Vegas' Hottest Party Is Poolside
Hello Sunshine: Sin City's party scene thrives by daylight.
Sept. 16, 2010 — -- It has never been hard to find a good party in Sin City.
But the hottest time in Las Vegas these days happens to be at 2 o'clock on a Sunday afternoon.
Every Sunday for the past seven years, thousands of people have flocked to the pool at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Vegas for a daylong party called REHAB. And new parties are now cropping up all across town.
Watch the full story on "Nightline" tonight at 11:35 p.m. ET
"We pop more bottles at the pools than at the club,'' one REHAB party guest said.
"[At] the nightclubs you can barely see anybody,'' another added. "Here you can see everybody ..."
Everybody and everything. On a typical Sunday, REHAB draws nearly 4,000 people, mostly young, attractive and wearing very little.
You know a party is popular when it gets its own reality show, "REHAB" on TruTV.
"Absolutely beautiful tans, beautiful people ... men," one woman said, holding a glass of champagne. "It's all good."
Good for partygoers and good for the Hard Rock's bottom line. Even in this sluggish economy, REHAB's revenues are up 10 percent from last year, a whopping 135 percent from four years ago.
"If you don't have a pool, you're not going to be relevant,'' said Jason Hancock, marketing director for Wendoh Media.
Here in the middle of the desert, where 120-degree days are as commonplace as slot machines, the party has suddenly, and inexplicably, moved outdoors. During the hottest hours of the day.
"You used to have people who come out for the night life and during the day, there was nothing for them to do," Hancock said. "People don't want to come out and gamble, the younger generation, they want to come out and party, and this gave them a place to go."