Sarah Feldberg
Most Las Vegas nightclubs follow a similar strategy when it comes to programming entertainment and getting bodies in the door. Boiled down to its most basic, that formula looks like this: Entertainment + Promotion = Packed (and profitable) Venue.
But the nightclub opening at the Wynn on April 28 is throwing that playbook out the window in favor of an approach that’s, well, intriguing.
Intrigue, which is taking over the footprint left vacant by longtime nightlife venue Tryst, will be the third club at Wynn and Encore, joining XS and Surrender/Encore Beach Club. Unlike those other two, however, Intrigue won’t brag about its resident DJs or post their faces on billboards overlooking McCarran Airport and I-15. Instead, said, Co-Executive Director John Wood, “None of our artists will ever be announced. You have to come and see.”
The element of surprise is at the core of the new club’s strategy, and while that may present challenges for the marketing team, Wood believes that ultimately it will also drive crowds.
“Word is going to spread that cool things are going on,” he said. “You never know what you’re going to get.”
That idea applies to both the music — guest performers and DJs — and the space itself, which will utilize sophisticated lighting, lasers and projectors to change the mood and ambience of the venue. Visitors who stop by the club on one Vegas trip, may find that Intrigue feels totally different the next time they’re in town.
The space has also been fully renovated from its former incarnation as Tryst, which closed in November after 10 years on the Strip. The floor design has been reimagined. There are new booths and new elevation changes and new bars in new places.
“It’s completely redone,” Wood said. “The only thing that remains is the waterfall.”
Another addition is a 1,200-square-foot private area, a hyper-exclusive club within a club where guests must be invited to enter. Inside, they’ll find VIPs, tippy-top-shelf liquor, a private concierge attending to their needs and absolutely no social media of any kind.
While it’s unclear how that rule will be enforced, Wood said, “We don’t want to look around and see all 40 people in there on their cellphones. You’re going to have to know someone to get in, so it’s going to be a very social space.”
He adds that Intrigue will fit well within the larger Vegas nightlife landscape by offering an alternative to the DJ-driven EDM megaclubs that have come to dominate the Strip. Instead the club will have an eclectic soundtrack, a focus on service and a sense that the night is more about socializing than worshipping at the altar of some guy wearing headphones.
In that way, though Intrigue is brand new, it also evokes a previous era of Vegas nightlife whose time may have come … again.
Intrigue will be open Thursdays through Saturdays, 10:30 p.m. to 4 a.m. For more information, visit intriguevegas.com.