August 22, 2006

If size matters, Sapphire is the biggest club in the world

Club Review: Sapphire, The Jewel of Las Vegas
By Matt Jacob

Inside of Sapphire Gentlemmens Club

First impression upon setting foot in Sapphire Gentlemen's Club: This is not your average nudie bar. Second impression: You can land a 747 in here!

Opened in the shadows of the Las Vegas Strip in December 2002, Sapphire certainly lives up to its billing as "The World's Largest Gentlemen's Club," as the two-story topless venue is spread out over 72,000 square feet.

The club's owners could've just as easily chosen to go with the slogan "World's Most Lavish Gentlemen's Club." The place is that swank. Private skyboxes overlook the action on the main floor. Warhol-esque paintings adorn the walls. A Glass catwalk hovers 35 feet above the main showroom. Enormous flat screen TVs show an always changing selection of sexy music videos. Yep, Sapphire broke the strip-club mold. You could spend hours here and never guess that it was once an athletic club, where many of the girls likely used to sculpt their hard bodies.

It was hardly a cheap conversion. The club's owners spent in excess of $30 million to overhaul the place, with one goal in mind: Give Las Vegas a first-class gentlemen's club, one that gives off a vibe that's more nightclub than strip club.

Since the day it opened with a star-studded bash that featured the all-star rock band Camp Freddy, Sapphire has consistently been one of the most sought-after gentlemen's clubs in Sin City. And not just for customers looking for a good time, but for entertainers, too. In fact, Sapphire features a roster of more than 6,000 dancers, and on a busy weekend night, you'll find as many as 600 on the prowl.

Less than half of them actually live in Vegas. Rather, the majority travel from such cities as New York, Chicago, Dallas and LA--there are even two dancers who commute every few months from Russia.

"Our clientele entices [dancers] because a lot of [the customers] are high-end," says publicist Debbie Rose. Second is the club's luxurious atmosphere. "Our dancers feel protected here," Rose adds. "It's a beautiful environment, and the girls are very well taken care of. Our girls are never asked to do anything other than abide by the law."

Once a dancer hits the floor, though, her moneymaking potential is limitless. She can give $20-per-song lap dances in the huge main room, the center of which is domiNude Ambition ted by an expansive glass stage and staircase that leads to the second-story catwalk. (The main room also features two bars at opposite ends of the room, as well as a massive floor-to-ceiling fiber-optic wall that constantly changes colors). Or she can dance for a group in the "Rock Star Lounge," which is essentially a dozen or so chairs strategically arranged to provide a bird's-eye view of the overhead glass stage.

FiNude Ambition lly, there's Sapphire's piece de resistance: 10 second-story skyboxes. The skyboxes vary in size and price, but all include comfortable couches, beautiful furnishings, satellite television, bottle service and a one-way view of the action down below. It's little surprise, given the seclusion offered by the skyboxes, that they've been a big hit with many a rock star and Hollywood A-lister.

On Industrial Road just west of the famous Las Vegas Strip behind the Stardust hotel-casino. Open 24/7. (702) 796-6000, www.sapphirelasvegas.com.