"With summer just around the corner everyone is preparing for a palm-tree-and-bikini-infested battleground with the Las Vegas nightlife community going non-nocturnal and bringing the battle to the daylight hours at swimming pools up and down the Strip. While Rehab might be firing the opening volley next weekend when they kick-off their third annual summer of chaos, it is Tao that is positioning itself to run and gun in the summertime sun.

It is now official: Tao and the Venetian Hotel have formed a partnership that will give the Asian-infused hot spot their very own 14,000-square-foot outdoor entertainment facility and pool deck. The 21-and-over venue is shaping up to be both a daytime and nighttime operation with daylight hours focused on a French Riviera-style beach/pool club. The nighttime party scene expansion will serve as a fourth room to fill with the beautiful, the famous and the party-hungry. The pool will be accessible from the hotel's main pool area as well as from a stairway that is currently being constructed within the nightclub. "We expect the action to be non-stop day and night," noted Tao honcho Jason Strauss who will over-see the operational and marketing efforts of the new sun-soaked venue. "The venue will feature cabanas complete with flat-screen plasma TVs, pool tables and the other requisite perks," he continued, while adding that the 'bathtub babe' concept will certainly be extending to the new venue as well. "We are really excited about this new project and feel that the Las Vegas nightlife community will really love what we are doing. We will be blending party aspects of Ibiza, Monte Carlo and St. Tropez with Las Vegas and doing something no one has really done before in this city!"


Those of you oiling up already can slow down just a touch, the venue is still a few months away from its late summer opening date. One thing is for sure though, when it does open, it certainly sounds like it will push Las Vegas nightlife to the next level giving us true outdoor/poolside party venues to compete with similar venues that have enjoyed much success in Miami, Fla. It isn't the only expansion Tao has plans for either. One source told The Eye that they are currently negotiating with several other principles that would result in "brand expansion" venues elsewhere in the property. We're not 100 percent sure what that means, but it sounds promising! Expect many more details to follow as the pool deck finishes construction, and, as always, you can expect the Eye on Vegas to have the scoop first!." [Via lasvegasfoodservice.com]