Vegas Sexed Up
Tue, Sep 23, 2008
Reuters
IN THE 1990s, casinos in Las Vegas tried to clean up their image to appeal to families.
But this corporate strategy has been reversed these days.
Brittany McClain, who spends her nights stripping at gentlemen's club Sapphire under the stage name "Electronica", sunbathes topless at an adults-only pool at the Rio Hotel and Casino by day.
That's part of her job.
"My life now is: If I'm not stripping or at the pool, I'm sleeping," McClain said of the new partnership between the Rio and Sapphire.
The partnership also flirts with a longstanding separation between sex and gambling in Las Vegas.
Laws in the desert city, which was built on gambling, have long kept the two vices strictly separate.
McClain's new role, however, reflects a new trend as casinos like the Rio, owned by Harrah's Entertainment, seek ways to make money in a downturn.
"It brings the sexy angle to the casino business... All of the casinos are trying to get gentlemen's club-type entertainment without actually crossing that line," said Sapphire senior vice-president John Lee.
Caesars Palace, Mandalay Bay, the Mirage, the Venetian and the Wynn have also opened topless pools, but the Rio's Sapphire Pool is the first formal partnership between a casino and a strip club to keep its lounge chairs stocked with bare-breasted women.
The idea is for the women to attract men who will stick around and gamble at the Rio's tables. The Sapphire Pool charges men an admission fee of US$30 (S$43) to US$50, and is fenced off from the Rio pool, where women keep their swimsuit tops on.
The trend towards an edgier, sexier vibe in Las Vegas casinos is a dramatic shift from the 1990s, when the city briefly tried to clean up its image to attract families.
With that approach abandoned and replaced with the slogan "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas", most of the major resort casinos along the Las Vegas Strip now incorporate adult-themed entertainment, from the Playboy Club at the Palms to burlesque-style shows at theMGM Grand and Mandalay Bay.
McClain, 21, said the pool is a hit with Sapphire's strippers because of the opportunity to network.
Men they meet often turn up at the Sapphire later. The strippers who frolic topless under the attentive gaze of the male guests also get incentives from the club and free poolside food and drinks. No cameras are allowed.
In addition to Venus, its topless pool, visitors to Caesars can drink at Shadow Bar, where women appear to dance naked behind a screen, and party at Pure, one of the largest and hottest nightclubs in the city, featuring performances by the lingerie- clad Pussycat Dolls.
Nevada state law does not expressly bar topless dancing from casinos. But gambling halls have long been refused licences to operate strip clubs under rules that require them to operate in a manner consistent with public safety, health and morals, said Ms Renee Shaffer, deputy chief of enforcement of the Nevada Gaming Control Board.
Ms Shaffer said women sunbathing topless in a fenced-off section of a casino pool do not violate that rule.
"Whatever the (line) is, we will abide by it," Sapphire's Mr Lee said. "We want to be good corporate citizens."
Reuters
IN THE 1990s, casinos in Las Vegas tried to clean up their image to appeal to families.
But this corporate strategy has been reversed these days.
Brittany McClain, who spends her nights stripping at gentlemen's club Sapphire under the stage name "Electronica", sunbathes topless at an adults-only pool at the Rio Hotel and Casino by day.
That's part of her job.
"My life now is: If I'm not stripping or at the pool, I'm sleeping," McClain said of the new partnership between the Rio and Sapphire.
The partnership also flirts with a longstanding separation between sex and gambling in Las Vegas.
Laws in the desert city, which was built on gambling, have long kept the two vices strictly separate.
McClain's new role, however, reflects a new trend as casinos like the Rio, owned by Harrah's Entertainment, seek ways to make money in a downturn.
"It brings the sexy angle to the casino business... All of the casinos are trying to get gentlemen's club-type entertainment without actually crossing that line," said Sapphire senior vice-president John Lee.
Caesars Palace, Mandalay Bay, the Mirage, the Venetian and the Wynn have also opened topless pools, but the Rio's Sapphire Pool is the first formal partnership between a casino and a strip club to keep its lounge chairs stocked with bare-breasted women.
The idea is for the women to attract men who will stick around and gamble at the Rio's tables. The Sapphire Pool charges men an admission fee of US$30 (S$43) to US$50, and is fenced off from the Rio pool, where women keep their swimsuit tops on.
The trend towards an edgier, sexier vibe in Las Vegas casinos is a dramatic shift from the 1990s, when the city briefly tried to clean up its image to attract families.
With that approach abandoned and replaced with the slogan "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas", most of the major resort casinos along the Las Vegas Strip now incorporate adult-themed entertainment, from the Playboy Club at the Palms to burlesque-style shows at theMGM Grand and Mandalay Bay.
McClain, 21, said the pool is a hit with Sapphire's strippers because of the opportunity to network.
Men they meet often turn up at the Sapphire later. The strippers who frolic topless under the attentive gaze of the male guests also get incentives from the club and free poolside food and drinks. No cameras are allowed.
In addition to Venus, its topless pool, visitors to Caesars can drink at Shadow Bar, where women appear to dance naked behind a screen, and party at Pure, one of the largest and hottest nightclubs in the city, featuring performances by the lingerie- clad Pussycat Dolls.
Nevada state law does not expressly bar topless dancing from casinos. But gambling halls have long been refused licences to operate strip clubs under rules that require them to operate in a manner consistent with public safety, health and morals, said Ms Renee Shaffer, deputy chief of enforcement of the Nevada Gaming Control Board.
Ms Shaffer said women sunbathing topless in a fenced-off section of a casino pool do not violate that rule.
"Whatever the (line) is, we will abide by it," Sapphire's Mr Lee said. "We want to be good corporate citizens."
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