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Rehab (party)

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Coordinates: 36°06′36″N 115°09′18″W / 36.110014°N 115.154935°W / 36.110014; -115.154935
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Rehab
A Rehab party in 2008
FrequencyEvery Sunday, April through October
VenueHard Rock Hotel
Location(s)Paradise, Nevada
Coordinates36°06′36″N 115°09′18″W / 36.110014°N 115.154935°W / 36.110014; -115.154935
CountryUnited States
Years active2004–2018
InauguratedMay 2, 2004
Most recentOctober 14, 2018
Capacity2,000 (as of 2008)
Websitebikini.rehablv.com

Rehab was a pool party event held from 2004 to 2018, at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Paradise, Nevada, near the Las Vegas Strip. Rehab popularized the pool party concept in Las Vegas, leading other resorts to begin offering their own versions. Its success also spawned a reality television series, Rehab: Party at the Hard Rock Hotel, which aired from 2008 to 2010.

Description

Rehab was similar to a spring break party,[1] and each event featured DJ music. Rehab also featured live performances throughout its history, from musicians such as Akon,[2] Snoop Dogg,[3][4] Drake, Lil Wayne,[5] Lady Gaga, Deadmau5,[6] Pauly D,[7][8] and Psy.[9] Aside from the cost of admission, alcohol and cabanas were offered for additional costs.[10][11] Rehab parties were held on Sundays.[6][12] The event operated during warm seasons, usually starting in April.[13][1][10][14] It would typically end each year in October, depending on the weather.[10]

History

Before Rehab was launched, the Hard Rock Hotel pool was not open to the public and was only accessible to resort guests.[15][16] In 2004, Chad Pallas, the director of nightlife for the Hard Rock, was looking for ways to keep the resort popular. He focused on improving the pool area and got the idea for Rehab after having one of his weekly boat parties on Lake Mead. Pallas later said, "It was the greatest time ever to get out there in that cheap pontoon boat and party during the day. I had just come home and was relaxing one day when I got a call from a girl who wanted to get a group of her friends into the resort pool. She said she couldn't just walk in, that they had grown more strict, yet I was going to meetings where we were complaining that pool business was down."[17][16] The pool area had sometimes hosted private concerts and special events.[15]

Pallas had seen Nikki Beach in Miami, but he was not certain that such an idea could work in Las Vegas, so adjustments were made to the concept to suit the locale. Pallas said about Rehab, "At first we made the mistake of thinking it was more of the electronic [music] scene, but the crowd that came showed us it was more of a Spring Break party scene."[17] Rehab opened to the public on May 2, 2004,[15] and Pallas hoped that the event could bring in revenue of $20,000 on its opening day. The first party proved to be successful, bringing in $90,000, and the event brought in profits of $1.5 million by the end of its first season in 2004.[17] Following its initial success, the event returned the following year.[18][19]

Rehab was initially popular among local residents, including those who worked in nearby resorts on the Las Vegas Strip. Word about the Rehab parties gradually spread to tourists, and the event pioneered the local trend of daylife (or dayclub) entertainment, similar to nightlife.[11][16][17][20][21] Celebrity visitors over the years included Rob Gronkowski, Justin Bieber,[9][22] Paris Hilton, and Kim Kardashian.[20] Rehab's initial success was partly due to the lack of competition.[17] By 2007,[23][2] its popularity had inspired other Las Vegas resorts to begin offering similar pool party events.[17][24] By 2008, yearly profits had reached $9 million.[16] Lines would form hours prior to the opening of a Rehab party.[1][10] As of 2008, the event had capacity for 2,000 people, and lines would sometimes reach into the casino once capacity was hit.[1] VIP customers could skip the line and enter through a separate entrance.[25] Rehab's popularity led to a reality television show titled Rehab: Party at the Hard Rock Hotel, which premiered in 2008.[10] As of 2009, Rehab averaged 2,000 to 2,500 guests during each party, although some busy weekends attracted up to 5,000 people. Cabana rentals ranged from $1,000 to $10,000 depending on how busy each party was.[10]

