As the dance world descends on Sin City for its now-annual pre-EDC confab, we thought it would be a good time to check in with the nightlife mecca's highly touted club residencies. The Las Vegas club scene is so vast that it can be hard to keep straight who's playing where and when, not just this week but all summer. We did the dirty work for you and compiled this rundown of the biggest residencies of 2014.Hakkasan at MGM Grand
Decadent chart toppers.
Drama over Hakkasan's roster of residents has been stirring headlines all year. A few months ago, Deadmau5, one of the originals when the club opened in April 2013, ditched his contract with the MGM nightclub and returned to XS, at the rival Wynn Hotel. The three-story, LED-covered venue still features residents Tiësto, Calvin Harris, Hardwell, Bingo Players and Steve Aoki and now also Afrojack, Above & Beyond, Sunnery James & Ryan Marciano, NERVO and more. The calendar also includes special appearances by wunderkind Martin Garrix on June 23 and mastermind Moby on July 13.XS at Encore
Hakkasan's arch nemesis.
XS is still giving Hakkasan a run for its money. Located in the Wynn Hotel, which also houses the Encore Beach Club and its nighttime counterpart, Surrender, XS has booked regular appearances from just about every celebrity spinner MGM doesn't have: Skrillex, Avicii, Zedd, Steve Angello, Diplo, RL Grime, and Deadmau5 are slated to appear in the next week. Sets from Cazzette, David Guetta, DJ Snake, Major Lazer, Zedd, Martin Solveig, Wolfgang Gartner, and Tommy Trash are slated to follow. The Wynn roster is spread across its venues and also includes non-EDM artists like will.i.am and Lil Jon.Encore Beach Club and Surrender
Lavish poolside dayclub.
Warm summer days at the Wynn aren't wasted at Encore, its lavish poolside day club. The three-tier pool is peppered with 26 luxury cabanas that come equipped with refrigerators and flat-screen TVs in case you get bored of clubbing while you're at the club. Its list of residents differs slightly from XS, but there is some overlap—in addition to Guetta, Avicii, Cazzette, Diplo, DJ Snake, Martin Solveig, Major Lazer, Steve Angello, Zedd and Tommy Trash, Encore has invited Adrian Lux, Dillon Francis, and Macklemore to bring the vibes. On Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday nights, Encore becomes Surrender, which is known for having a more relaxed wardrobe policy than other local hangouts.Tryst at the Wynn
Relative unknowns and artisan cocktails.
Tryst is the most understated Wynn hotspot, which doesn't mean much. The club is located by a private lagoon under a 90-foot waterfall and serves up artisan cocktails that involve 15-year-old doses of Grand Marnier (which make it super easy to rack up a $190,000 receipt while you're hanging out there—so we're told). However, the lineup of residents isn't celebrity-oriented—besides Lil Jon and Alec Monopoly, most of the DJs are relative unknowns.AFTER at Mandalay Bay
Snobby, late-night Vegas vigilantes.
Like Hakkasan, AFTER has incited its fair bit of viral turmoil. Back in February, the new club's list of DJ rules hit the Internet and lambasted what it refer to as "the recent trend of EDM commercialization and homogenization that has permeated Las Vegas nightclubs." Those uniform offenses included dropping any dubstep, trap, and hip-hop, playing a pre-mixed set, using automatic beat-matching software, and speaking on the microphone. The snobby code of conduct aims to set AFTER apart from other flossy Vegas clubs, and its laws extend to those who attend; visitors aren't allowed to wear baseball caps, baggy jeans, sports jersey, or "excessive/exposed chains." Its residents, who take over every Saturday from 3am to 9am, aren't the typical EDM heavyweights. In fact, the list only includes three names: Spacebyrdz, Black Boots, and Steve Prior.Light at Mandalay Bay
Unpretentious clubbing with a Cirque du Soleil twist.
For all of AFTER's talk of bucking mainstream trends in the Vegas club ecosystem, the other club located within the Mandalay Bay resort seems to feed right into the hype. Light, the nighttime counterpart to Mandalay Bay's Daylight day club, has booked a huge EDC week lineup: Nicky Romero on Wednesday, Carl Cox on Thursday, Alesso on Friday, followed by the the debut club appearance from Axwell / Ingrosso on Saturday. This month also features performances from Baauer, Clockwork, and Krewella, and other residents include Skrillex, Axwell, and A-Trak. However, Light does match AFTER's vigilante attitude in some respects—the club promises an experience free of velvet ropes, burly doormen, and super expensive tickets.Drai's
The new kid on the strip.
