Nightclub & Bar - May 2009

Located on the lower level of the resort, XS the Nightclub at Encore lives up to its name. The 40,000-square- foot club flows out from the stairway, all curves and opulence. Chandeliers throughout and more than 10,000 light sources illuminate the richly appointed space, which is adorned in gold, bronze, black and brown hues. Curvaceous female torsos along the side walls draw the eye; the sculptures’ concave gold leaf finish adding a sensuous element. The sunken dance floor — sur-

rounded by gold crocodile-embossed leather booths and crowned with a 10-foot rotating chandelier — flows out to a pool ringed by private cabanas. An island bar appears to float on the water.

On a Saturday night, a long line of guests
eagerly awaits entering the most expensive
club ever built in Las Vegas. Inside, the
dance floor throbs with exquisitely attired
partiers; beautiful women take to the
dance poles scattered throughout the
club. Bottles of high-end spirits
— Ketel One, Dom Perignon,
Absolut, Patron, Grey Goose
— are paraded to VIP tables
by model-perfect cocktail
servers. Tabs run from a
few hundred to tens of
thousands of dollars. One
has to wonder, “Reces-
sion? What recession?”
Typically watching the
action from a VIP booth
are Cy and Jesse Waits,
managing partners of XS
and also Tryst at Wynn Las

We don’t want people to come in just because some individual
happens to be here; tomorrow night that person could be
somewhere else. We want them to come because of the product
we offer, which is the club itself. The club is the brand.

– Cy Waits, Managing Partner

Vegas and Drai’s After Hours at Bill’s Gam- Hollywood producer and restaurateur

blin’ Hall. Flanked by a bevy of beauties, the Victor Drai opened a French restaurant at identical twins, whose playboy reputations what was then the Barbary Coast in Vegas are well-chronicled, may look like they’re in 1997. His entertainment friends from enjoying themselves, but they’re actually Los Angeles transformed the spot into working. In fact, putting in 20-hour days an underground late night hangout. Drai

— or nights, as it were — the pair may be enticed Jesse Waits to manage the front
the hardest working guys in Vegas. door in 2001. Waits had been working his
Together with Victor Drai, who co-owns way up at a variety of Vegas venues, includ-
Tryst and XS with the Wynn organization ing House of Blues. His personal approach
and heads up this powerhouse trinity, the to guest service and knack for generating
Waits brothers oversee a nightlife empire. word-of-mouth buzz attracted more busi-
From the exclusive, edgy vibe of Drai’s After ness, and he was soon managing the club.
Hours — one of the first clubs to bring bottle In 2005, hotel magnate Steve Wynn
service to Las Vegas, the intimate venue was looking to rescue the failing La Bete
is a favorite of hip hop DJs and fans — to nightclub in his crown jewel, Wynn Las
the game-changing opening of Tryst to the Vegas. Cued in that Drai’s was the insiders’
blockbuster debut of XS on New Year’s Eve, hot spot, he invited Drai to partner on a new
the trio has raised the bar on nightlife to an concept for the subterranean space.
entirely new level. Together, the three clubs Working with Wynn executive vice
are expected to exceed $100 million in rev- president of design Roger Thomas, Drai
enue in 2009, a figure unheard of in Vegas undertook a $5 million redesign, opening
and unimaginable in today’s economy. the club to access Wynn’s 90-foot waterfall
Exquisite club environs, attention to detail and adding 450 bottle service seats. Inside,

and high levels of guest service are sup- rich cherry reds contrast the ebony sunken ported by precise operational systems and a dance floor; Drai reconfigured the space loyal staff that drive astronomical revenues, to be brighter and allow for better traffic attributes that earned them the 2009 Opera- flow. “So many clubs are dark and difficult tor of the Year Award from Nightclub & Bar. to move around in,” Drai explains. “When Tryst and Drai’s are also among the Night- you go out, you want to see people, see the club & Bar 2009 Top 100, ranked at number entire space and take it all in.”

2 and 22, respectively. XS hosted the Top

100 Party, sponsored by Absolut, held during the Nightclub & Bar Convention and Trade Show in March.

From left: Jesse Waits, Victor Drai, Cy Waits

Quick Ascent

Some might say the trio’s success
originated in their simply being in
the right place at the right time.
Maybe so, but from that point,
each brought his A-game: Drai
playing in design and decor,
Jesse Waits handling market-
ing and guest services and Cy
Waits overseeing operations,
although the brothers tag-team
on many elements of the
business.

Proving Ground

Realizing the magnitude of the business potential, Jesse Waits invited his brother to the party. Cy Waits had worked through stints at House of Blues, and then managed Tabu Ultra Lounge, where, like Jesse, he was a quick study of the nightlife business.

Tryst opened to rave reviews in December 2005; the threesome more than doubled the $18 million sales projection in the first year. Bottle service accounts for 75 percent of sales, and the profit margin hovers at 70 percent, more than twice the market norm. With “godfather” Drai behind them, the Waits became the golden boys of the Vegas strip.