The annual International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) – with over 180,000 registered participants – descends upon Sin City this coming week. If you’re joining us from out of town and are attending the conference, then you are in store for hellacious crowds, physically demanding marathon race-walks, and long days stacked back-to-back with vendor/partner meetings, sales pitches, and product demos. But hey, don’t let this Vegas trip on the company dime go to waste. You know what they say: Work Hard, Play Harder. And you can always catch up on sleep on the long plane ride home… or when you’re dead.
Here’s a recap of the best parties around town after the sun goes down during CES 2018 Week:
Monday, January 8th, 2018
French Montana @ Marquee Nightclub
French is ready to go “All The Way Up” for CES – are you?
CES doesn’t officially kick off until Tuesday morning, but the majority of convention attendees will fly into town on Monday morning, set up their booths at the Las Vegas Convention Center all afternoon, and be chomping at the bit to get the party started in Sin City as the sun goes down. There are a few Monday night events and mixers around town, including the free Startup Night Downtown Vegas, where visitors can get a sneak peek at 15 of the hottest local startups from nearby Eureka Park. NASA, Lighter Capital, Scout Ventures, and other industry leaders will help select two winners who will go on to compete in the 2018 Startup of the Year competition. Welcome mixers end around 9pm, and the hottest afterparty will be at Marquee Industry Mondays, where Grammy-nominated Moroccan-American hip-hop star French Montana will take CES revelers “All The Way Up” into the wee hours of the morning. Pro tip 1: Sign up for the *FREE guest list* using the Discotech app. Pro tip 2: MAKE SURE YOU WAKE UP. Set your hotel room alarm clock BEFORE you head out onto the Strip… or tell a co-worker to send you a wakeup call so you can get to the Convention Center or where you need to be on time. Or else your employability will be going all the way down.
Time: 10:00 PM – 5:00 AM
Venue: Marquee @ Cosmopolitan (3708 S Las Vegas Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89109)
Tuesday, January 9th, 2018
Don’t ask them to play that Blink 182 song that you beat to death in Tucson, OK?
Is there any doubt that 2017 was the year of The Chainsmokers? A slew of Song of The Decade candidates, a global world tour that can only be described as EPIC, and of course the residencies at two of the hottest nightclubs in Vegas. This past year the duo put on numerous supercharged performances to packed houses at XS Nightclub and Encore Beach Club at the Wynn — and on the heels of the Grammy-winning pop duo’s incredible inaugural year as Steve’s nightlife residents, The Chainsmokers will headline Sin City’s biggest convention week behind the decks at XS Nightclub. Tickets will start at $50 for men and $35 for ladies, giving access to both indoor and outdoor sections of the mega-club (stage access is not included unless you have a table). Tables range from a $2K minimum spend on the outdoor patio to a $15K minimum spend for VIP stage tables, with tax/gratuity/venue fees totaling about 35% on top of your group’s final spend amount.
Time: 10:30 PM – 4:00 AM
Venue: XS @ The Encore (3131 Las Vegas Blvd S, Las Vegas, NV 89109)
Cake, cake, cake, cake, cake, cake, cake….
A 2017 Hakkasan Group resident and the selected headliner for their 2018 Consumer Electronics Show festivities at their flagship venue, Steve Aoki is known for the enthralling electronic sounds and hard-hitting beats of his highly energetic shows. The DJ, producer, and California native began his musical career in 1996 as founder of Dim Mak Records; since then his label has released over 250 music records for other notable electro house artists such as Datsik, Infected Mushroom, Dada Life, Zeds Dead, Aoki’s own collaboration with Tiësto, MSTRKRFT, The Bloody Beetroots, Felix Cartal and Mustard Pimp, Bloc Party, Battles, The Kills, The Gossip, Klaxons, Scanners, Whitey, and Mystery Jets just to name a few. A surefire fan favorite for his captivating stage presence and zany antics – his signature move is throwing cakes into the crowd – Aoki enthralls dance floors and concert halls around the globe with his remixes and collaborations with some of the best-known DJs and recording artists of our time, including Celine Dion. This is the official opening party for CES, and all CES attendees will enjoy an open bar from 10-11 PM and complimentary entry with their CES badge or event pass. Will Aoki invite any CES visitors to join him on stage at Omnia to do his world-famous “Aoki Jump” for the 2018 jump-off? Get your tickets and make plans now, because it could be you…
Time: 10:30 PM – 4:00 AM
Venue: OMNIA @ Caesar’s Palace (3570 S Las Vegas Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89109)
Wednesday, January 10th, 2018
That one time you took off the VR headset and the person in front of you STILL looked like THIS.
Midway through CES week, your brain will probably be fried by all the relentless techie small talk, Virtual Reality headsets, driverless car rides, and awkward social interactions with the hordes of nerds and hipsters. Wouldn’t it be fund to recharge by spending part of your CES rollicking and laughing the night away with one of EDM’s most talented artists and one of its funniest, quirkiest personalities? After your CES company dinner, leave the graybeards of upper management at the slot machines, because this show will be for the twentysomething kids (and Janice in Accounting, because she’s cool AF). A picture is worth a thousand words, and a Youtube clip is worth a million. Enough said.