Victor Drai's latest venture is the new club on the strip—it only opened a few weeks ago. Simply called Drai's, the freshly-minted spot is the first rooftop beach club in Vegas, located atop the first luxury boutique hotel in Sin City, the Cromwell. Drai's operates as a beach club during the day, then transitions to a start-studded nightclub in the evening, and finally opens its after-hours lounge late at night. For such a young club, Drai's has an incredibly stacked lineup for its first year: in-house regulars include Adventure Club, 12th Planet, and Eric Prdyz, and it's also slated Luciano and 3LAU to appear in the coming weeks.Marquee at Cosmopolitan
An exhaustive roster of big-name talent.
Marquee's bookings have always been a bit conspicuous. The original residents like trance headliners Above & Beyond, and the duos Sunnery James & Marciano and W&W left the spot to ink deals with Hakkasan. This year, Marquee rolled out an exhaustive list of 27 resident DJs that included returning Marquee-er Kaskade, Armin Van Buuren, Benny Benassi, ATB, Chuckie, Gareth Emery, Markus Schulz, Cedric Gervais, Porter Robinson, Jamie Jones, and Claude VonStroke. Like Surrender, Marquee also runs a cabana-filled dayclub, and for those who don't come to the club to listen to dance music, they also offer a Boom Box room that blasts all different kinds of music aka "open format."Body English at the Hard Rock Hotel
For the omnivorous listener, not for the heads.
Body English also has an eclectic selection of music, which makes sense, as the nightclub is located in the Hard Rock Hotel—not exactly an icon of dance music culture. While its poolside venue is scheduled to host performances from the likes of Icona Pop and Flux Pavilion, on most nights it's a little more low-key. DJ Hope runs Throwback Thursdays, Koko takes over Fridays with his Rock Candy parties, and DJ Casanova rounds out the weekend with Body English Sundays.Hyde Bellagio
Early evening VIP bashes.
The Bellagio houses a handful of hotspots, including the Hyde, Lily Bar & Lounge, and The Bank. The Hyde runs early-evening parties on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays that start at 5pm, which are nice warm-ups because they don't focus solely on dancing for hours—in fact, the club doesn't have an official dance floor, just space to move between the VIP booths and tables. On Friday and Saturday nights, The Bank opens for business. DJ Five, the resident who hosts Saturday nights at The Bank, is the only listed resident at either club, but the Hyde is known for its Tuesday LA-themed industry party, Lost Angels, and The Bank runs a long-standing industry bash on Sundays.HAZE at Aria
The best hip-hop in Vegas.
To celebrate EDC weekend, HAZE invited GTA to spin at its decks, but the usual fare is less famous. On Fridays, Loczi hosts his LoveLoczi party, and DJ ERock takes over every Saturday through June. The modest lineup fits for a relatively small club, which fits under 2000 bodies, but the residents are known for providing some of the best hip-hop sets in Vegas.
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Decadent chart toppers.
Drama over Hakkasan's roster of residents has been stirring headlines all year. A few months ago, Deadmau5, one of the originals when the club opened in April 2013, ditched his contract with the MGM nightclub and returned to XS, at the rival Wynn Hotel. The three-story, LED-covered venue still features residents Tiësto, Calvin Harris, Hardwell, Bingo Players and Steve Aoki and now also Afrojack, Above & Beyond, Sunnery James & Ryan Marciano, NERVO and more. The calendar also includes special appearances by wunderkind Martin Garrix on June 23 and mastermind Moby on July 13.XS at Encore
Hakkasan's arch nemesis.
XS is still giving Hakkasan a run for its money. Located in the Wynn Hotel, which also houses the Encore Beach Club and its nighttime counterpart, Surrender, XS has booked regular appearances from just about every celebrity spinner MGM doesn't have: Skrillex, Avicii, Zedd, Steve Angello, Diplo, RL Grime, and Deadmau5 are slated to appear in the next week. Sets from Cazzette, David Guetta, DJ Snake, Major Lazer, Zedd, Martin Solveig, Wolfgang Gartner, and Tommy Trash are slated to follow. The Wynn roster is spread across its venues and also includes non-EDM artists like will.i.am and Lil Jon.Encore Beach Club and Surrender
Lavish poolside dayclub.
Warm summer days at the Wynn aren't wasted at Encore, its lavish poolside day club. The three-tier pool is peppered with 26 luxury cabanas that come equipped with refrigerators and flat-screen TVs in case you get bored of clubbing while you're at the club. Its list of residents differs slightly from XS, but there is some overlap—in addition to Guetta, Avicii, Cazzette, Diplo, DJ Snake, Martin Solveig, Major Lazer, Steve Angello, Zedd and Tommy Trash, Encore has invited Adrian Lux, Dillon Francis, and Macklemore to bring the vibes. On Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday nights, Encore becomes Surrender, which is known for having a more relaxed wardrobe policy than other local hangouts.
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Relative unknowns and artisan cocktails.
