It is important to remember the obvious: Las Vegas nightclubs base much of their reputations on who has the highest numbers of gorgeous girls on the other side of the velvet rope. After all, hot girls attract men who will drop plenty of cash to impress them, and often times girls tend to feel more comfortable being around more girls. Let’s call it safety in numbers. Keeping this in mind – if you are a group of guys without a table reservation, you’ve got some work to do.
Contacting someone who works directly for the club before you get there is your absolute best bet. When approaching a nightclub doorman, you want to balance being aggressive with keeping your cool. It is just as important to make him interested in helping you as it is getting his attention. Don’t act like a jackass, he doesn’t care “who you know.” Often times the actual line isn’t as bad as it looks, so don’t rule out the possibility of just sticking it out.
Having someone you can simply text message when you get to the nightclub is the ideal situation. If you have the luxury of a little lead time before you get to Las Vegas, take a moment to get on the guest list and / or contact hosts who work directly for the nightclubs you are looking to check out. The main page of our site has highly-recommended senior contacts listed for every nightclub in Las Vegas, or you can simply ask around or do a little digging on our nightlife forums. Even if you aren’t looking to book table service, a simple e-mail:
“Hey, I got your contact information from _______. My friends and I, __ guys and ___ girls, are coming to town on ___ date and were looking to come into your nightclub. Do you have an available guestlist for that night, and is there anything I can do to avoid waiting in line? We really appreciate any assistance you can provide. Sincerely, You, of City, State, (or Country). Phone Number & E-mail.”
In a town where appearance is ‘almost’ everything, the better you look – the faster you will get in. And while getting last minute plastic surgery to straighten that nose and hide some belly fat may be out of the question, ensuring that everyone in your group is fashionably dressed and within the nightclub’s stated dress code will serve wonders towards helping the doorman help you. After all, his managers are watching his every move, and he has to keep your appearances up for the nightclub’s sake.
If you are a part of a large group that may be a little heavy on the number of guys, you will want to break into smaller groups of two (2) or three (3) males each and start keeping a look out for groups of girls that you might be able to merge with. This can help in two ways, one, you’ll likely get in way faster than saying “Hi, I’m here with 12 dudes,” and, two, you will already be on your way to possibly finding some new ‘friends’ for the evening. Think about it. You are standing in close proximity in a relatively bright and quiet place with virtually the same crowd that you will be inside the fast-paced, loud, nightclub with.
Not only can you see girls in natural light, which can be a huge difference when you add club lights and a few drinks in your system, but this is now a perfect opportunity for you to approach them without sounding like a complete sleazebag. A good line would be “I’m here with four of my friends, and we all can get in quicker if we have some girls with us. We will deal with the doormen and pay for you guys to get in. Would you and your friends mind joining us so we can all get in quicker?” More often than not, unless they are locals, they will be more than happy to join your team.
There are no shortage of people working around the ropes, so it is wise to have an idea of “who is who” so that you don’t waste your time trying to talk to people who can’t actually help you. Most nightclubs only have one or two people who actually handle opening and closing the ropes, so your best bet is always to first look for the one who is holding a clipboard, guest list, or table reservation’s list. If no official looking clipboard is within eyesight, look for any smartly dressed person who is likely a doorman, keep your newfound female friends near, and ask them “what it would take to get __ number of girls and __ number of guys in without waiting in line?”
It is important to remember that nightclub doormen in Las Vegas cater to everyone from the owners of Google, celebrities, professional sports players, to the occasional foreign royalty. Hell, even I cater to the occasional prince and princess who aren’t using their “parent’s money,” they are using money with their actual parents on it. With that in mind, it’s a pretty safe bet that no one in Vegas nightlife is going to waste time listening to the same tired “don’t you know who I am…I’m going to have your job speech.” Nobody gives a shit. You’ll attract more bees with honey and find a lot more luck in respectfully asking them “Hello, We have 4 girls and 5 guys in our group. About how long is the wait tonight?”
Back when MySpace was hot, I ran into THE “Tom from MySpace” inside Body English, and he asked if I could help him get some of his friends into the club. No big deal, piece of cake. We walk back out of the club and he points out his 5 guy friends, as I flag down (then) lead doorman, Jason Habel, to stamp their wrists and help get them in. Noticing all of the dudes in his group, Jason says to Tom “You have 100,000,000 friends and you can’t bring any girls to the club?”
For legal reasons, our advertisers ask us not to go into great detail over tipping doorman to skip the line since some nightclubs forbid it and most all of them won’t allow anyone to talk about it openly. Still, “taking care of people” is the foundation of Las Vegas, so it is always in your best interest to be upfront and ask the person you are talking to if tipping is allowed. Most anyone will be honest with you when you are talking to them in person and, even if they aren’t allowed to take tips, you certainly won’t be offending them.
