A few years back many newspapers and online publications were predicting an end to gay nightclubs and bars. Even Forbes Magazine and About.com (owned by the New York Times) assumed that gay clubs would be folded into the straight clubs and it would all be unified. Well the gays don’t really enjoy seeing bridal showers in their clubs (which they see all to often) when they are NOT allowed to marry in this day and age. Nor do the gays always like to play by the rules at straight clubs such as the harsh dress codes and just hanging out with friends and not getting laid. We all have strong urges for the nightlife scene and that is why you are seeing new clubs crop up across America in 2012. XL Nightclub in New York City opened this year as one of the top clubs in the World and now we have an announcement of yet another club in Las Vegas. Los Angeles needs to catch up since their club scene still lags way behind the world with only bar offerings!
Krave Nightclub’s owners announced today that it will leave its current mega-club off the Las Vegas strip and move downtown. Currently Krave sits on the property of Planet Hollywood and is easily accessible from the mall connecting the casino, the Cosmopolitan, and the new Las Vegas City Center.
Krave Entertainment will take over the former Galaxy 11 movie theater on the Neonopolis’ third floor which is located in downtown Las Vegas. This location will be closer to their Drink and Drag bowling alley and drag queen-themed bar on the complex’s second floor. They plan on transforming the 80,000-square-foot space with 14 theaters into the world’s largest gay nightclub according to the owner Kelly Murphy.
The goal is to take down NYC as the Number One spot for gays and lesbians in the United States. They may accomplish this with Krave Massive because it will have five themed dance rooms including hip-hop, country, and Latin. In addition, count on three bars, a VIP lounge, comedy club, performance art space and LGBT movie theater.
This will cost the entertainment company about $1.5 million. They plan to open the gay wonderland piece by piece. The first rooms to open will be one of the themed rooms and the martini lounge in what is now the theater lobby open by the end of the year. So you may start planning your New Years away from the strip and at this new complex if you think it will be worth it.
With over 128,000 square feet of the Krave Entertainment owned part of the complex it will also house a swimming pool. The third floor swimming pool will cost around $750,000. Expect to see VIP cabanas and super gay pool parties on this property. The Blue Moon Resort and the current Sunkissed pool parties at the Rumor hotel a run for their monies in 2013. You may also see a bigger Matinee Festival next year on Labor Day weekend. Neonopolis developers plan on having retailers and restaurants in the shade of the pool area on the floors below.
They have been in talks for over three years on this project with the recession putting a buzz kill on it. Drink and Drag has had success so they decided to go ahead with this project even after eight years at the Planet Hollywood location.
Who will be the Host hotel of the Krave Massive?
Downtown Grand (formerly the Lady Luck) is working with Krave on special rates, packages “focused on bringing that out-of-town gay tourist to Las Vegas to stay at our hotel, enjoy our fantastic amenities and dance the night away at Krave,” said Fifth Street Gaming CEO Seth Schorr.
The owners expect Krave Massive to bring in 12,000 people per week. Krave at Planet Hollywood draws 4,500 gays and lesbians each week, and Drink and Drag brings in 4,100 people. Talk about social networking. Krave has a massive database of 154,000 active email addresses and 60,000 phone numbers and texts 1 million numbers per month.
While most of the marketing for Massive will be geared for Gays and Lesbians 35% of the clientele at Drink and Drag’s is straight. We could see this as a negative if it turns into more of a straight club in percentage inside the themed dance halls. There are also a few more cons on this project. Tourists will not likely want to pay the expense to ride downtown to an area that is away from their plush nightclubs and luxury upgraded hotel rooms off the strip. The main selling point in Krave right now is the location which is the number one rule in marketing 101 “location, location, location.” Will tourists leave the strip to see one of the worlds largest gay and lesbian complex’s?
Events such as Gay Days, Matinee, and conventions are mostly based on the strip or close to the fruit loop. This could either entirely close down the gay fruitloop or this entire project could go belly under just like some of the other Las Vegas projects that were tried in the last few years. Krave has faced fierce competition with the opening of the Share nightclub which is also off the strip at an undesirable location away from the fruitloop as well.
If you have the money for VIP or a celebrity you get your own elevators with no wait in line. This is something nice to have for an exclusive experience but if you have been out to clubs in Las Vegas or Hollywood you will realize that everyone is VIP who lives there. VIP is mostly a joke but we will see how many bottles you have to buy to get in this exclusive area.
What do people online have to say about the Krave Massive announcement?
David replied “I commend getting something bigger and better but going downtown could be a gamble. How is Drink and Drag doing?” Elizabeth said “GREAT CHOICE! with downtown booming and Zappos moving there, great choice!”. Not sure what Zappos has to do with a booming nightclub but OK I guess it is good there will be a business next door. Richard comment “Great move getting away from current strip and going downtown, you know, where the original strip is. Fremont so much better than the current strip.”
Not all of the comments on the Krave Massive move were good though. One Facebooker’s said “Bad location idea. I think they are going to lose business. I’m sure most there business are travelers. I never leave the strip when I go. The concept is amazing, just wish it was on the strip. I guess the fruit loop will start gaining some more business.”
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