A Free Piece of Paper Does Not Make You a VIP

V, I and P are the most overused letters in Las Vegas, especially when used in conjunction with nightclubs. To quickly straighten this out:

-Tiger Woods is a VIP

-The dude that dropped 100 grand at baccarat is an IP

-Pretty girls are P’s

-As guys…we are lowercase p’s

That said, I’m sure you have all seen those supposed VIP to nightclub passes that are all over the place. They are usually obtained through cab drivers, guys on the street, online, or picked up at various stores or booths in town. But what do they really get you?

Well, we have limited experience with them, as they seem like a scam. (And usually they are) When there is a line a mile long at Pure on Saturday night, a pass you picked up from a guy on the street won’t get you a damn thing. It is still the bouncer’s discretion whether to let you in or not.

These passes can mean different things, some will:

-Waive your cover charge

-Waive your cover provided you are there by a certain time, like before 11 PM

-Allow you to skip the line

-Get you ‘Invited Guest’ status…which is a fancy way of saying you get to wait in a different, albeit shorter, line.

-Do nothing at all, especially on a busy night

From our experience, and what we’ve read, definitely don’t spend a dime on these. They are available free most places…hell, we got ours to Revolution from girls handing them out in front of the club. Most of the cab drivers and other low-lifes count on the fact that people buy them during the day, as it sounds like a good idea, then have no recourse when they end up not working later on.

Another thing we’ve seen is that hotel guests ‘usually’ get preference at a given club, although I’m sure this depends on time of night and how full the club is. For instance, we were staying at Mandalay Bay and were able to use the ‘Invited Guests’ line to rumjungle, and didn’t pay cover. In that case, all we needed was our room keycard.

The best advice given our experience is to do your research ahead of time and plan where you will be going for the night. Given the long lines to most popular clubs, club hopping is almost impossible, so pick one. Either plan to get their early to avoid the line, or arrange through the club’s host or hotel concierge for bottle service. This is a pretty pricey option, but will allow you to skip the line, not have to worry about a place to sit, and avoid the obscene price of drinks once inside.

If all else fails, grease some palms. Either that, or be a pretty girl…not an option for most of us.