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One weekend. Three late-night dance parties. Seven deadly
sins. It’s Vegas, baby!
 By Jeff Katz
After years of ruling one desert,
Jeffrey Sanker has set his sights on another. Columbus Day
weekend (Oct. 5-8) will usher in White Party Vegas, and the
stage is set for some huge parties, great music and debauchery.
It is Vegas after all. So in the tradition of Sin City, here
are the best ways to make your White Party weekend, truly
sinsational.
Lust
What was to be a poolside T-dance is now moving inside the
Palms Hotel and Casino. But just because the location changed
(due to noise ordinances) doesn’t mean the dress
code does, too. The attire calls for swimwear at Classic
T, so lust after the more than 1,000 hard bodies inside
one of the city’s most notorious nightclubs, Rain.
Speaking of hard bodies, DJ Brett Henrichsen will be keeping
the boys moving on Sunday from 8 p.m.-3 a.m. for this closing
night party. And even though the event may no longer be
on the pool deck, you may want to prepare to get a little
wet dancing amongst Rain’s indoor river, fountains
and huge water wall.
Gluttony
Overindulgence=Las Vegas. And one can be gluttonous in a
number of places in Sin City, especially those grand buffets.
After a night of dancing, do Sunday morning brunch at Bally’s
for the large (and eclectic) Sterling Brunch. From omelets
to lobster, O.J. and ostrich, this is the meal that will
satisfy the most particular of palates—as will the
free-flowing mimosas.
To go a little easier on the wallet without losing any delicious
dish, hop in a cab and head over to Lotus of Siam. Heralded
by many foodies as America’s best Thai food, this strip
mall eatery may be the most unassuming top-notch restaurant
in town. It’s very casual with a charming family staff,
and you won’t waste all your winnings on a meal.
Greed
Get in the gambling spirit—it is Vegas after all. The
best chances to make some big dough without paying out huge
amounts first are the progressive slots. Megabucks slots
start with a minimum jackpot of $7 million and a player only
needs to have $3 in the machine to be eligible. The Orleans,
just off the strip, has a pretty solid collection of the
machines, and apparently lucky, too, with one fortunate gambler
hitting a $12 million prize earlier this year.
Sloth
Spas, like slots, are a dime a dozen around town. Go super
sleek, simple and European at the Bathhouse. Get your mind
out of the gutter; it’s not that kind of spa, but
a marble-incrusted 14,000 square-foot dimly-lit arena of
exotic baths, steam rooms and waterfalls. With Spirit Recovery
and Zen Ritual spa packages, in addition to a menu full
of massages and wraps, the Bathhouse is a guaranteed day
of rest and relaxation.
For 24 hours of “No-Questions-Asked” service,
check out the Platinum Hotel and Spa. The stylish all-suite
locale boasts both indoor and outdoor pools alongside the
signature drink Zen-tinis. But the pampering really comes
from WELL, the on-site mega spa where each client has their
own assistant to provide any-and-everything from meditation
reading to iPods, while enjoying Turkish baths, organic firming
wraps and vitamin back facials.
Wrath
A military-themed party seems to be the perfect fit for wrath,
so throw on some camo and a little bit of attitude. The
Basic Training party officially kicks off the White Party
weekend at the only gay club on the strip, Krave. DJ Manny
Lehman will step behind the booth for the evening, and
the gorgeous go-go dancers Krave has become known for will
be decked out in tough-guy gear and atop the many boxes
to egg everyone on.
Continue living your weekend on the wild side and get some
adrenaline pumping by checking out the strip from 10,000
ft. above. Sky Dive Las Vegas hooks up everyone—from
beginners to seasoned pros—with the know-how and gear
needed to free fall at 120 mph. Check out the Hoover Dam,
vast desert and hotel landmarks while getting the 60-second
head rush of a lifetime.
