While the term “visionary” is often reserved for artists and tech geniuses, when it comes to Vegas nightlife, Victor Drai begs consideration. In less than two decades’ time, the Casablanca-born businessman has been responsible for creating four iconic venues on the Vegas Strip and setting new standard in after-hours entertainment.
When Drai first arrived in Vegas, he claims that there wasn’t much in the way of high-end nightlife, so opening Drai’s After Hours in 1999 was his way of taking the club experience to a new level. “I don’t like to be like everybody – that’s my thing,” he says. “If you’re going to create something, you have to have something people don’t have, something different.“
Drai’s vision for After Hours was a hit, and it wasn’t long before legendary resort tycoon Steve Wynn took notice and approached him for assistance. In partnership with Wynn, Drai turned the La Bete at the Wynn Las Vegas into Tryst in 2007 – the first “pretty nightclub”, according to the entertainment mogul – and opened XS at The Encore in 2010.
His most recent work, however, might be his most ambitious. In 2014, he opened Drai’s Beachclub & Nightclub at The Cromwell, which lives up to his reputation for high-end aesthetics, but also adds a new wrinkle.
“When I opened Drai’s [Beachclub], I was trying to just open the club on the beauty of it, on the look, location,” he explains, “Then it didn’t work, so I decided to do live music and live hip-hop.
“I wanted to have live action – I didn’t want to have a star come in, sing a couple songs and get out. It was not my plan. So it was, ‘You come in here, and you do a real show.’ If you like music and you like stars, you see them at Drai’s like you can’t see them anywhere else.”
In just a short amount of time, the Drai’s live music model has successfully attracted some of the biggest live acts in the music world, along with a laundry list of high-profile attendees. And for the iconic club-owner, the experience never gets old.
“One of the amazing nights we had, I remember my son being next to me and he said to me, ‘You don’t understand, that guy is like, so big!’ It was so weird, but so cool – everyone was having the best time. I think all of these elements together have made what wound up to be pretty successful.”
Promoted by Drai’s Beachclub & Nightclub.