Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
packed. Above it hang cranelike mobile metal lights that swing up and down, flash-
ing different colors on the revelers below, and fire regularly explodes, blasting the
room with heat. Fame aside, Rain's location in the perennially hip Palms helps
attract a fair share of the young and the cool, along with the less so—let's just call
them folks with a tawdry fashion sense. Don't be surprised if you see exposed T and
A from the clientele, and some down and dirty making out on the dance floor.
Ghostbar
55
(in the Palms;
%
866/942
-
7777 or 702/938
-
2666; www.
palms.com; cover Sun-Thurs
$
10, Fri-Sat
$
25, local ladies free; nightly 8pm-close)
is a good starting point for the night. It opens earlier than other clubs and has a
casual twilight ambience, as you ride the express elevator up to the 55th floor,
where the door opens into the future. Ghostbar is the kind of bar the Jetsons would
have hung out at, with its space-age silver sofas and glass walls that lead out to a
patio with a great view of the Las Vegas Valley. I was excited the first time I came
here to check out the translucent area on the floor of the patio that's said to give
a palm-sweating view straight down the 55 floors to the ground. But I was
disappointed to find that it's just a rectangle a little bit larger than a laptop, and it's
too scuffed to allow for any sense of anxiety or a clear view. Plus, there's generally
someone standing directly on it, too deeply involved in a conversation to share.
Ghostbar gets packed as it gets later and is known for giving men a harder time at
getting in than most—which is why the bar is dominated by women.
BARS OF ALL TYPES
There are about as many different types of bars as there are cocktails in Vegas. You
have themed bars on the Strip, each with their own spelled-out ambience where
you'll pay $9 to $12 to drink and rub elbows with your fellow tourists. More func-
tional, nondescript casino bars are also common (you'll generally pay less for your
libation here), and if you start tapping away at the slot machine built into the bar,
you'll drink for free.
Then there are the off-strip bars. Many are located in strip malls (there are so
many uses for the word “strip” in Las Vegas!) and get by on their video poker
profits while also serving as a neighborhood watering hole. Chain bars, like PT's
pub, have a sporty overtone and do their part in keeping suburbia intoxicated.
And there are a few standalone bars with style and panache, many of which are
older and still emanate that Rat Pack Vegas cool. In general, you can expect that
if you're gambling $10 to $20, you won't have to pay for your drinks.
One word on hours:
There's no real last call in Vegas. It's easier with each
tequila sunrise to forget that the Vegas sunrise may be making an appearance out-
side. Most off-Strip bars are open 24 hours while Strip bars tend to close around
3 or 4am, about the same time as the clubs, but open up again in the late morn-
ing or late afternoon, depending on the location.
Below are my picks for the best places on and off the Strip to knock back a few:
BARS ON THE SOUTH STRIP
Nostrovia, comrade! Though
Red Square
55
(in Mandalay Bay;
%
877/632
-
7800
or 702/632
-
7407; Sun-Thurs 5pm-2am, Fri 5pm-4am, Sat 3pm-4am)
charges
inflated Strip prices, it's one of the tourist bars with such quality black humor that
it actually appeals to jaded locals, too. Sitting in the shadow of a giant headless
Lenin statue, this Russian-themed bar takes you back to the Bolshevik days. Walk