Envy
Envy exists deep within the thousands of luxury stores and
shops that call Vegas home. Versace, Dolce and Prada are
all there, and sure, L.A. has its designer labels as well,
but it's Vegas' over-the-top locales that set shopping
apart. Stroll the streets of Italy at the Venetian’s
Grand Canal Shoppes (home to extravagant jewelers Mikimoto
and Ca’d’Oro) or head to the city of lights
at Le Boulevard inside Paris. For the height of envy-inspiring
autos, check out the shopping inside the glam Wynn Hotel
and visit the pricy, shiny toys at the Ferrari and Maserati
dealers.
Pride
Well it’s pretty obvious that there is one place to
be this weekend where pride will be in abundance, the grand-dame
party of them all, the White Party. There have been many
versions and imposters over the years, but Sanker still throws ’em
best. The Empire Ballroom is ground zero for thousands of
dancing boys in Greek god and goddess-themed wear, music
sets by DJ Abel and a special live performance by Ultra Naté.
With no stated end time (and surely no clocks in sight) this
party will likely be going well into the a.m.
The Mister of
Ceremonies
By Jeff Katz
Q&A with White Party Vegas creator Jeffrey Sanker
So other than what seems to be an affinity for desert climate,
why go with Las Vegas as a White Party location?
Why Vegas for White Party? It’s Sin City. That sums
it up. (Laughs) What happens in Vegas has to happen, and
it will.
In the past, Vegas has had a bit of a reputation for not
being overly gay-friendly or not having many hangout options.
Are you hoping this weekend changes that idea and increases
the city’s attractiveness?
I’m hoping so. It’s a huge destination and it’s
becoming more and more of a gay destination. Every year the
gay options seem to double. … A lot of people go to
Vegas all year long, and I’m hoping that focusing on
one big gay weekend, excluding their Pride weekend, will
give people something to do in the fall. And it’s still
pretty good weather. It’s cooler than the summer, but
it’s still nice weather all day and all night. ...
We’ve
also addressed security at all three venues about making
them a little more gay sensitive.
Are you trying to recreate the original White Party and
just have another weekend to enjoy it or are you trying to
create a new event here that just happens to share the same
name?
That’s exactly what I’m doing. I’m creating
a new event. ... Vegas is known for VIP service and
we have over 40 VIP tables to offer customers. And another
thing that is totally different is the fact that these clubs
are attached to casinos, so you can go in and out of the
party and gamble if you want.
So it’s a little different in that respect from White
Party Palm Springs ... but the parties stand alone,
too. Friday’s military party [will] have special shows
and lots of hot military-dressed go-go boys. Saturday is
the gods and goddesses White Party, and Sunday we’re
taking the Splash party indoors for Classic T, where you
can still wear your board shorts and be shirtless. In fact,
at all three venues you can be shirtless on the dance floor.
That is one key thing because in a lot of venues in Las Vegas
they don’t allow that. But I have made arrangements
to make sure that at Krave, Empire Ballroom and Rain you
can be shirtless on the dance floor. That’s what people
want and that’s what I’m going to give them.
What has the reception and interest been like so far?
It’s been really good. People are really anxious to
have a White Party in Vegas. Especially with the locals.
We’re getting big local support. And we have a huge
turnout of people coming from outside of the United States.
We have people coming from London, Sydney, a lot of people
from Canada.
So are we talking Palm Springs-sized crowds here?
It’s not Palm Springs, and these are nightclubs that
the events will be in, so it is smaller. But the main event
holds 1,800 people and that’s what we’re looking
at. The Palms also holds 1,800 and Krave holds 1,200. They’re
good-size venues and they’re at established nightclubs,
so we’re just going in and doing a nice gay fluff.
Schedule
Friday, Oct. 5
Basic Training
Featuring DJ Manny Lehman
Krave Nightclub
10 p.m.-4 a.m.
Saturday, Oct. 6
White Party
Featuring DJ Abel and Ultra Naté
Empire Ballroom
10 p.m.-very late
Sunday, Oct. 7
Classic T-Dance
Featuring Brett Henrichsen
Rain Nightclub
8 p.m.-3 a.m.
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