Rehab in 2009

By 2009, drugs and prostitution had become an issue at resort pools in the Las Vegas Valley. That year, detectives with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department launched an undercover operation at Rehab. They subsequently arrested seven people on narcotic-related charges, while another was arrested for solicitation of prostitution.[26][27] The arrests prompted the Nevada Gaming Control Board to investigate aspects of the pool operation, to determine whether such crimes were commonly occurring on the property.[28][29]

In 2010, Hard Rock Cafe International sued the Hard Rock Hotel to cancel its name licensing agreement, citing negative publicity associated with Rehab and its reality television series. The lawsuit alleged that the resort was being portrayed on television as "a destination that revels in drunken debauchery, acts of vandalism, sexual harassment, violence, criminality and a host of other behavior". The lawsuit also cited the 2009 arrests.[30] Rehab: Party at the Hard Rock was canceled later in 2010.[14]

Pool area in 2013

In 2011, Ian Kohoutek became the director of nightlife and launched an effort to help Rehab's public image following the lawsuit. Kohoutek said about the television series, "I think it was a poor depiction of what Rehab is all about. This is actually a very fun, clean environment. We have a clean pool; we operate effectively and by the law."[31][32] At the time, Rehab offered 22 daybeds and 51 cabanas.[31] Describing the success of Rehab, Kohoutek said, "People want to come out and get some sun by the pool no matter what, but making it a nightclub atmosphere just entices them more. Everybody wants to party and they want to be in the sun while they do it."[11]