Tryst is the most understated Wynn hotspot, which doesn't mean much. The club is located by a private lagoon under a 90-foot waterfall and serves up artisan cocktails that involve 15-year-old doses of Grand Marnier (which make it super easy to rack up a $190,000 receipt while you're hanging out there—so we're told). However, the lineup of residents isn't celebrity-oriented—besides Lil Jon and Alec Monopoly, most of the DJs are relative unknowns.AFTER at Mandalay Bay
Snobby, late-night Vegas vigilantes.
Like Hakkasan, AFTER has incited its fair bit of viral turmoil. Back in February, the new club's list of DJ rules hit the Internet and lambasted what it refer to as "the recent trend of EDM commercialization and homogenization that has permeated Las Vegas nightclubs." Those uniform offenses included dropping any dubstep, trap, and hip-hop, playing a pre-mixed set, using automatic beat-matching software, and speaking on the microphone. The snobby code of conduct aims to set AFTER apart from other flossy Vegas clubs, and its laws extend to those who attend; visitors aren't allowed to wear baseball caps, baggy jeans, sports jersey, or "excessive/exposed chains." Its residents, who take over every Saturday from 3am to 9am, aren't the typical EDM heavyweights. In fact, the list only includes three names: Spacebyrdz, Black Boots, and Steve Prior.
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Unpretentious clubbing with a Cirque du Soleil twist.
For all of AFTER's talk of bucking mainstream trends in the Vegas club ecosystem, the other club located within the Mandalay Bay resort seems to feed right into the hype. Light, the nighttime counterpart to Mandalay Bay's Daylight day club, has booked a huge EDC week lineup: Nicky Romero on Wednesday, Carl Cox on Thursday, Alesso on Friday, followed by the the debut club appearance from Axwell / Ingrosso on Saturday. This month also features performances from Baauer, Clockwork, and Krewella, and other residents include Skrillex, Axwell, and A-Trak. However, Light does match AFTER's vigilante attitude in some respects—the club promises an experience free of velvet ropes, burly doormen, and super expensive tickets.Drai's
The new kid on the strip.
Victor Drai's latest venture is the new club on the strip—it only opened a few weeks ago. Simply called Drai's, the freshly-minted spot is the first rooftop beach club in Vegas, located atop the first luxury boutique hotel in Sin City, the Cromwell. Drai's operates as a beach club during the day, then transitions to a start-studded nightclub in the evening, and finally opens its after-hours lounge late at night. For such a young club, Drai's has an incredibly stacked lineup for its first year: in-house regulars include Adventure Club, 12th Planet, and Eric Prdyz, and it's also slated Luciano and 3LAU to appear in the coming weeks.Marquee at Cosmopolitan
An exhaustive roster of big-name talent.
Marquee's bookings have always been a bit conspicuous. The original residents like trance headliners Above & Beyond, and the duos Sunnery James & Marciano and W&W left the spot to ink deals with Hakkasan. This year, Marquee rolled out an exhaustive list of 27 resident DJs that included returning Marquee-er Kaskade, Armin Van Buuren, Benny Benassi, ATB, Chuckie, Gareth Emery, Markus Schulz, Cedric Gervais, Porter Robinson, Jamie Jones, and Claude VonStroke. Like Surrender, Marquee also runs a cabana-filled dayclub, and for those who don't come to the club to listen to dance music, they also offer a Boom Box room that blasts all different kinds of music aka "open format."Body English at the Hard Rock Hotel
For the omnivorous listener, not for the heads.
Body English also has an eclectic selection of music, which makes sense, as the nightclub is located in the Hard Rock Hotel—not exactly an icon of dance music culture. While its poolside venue is scheduled to host performances from the likes of Icona Pop and Flux Pavilion, on most nights it's a little more low-key. DJ Hope runs Throwback Thursdays, Koko takes over Fridays with his Rock Candy parties, and DJ Casanova rounds out the weekend with Body English Sundays.Hyde Bellagio
Early evening VIP bashes.
The Bellagio houses a handful of hotspots, including the Hyde, Lily Bar & Lounge, and The Bank. The Hyde runs early-evening parties on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays that start at 5pm, which are nice warm-ups because they don't focus solely on dancing for hours—in fact, the club doesn't have an official dance floor, just space to move between the VIP booths and tables. On Friday and Saturday nights, The Bank opens for business. DJ Five, the resident who hosts Saturday nights at The Bank, is the only listed resident at either club, but the Hyde is known for its Tuesday LA-themed industry party, Lost Angels, and The Bank runs a long-standing industry bash on Sundays.HAZE at Aria
The best hip-hop in Vegas.
To celebrate EDC weekend, HAZE invited GTA to spin at its decks, but the usual fare is less famous. On Fridays, Loczi hosts his LoveLoczi party, and DJ ERock takes over every Saturday through June. The modest lineup fits for a relatively small club, which fits under 2000 bodies, but the residents are known for providing some of the best hip-hop sets in Vegas.