Mark StefanosWith EDC Las Vegas this weekend and Memorial Day Weekend the following, Vegas summer party season is officially underway. That means the most robust lineups of DJs this side of the Mississippi will be keeping all the major nightclubs and pool parties stacked til the college football homecomings start again, so start stocking up on that 5-HTP and chugging those electrolytes now.
Club Season on the Strip
The strip continues to offer the city’s most premium party experiences. As always, you’ll have to battle lines and a little chaos for the most popular spots, and getting in can get pricey, especially if you’re trying to get in on-the-spot midday at the pool parties or past midnight for the night events.
But the early bird gets a discount worm, and most clubs have (somewhat) reasonably priced tickets if you buy them online ahead of time. Some even offer free guestlist entry if you get there early enough — find a promoter around the strip during the day and they’ll hook you up, or check out websites like lasvegasnightclubs.com, nocovernightclubs.com, freevegasclubpasses.com, or the Discotech app. Free guestlists work especially well if you are a group of women, or men willing to be treated like cattle in one of those sad factory farm documentaries for a while.
The most dedicated partiers should look into the Tao Group Party Pass. Tao Group is now the largest consortium of clubs on the strip, and for about $130 for women and $160 for men, you get unlimited weekend access to Hakkasan, OMNIA, JEWEL, Palm Tree Beach Club, TAO Beach and Nightclub, and Marquee Nightclub and Dayclub, depending on capacity. You have to buy it by 10 p.m. on Saturdays, but you can hop around between clubs as you please, making it your own little club festival.
As per usual, if you’ve long graduated from Bovine University and money is no object, throw some racks at bottle service and be treated like a VIP.
Many clubs will be hosting pre- and after-parties for EDC, and Memorial Day Weekend will be nonstop everywhere. Here’s what to expect at the biggest clubs throughout the summer:
XS and Encore Beach Club: Stretched between the beautiful complexes of The Wynn and Encore, XS and Encore Beach Club still offer some of the best club experiences in town. The parties will rage all summer featuring residents The Chainsmokers, Marshmello, Diplo, Mau P, Odesza and more. On Sunday, May 25, of Memorial Weekend, XS will launch “Sunday MainStage,” a new festival-style production, with an inaugural performance by Yeat.
For the full calendar, visit: wynnsocial.com.
XS (XS Nightclub at Wynn Las Vegas)
Tao Beach and Nightclub at the Venetian: Tao has been a cornerstone of Vegas partying for 20 years. Tao Beach dayclub will feature big electronic acts like Porter Robinson, Zedd and Deorro, and the nightclub features more Top-40 and rap from DJs Justin Credible, E-Rock and Crespo.
For Tao Beach, visit: taogroup.com/venues/tao-beach-dayclub-las-vegas.
For the nightclub, visit: taogroup.com/venues/tao-nightclub-las-vegas.
Palm Tree Beach Club at MGM Grand: Opening this month, the 60,000 sq. ft. club will include a ground-level stage and a salt water pool where you can see acts like Fisher, Chris Lake, Martin Garrix and Tiesto.
Visit: taogroup.com/venues/palm-tree-beach-club-las-vegas.
LIV at Fountainbleu: A giant club at one of the newest hotels, the Vegas outpost of the storied LIV will have a heck of a lineup Memorial Weekend at both their night and “Beach” dayclub, including John Summit, Disco Lines and Dom Dolla.
Visit: livnightclub.com/las-vegas.
Drai’s at the Cromwell: The top dedicated hip-hop venue in town, Drai’s has multiple levels, an after-hours and dayclub. Memorial Day Weekend will feature favorites Jeezy, Gunna and Lil Wayne, and throughout the summer look forward to Ty Dolla $ign, Dababy and Wiz Khalifa.
Visit: draisgroup.com/las-vegas.
Rick Ross performs at Drai’s Dayclub (Radis Denphutaraphrechar)
Zouk and Ayu at Resorts World: You may know Zouk from the new club opened in Hollywood, but the Vegas version is bigger and just as high-tech, with premium programming all summer long between their Zouk Nightclub and Ayu Dayclub. Memorial weekend will feature Kaskade and DJ Snoopadelic (yes, that’s Snoop Dogg), and they will be celebrating their four-year anniversary in June with DJ Snake and Lil Wayne.
Visit: zoukgrouplv.com
Hakkasan at MGM Grand: One of the biggest clubs on the strip, Hakkasan is where you can find a mix of electronic and rap acts like DJ Pauly D, Mustard and Four Color Zack.
Visit: taogroup.com/venues/hakkasan-nightclub-las-vegas
Marquee at Cosmopolitan: Located in the young and fun Cosmo, Marquee continues to be a destination, featuring both clubs both day and night. Another in the Tao Group collection, acts this summer include Chris Lake, ARMNHMR, and look out for BigXthaPlug Memorial Weekend.
Visit: taogroup.com/venues/marquee-nightclub-las-vegas
Downtown Vegas/Fremont Street
If you like partying, but a relentless EDC weekend or aggressive clubbing on the strip aren’t your vibe, downtown Las Vegas might just be your savior. You can get down and dirty at bar/clubs without the hassle and price tags of the strip, plus drinks are cheaper too. And if you need some air, you can always walk through the Fremont Street Experience and have a blast and find some trouble. Some spots to check out — Discopussy, Commonwealth and We All Scream.
Palindrome Wedding
Meet your rave bae on the dance floor and looking to get hitched? May 25, 2025, might be the perfect day to do it — it’s anticipated to be a highly popular wedding date, as 5-2-5-2-5 is a palindrome, meaning it reads the same backward and forwards. The same will be the case for any day between Tuesday, May 20, and Thursday, May 29.
This is a terrible idea of course, but could make for a cute story to tell your cyborg offspring in like 30 years after the AI apocalypse.
Happy partying!
The cover of the May 16, 2025 issue of LA Weekly, featuring Marquee Dayclub (Photo courtesy Tao Hospitality Group; Cover design: Jewel Baek)