Time: 10:30 PM – 4:00 AM
Venue: Intrigue @ The Wynn (3131 S Las Vegas Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89109)
The boss that you wish you had at work.
Not only is CES one of the most exciting weeks for technology, it’s also an exciting week for music, as prime music artists flock to Vegas to entertain the masses that the convention brings in to town. Mandalay Bay at the far south end of The Strip – one of the furthest hotels away from the Las Vegas Convention Center – is getting in on the action too. But after a long couple of days covering over 1,900 square feet of exhibitions, you’ll definitely need to unwind and may not be up for the hike (or monorail ride). The choice is yours: you can head back to your room, crawl into bed, put on the noise-canceling headphones, and lose yourself in some gangster rap… or you can dump all your pamphlets, shower up, get suited and booted, and find your second wind with Grammy-winning rapper Rick Ross and the gorgeous crowd he always draws. We strongly suggest Option #2 – because nothing gets your mind off your mean boss like your dream boss AKA “The Boss” AKA Ricky Rozay.
Time: 10:30 PM – 5:00AM
Venue: Light @ Mandalay Bay (3950 S Las Vegas Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89119)
Thursday, January 11th, 2018
New Year’s resolution for this guy: More Vegas.
What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. It looks like globe-trotting DJ and producer Tiësto will be staying as well, with the extension of his multi-year residency, which will go through 2020. The news was revealed last month in a press statement made by Hakkasan Group, which operates Hakkasan Nightclub, Wet Republic and several other clubs for both day and nightlife. “It is an honor to return to Hakkasan Group and to continue my residencies at Hakkasan Nightclub and Wet Republic,” says Tiësto. “Vegas has come to feel like home, and through my residency with Hakkasan Group, I feel proud of the space we’ve created here for dance music. I look forward to many more opportunities to be inspired by this incredible city in venues that are consistently full of energy.” Tiësto’s first performance of 2018 comes during CES; the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino will also be converting its main lobby to host meet-and-greets and more. Tickets to both events can be purchased here.
Time: 10:30 PM – 5:00 AM
Venue: Hakkasan @ MGM Grand (3799 S Las Vegas Blvd S ,Las Vegas, NV 89109)
One beat please. Bacon-wrapped, hold the ketchup, hold the relish.
We assume most of you – yes, even you CES nerds – are at least peripherally familiar with DJ Mustard at this point. Even if you aren’t, you’ve definitely heard a beat he’s created on your local radio station within the past five years, and you couldn’t get away from DJ Mustard in 2017: he burned up the airwaves month after month collaborating with some of hip-hop’s biggest names. The Pushaz Ink affiliate has pioneered what he describes as “ratchet music”, and is a close friend of fellow California artist YG, also serving as his official tour DJ. Throughout his young career, the L.A. native has already collaborated with the likes of Young Jeezy, Tyga, 2 Chainz, TeeFlii, Nipsey Hussle, Ty Dolla $ign and many more. Let’s face it: YG’s “My N*gga”, 2 Chainz’ “I’m Different” and Tyga’s “Rack City” are all DJ Mustard tracks that you – and every techie in your IT department and coding development team – had in your Spotify playlist and secretly know all the words to. Now is your chance to sing along in person with zero shame and zero f*cks given, as Mustard returns to the site of his 2017 Vegas residency for a special CES performance featuring surprise guests and all his hits. Main room tables start at $1,000 minimum spend; if you have control of the company AMEX card, those dance floor tables go for $4,000 and can be expensed to “team-building exercises” that are way more fun than trapezes or yoga retreats.
Time: 10:00 PM – 4:00 AM
Venue: Tao @ The Venetian (3355 S Las Vegas Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89109)
Friday, January 12th, 2018
If you made it this far into CES week… then you’re from here.
Electronic dance music reigned supreme in Vegas throughout 2017, consistently commanding the highest-price tickets and tables in nightclubs around town. That being said, there’s no doubt that hip-hop is enjoying a resurgence at the moment, and Drai’s Las Vegas has been a big reason behind that comeback. This past year saw Drai’s surge to the top of the Vegas hip-hop nightlife ecosystem by committing to booking top-tier talent – Future, Migos, G-Eazy, Lil’ Wayne, to name a few – which in turn made Drai’s a coveted brand and destination not only for hip-hop royalty but for professional athletes and all of black Hollywood. Yeah, yeah, yeah – we know that the Official CES Closing Party is just down the road at the Venetian. But half of your compadres will already have skipped town, and the eggheads who worked too hard all convention week will be trying too hard to have fun there. So trust us when we say the better party atmosphere will be elsewhere on the strip. The coolest Vegas stories come from partying with the cool kids AKA us Vegas locals, and there will be plenty of them at the legendary Drai’s on Friday night bumping to DJ Esco and taking their city back from the hordes of CES tourists, prior to ending the night / starting the morning next door at the infamous Drai’s After Hours.
Time: 10:00 PM – 4:00AM (Drai’s After Hours goes from 2:00am to noon)
Venue: Drai’s Nightclub @ The Cromwell (3595 Las Vegas Blvd S, Las Vegas, NV 89109)
More events and more venues for CES 2018 in Las Vegas can be found on the Discotech app. Safe travels to and from Sin City, enjoy the convention, and look for Discotech back in your own town! (We’re in 25 North American cities and counting…)