Rehab remained popular a decade after its opening. Aside from pool renovations and expansions, the event stayed largely the same over the years, a fact that the Hard Rock Hotel cited as a reason for Rehab's success.[6] In 2013, Rehab hosted a bikini contest called the Bikini Invitational,[33][34][35] which became a yearly event at Rehab.[36][22][37] New bungalows were added to the event in 2015, followed by a revamped stage in 2016.[38] In June 2018, it was announced that Rehab would come to an end later that year, as new owners prepared to renovate the Hard Rock and rebrand it as Virgin Hotels Las Vegas.[39] Rehab held its final pool party on October 14, 2018.[20][40]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Brown, Joe (September 26, 2008). "Rehab's spring break-like party calls it quits for season". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  2. ^ a b Villano, Matt (June 10, 2007). "Hard Rock's Rehab is One Big Party". SFGate. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  3. ^ "Snoop Dogg kicks off the opening of Rehab at the Hard Rock". VegasInc. April 17, 2009. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  4. ^ Stapleton, Susan (September 2, 2013). "Haute Event: Snoop Dogg Takes Over Rehab at the Hard Rock Hotel". Haute Living. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  5. ^ "Drake, Lil' Wayne Perform at Hard Rock's Rehab". Las Vegas Review-Journal. May 30, 2011. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  6. ^ a b c Domanick, Andrea (April 25, 2013). "Hard Rock Hotel's Rehab is still sizzling at 10 years: 'If it ain't broke, don't fix it'". Las Vegas Weekly. Archived from the original on May 30, 2013.
  7. ^ De La Cruz, Kimberly (April 18, 2016). "Pauly D brings a little bit of Jersey to Rehab". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  8. ^ Radke, Brock (August 17, 2016). "Pauly D gets amped for his final Rehab set of the summer". Las Vegas Weekly. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  9. ^ a b Latham, Jason R. (August 30, 2018). "The final countdown: Five things we'll miss most about Rehab Beach Club". Las Vegas Weekly. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  10. ^ a b c d e f Padgett, Sonya (May 29, 2009). "Rehab pool party boasts upbeat atmosphere with variety of music". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  11. ^ a b c Finnegan, Amanda (July 5, 2011). "Pool party trend paying off big for Las Vegas resorts". VegasInc. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  12. ^ Kaplan, Michael (August 26, 2007). "Losing Your Shirt, but Not in the Casino". The New York Times. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  13. ^ Sylvester, Ron (April 7, 2012). "High heels and low bikinis: It must be pool season in Vegas". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  14. ^ a b Green, Steve (December 25, 2010). "Court filing reveals Rehab reality TV show has been canceled". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  15. ^ a b c Elfman, Doug (May 7, 2004). "Sure Sign of Summer". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Archived from the original on May 30, 2004.
  16. ^ a b c d Mancini, Al (March 15, 2018). "How dayclubs became integral part of Las Vegas party scene". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
  17. ^ a b c d e f Radke, Brock (May 3, 2018). "Fifteen years ago, Rehab at the Hard Rock Hotel changed Las Vegas' pool-party game forever". Las Vegas Weekly. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  18. ^ "Rehab V 2.0: Are you ready for the summer?". Las Vegas CityLife. May 12, 2005. Retrieved April 13, 2020 – via NewsLibrary.
  19. ^ Kumler, Emily (May 26, 2005). "Little Rehabilitation at Rehab". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Archived from the original on January 4, 2006.
  20. ^ a b c Feldberg, Sarah (October 16, 2018). "The end of an era: Rehab says goodbye". Travel Weekly. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  21. ^ Bond, Courtney (September 4, 2018). "D. J.s, Swim Briefs, $25 Coladas: In Vegas, the Party's at the Pool". The New York Times. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  22. ^ a b Radke, Brock (January 21, 2016). "Ready for Rehab? Hard Rock Hotel preps its iconic pool party". Las Vegas Weekly. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  23. ^ Woodman, Xania (March 18, 2007). "Hard Rock Hotel's sexy Rehab leads the pool-party conga line". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  24. ^ Padgett, Sonya (May 27, 2010). "Hard Rock pool party, Rehab, only one in town with own television show". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  25. ^ "Rehab, Las Vegas". LA Travel Magazine. Archived from the original on November 11, 2013. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  26. ^ Manning, Mary (September 8, 2009). "8 arrested in undercover operation at Hard Rock's Rehab pool". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  27. ^ Mower, Lawrence (September 9, 2009). "Police arrest eight at casino's pool". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  28. ^ Manning, Mary (September 9, 2009). "Regulators expand probe at Hard Rock's Rehab pool". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  29. ^ Mower, Lawrence (September 10, 2009). "Gaming regulators looking into Hard Rock arrests". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  30. ^ Green, Steve (September 23, 2010). "Hard Rock brand sues, cites Rehab behavior at Las Vegas hotel". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  31. ^ a b Padgett, Sonya (September 2, 2011). "Hard Rock Hotel's Rehab pool party cleaning up image". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  32. ^ McKee, David (September 13, 2011). "Rehab in rehab". Las Vegas Advisor. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  33. ^ Labrador, Jorge (July 2, 2013). "Nightlife News & Notes: Bagatelle's new bashes, Rehab bikini battles and more". Las Vegas Weekly. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  34. ^ Parvis, Matthew (July 15, 2013). "A photo diary of the highly prestigious Rehab Bikini Invitational". Thrillist. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  35. ^ Ebelhar, Jessica (August 7, 2013). "Photo Story: Bikini Invitational celebrates beauty of bodies". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  36. ^ Stapleton, Susan (May 12, 2014). "Haute Event: Joanna Krupa Launches the Rehab Bikini Invitational". Haute Living. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  37. ^ Katsilometes, John (September 5, 2018). "Diddy, Mike Tyson host a splashy bash at Rehab Beach Club". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  38. ^ Ventura, Leslie (April 21, 2016). "Joe Bravo keeps the shine on the iconic Rehab experience". Las Vegas Weekly. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  39. ^ DeSilva, Kristen (June 18, 2018). "Rehab Beach Club to close amidst Hard Rock Hotel transition, CEO says". KVVU. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  40. ^ Lawrence, Christopher (October 11, 2018). "Rehab making final splash at Las Vegas' Hard Rock". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
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