My Night Out with the Big Dog
Most of you reading this have probably visited Las Vegas at one point or another. I love Las Vegas. It’s like a big playground for adults. A city designed entirely around gambling, drinking, and being naughty. That famous slogan What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas is right on the money. No wonder they call it Sin City. As with any city in the world, it’s all about who you know, and this is especially true of Vegas. I have been pretty lucky in meeting the right people in town. One of those people is Andrew Sasson. Most of you probably haven’t heard of him but, believe me, if you have ever been to Vegas, you have probably visited one of his many creations.
Andrew was born in South London and right from the get-go was a bit of a pain in the ass. He will admit he has a serious temper and can be very difficult to work for. He has his own style of running ship but, whatever it is, it’s paid off. He moved from London to
Spain at the age of 15 after being kicked out of high school, and started waiting tables for his father. Soon he started boozing and chasing chicks. Then, after moving to America… the rest is history!
Andrew moved to Florida where he was the door guy at a hot Miami spot called Velvet. But, for Andrew, running the door wasn’t enough. He would always hang out in the office and behind the scenes to see how the business was run. And once he’d learned the business, he moved to New York to open his own joint. After a couple of successful clubs in New York, he set his sights on Vegas.
In 2001, he convinced Bobby Baldwin (the big dog in Vegas) to open up Club Light at the Bellagio. This was the very first time there was an upscale nightclub on the Strip. And at the Bellagio of all places! I can tell you from my own personal experience (having partied at Light a solid 100 times and having spent an obscene amount of money there) that there is no party like a good party at Light. Some of the best going-out nights
of my entire life have taken place there.
I walked into the poker room at Bellagio the other night and found myself a semi-juicy No Limit game. Andrew was in Seat 3 and the game was relatively short. I took a seat to his left and started gambling right away. I’ve played with him many times in the past, but it had been quite some time. In the old days, he was JUICY. He played almost every hand and was in it till the end. Nowadays he is actually playing relatively tight. Not at all what I wanted to see! After a long session of cards, and after felting him twice (Sorry, Andrew, had to throw that in!), we called it quits; however, we made plans to party the next night.
I don’t mean to toot my own horn when I say that I’m pretty well-hooked-up in Vegas. I am. But Andrew… well, that’s a whole other story. I guess when you own half of the best clubs and restaurants in town, you tend to get treated like royalty. He offered me a bet at 3:1 that he could out-drink me shot for shot. He was taking Patron and I was doing Jagar. I knew this was one of the worst bets I could have made considering I could end up in the hospital. We didn’t put any money on it, but there was a bit of pride and ego riding on the line. The guy outweighs me by thirty pounds and is ENGLISH for god sakes! What was
I thinking!?!?! In any case, I told him I would keep up with him.
We went to the LURE Ultra Lounge at the Wynn. Talk about a beautiful lounge! Half indoor, half outdoor, this place is truly magnificent. Andrew’s old partner Sean Christi runs the joint and had us all set up ahead of time. We rolled in and got to our table, only to find a bottle of Goose, Jack, Patron, and Jagar eagerly awaiting our arrival. Andrew wasted no time in rolling out the shots. Couple of hours later, I’m WASTED! But seeing as how I said I would keep up with him, I had no choice but to keep going. Shot after shot… it just didn’t stop. He was on a mission to get me wrecked. After a couple of hours at LURE, and many short, useless conversations with cuties (somehow the girls seemed to be drawn to our area), I tried to pull a quick one on him. I asked the waitress to make us two more shots but make mine a Coca Cola (Coke can pass for Jagar). She brought them over and gave me a smirk. I toasted Andrew and we took our shot. He looked over at me with this look as if he knew what I had just done… I tried to keep a cool face until he grabbed my glass and smelled the rim. Oops… he nailed me good! He told the waitress to bring over two Jagars and, as punishment for trying to pull one on him, I had to take them both. He had a point. The shots arrived, I took them, and that was that. I was DONE.
I could barely stand up straight and could not even bare the thought of another shot. I also knew Andrew wouldn’t let me leave — it wasn’t even 2am! I had no choice but to disappear. No goodbye, no thank you, just a quick disappearing act. Thanks, Andrew, for a great night and a VERY serious hangover.
Antonio
Antonio’s new show I BET YOU premieres May 7th on Mojo.
