with them, but they
had stopped updating the site and weren’t responding. So
I came to Vegas. I still see some of the guys from CoolVegas every
once in a while.
When I started
shooting in the clubs, I just did it, without asking permission.
I was always out, every single night and the pictures were up
every single morning. Being consistent was key to my success.
The hardest part of what I did was convincing the corporations
to advertise with us. The managers and people in the clubs understood
our benefit, but convincing the higher ups (who were all used
to print and radio advertising) was another story.
JC:
What do you feel your most important accomplishments have been
thus far?
TL:
Wow..
I guess opening 6 cities. Last year on New Years we opened San
Diego and San Francisco simultaneously. I really don’t think
about it like that, though. I’m just having fun!
JC:
NapkinNights is taking over the world! Talk to me about
motivation. What keeps you at the top of your game, and inspires
you to constantly innovate?
TL:
I like to set goals for myself and create new things. As long
as I am working on a new idea or project, I am excited and motivated.
If things become stale or stagnant, I have to change things up
for fear of losing motivation.
JC:
Let’s talk numbers. How many visitors a month does
NapkinNights get?
TL:
Anywhere from 450,000 people on a slow month, to as many as 750,000
during the busy season. It totally fluctuates!
JC:
NapkinNights has to have taken an outrageous number of pictures
by now. Any idea what the picture count is up to?
TL:
552,857 pictures at 12:21 PST on 11/11/06
(SIDENOTE
from Jack Colton: To put things into perspective, if NapkinNights
didn’t shoot digitally, that would be 15,357 rolls of film.
That would make a film hut worked have a heart attack.)
JC:
What is the craziest thing you have had someone do in front of
your camera?
TL:
I don’t know that there is anything too CRAZY per se, but
I have seen a lot of bare body parts. I convinced a guy on 4th
of July in San Diego to do a head stand for my camera. Oh yeah,
and I remember the “Brad’s” wanted pics at REHAB
so one of them got down and did push ups to look more pumped for
the picture, and the other had a cast on his arm and did the sprinkler.
JC:
Ever get any emails from tourists begging you to take off a picture
so their wife/husband doesn’t catch them in the act?
TL:
All the time and we take them off. But it’s
also the reason the photographers are instructed to let people
know it’s going on the internet. At that point if they choose
to be in a picture, it’s their own fault!
Your
Take On Things:
JC:
What do you feel are the most important elements a nightclub
should have to help ensure its customers get their money’s
worth?
TL:
Courteous door staff and organization at the door is super important.
It’s like a first impression. I know that image is also
huge so having a huge crowd in front of the club gives the impression
of “THE” place to be. But with Vegas, there are a
lot of good places to go, so I don’t feel that it matters.
The faster you get people in, the sooner they are spending money
and enjoying themselves; then they go home and tell their friends..
Good music
is extremely important. Customers won’t say anything unless
the music is especially good, but they will definitely talk and
complain when they go home, if the music is bad. Cool lights,
interesting things to see, new technology. Vegas is known for
having the best, and newest so this is what people come to expect.
JC:
You would easily be considered one of the founders of the ‘modern’
Las Vegas nightlife scene, and are positioned to create what’s
next. What do you see in the future?
TL:
Wow, you make me sound so important, ha! It’s
been amazing to see where the Vegas clubs were when I got here,
and how they have progressed till this point. Most of my partying
has been done on the west coast, and of all the clubs that I have
visited, Vegas ones are always about the Newest, Most Technologically
advanced, Biggest, and BEST! I always say that Vegas is about
excess, and when it comes to the club scene, I think it will continue
to throw us a ton of surprises
JC:
Come on Tracy, you are important. Don't be so humble.
What is your LEAST favorite thing about the Las Vegas nightlife
industry?
TL:
There are negative aspects to Las Vegas’ nightlife industry???
JC:
Exactly! Let’s move onto something more important. Its 5AM
and you are hungry. Where are your favorite late night spots to
eat?
TL:
I love and hate this question (hate, because I shouldn’t
be eating at 5am). In the past, it’s always been Firefly,
Grand Lux Cafe, Mr Lucky’s, and Rainbow. I have a couple
new ones to add though. Kaizen Sushi, in the same parkng lot as
Rainbow Bar across from the Hard Rock. They’re sushi rolls
TASTE amazing and they have happy hour on drinks (for my friends
cause I don’t drink) from 12-4am. They’re open till
4am during the week, and 6am on weekends. My other new fave is
Hobo’s and Gypsies. They are located at Dean Martin and
Tropicana where the IHOP used to be. The menu is phenomenal and
while Chris Palmeri added a light bites section for me after I
complained that everything was not on my diet, I find myself ordering
the sweet potato fries and honey butter constantly. Been there
6 times since they opened Oct 31st.
JC:
Have any advice for tourists wanting to go out?
TL:
Be wary of cab drivers trying to sell you passes.
Sometimes they are expired, only work on weekdays, or don’t
work at all. There are often promoters handing out passes to get
in the club when you walk into the hotel where a club is located.
Check out the places we cover each night of the week on the site.
It’s pretty consistent, and gives you an idea of where the
hot spots are. It also helps you get an idea of what people are
wearing to the clubs!
As far as
dress code is concerned, I tell people better to be safe than
sorry. Some clubs are more strict than others and if you see someone
out of dress code in the pictures, chances are they are someone,
or know someone. Girls - almost anything goes. Guys - Jeans are
ok, I suggest collared shirts, nice shoes. Come to Vegas expecting
to spend money if you’re planning on experiencing the nightlife.
The lines are insane, and the quickest way to bypass them is to
take care of the doorguys.
Use the Napkinnights guestlists. Each one has rules though, so
please read them each carefully. If you come with a huge group
of guys, get a host to set up tables and bottles for you at the
club. You’re going to spend a ton on drinks and cover anyways,
you might as well make it as easy and comfortable for yourselves
as possible. Look for the Napkinnights girls. They’re out
shooting all over the place!
