A Las Vegas tradition is slowly disappearing, and locals blame “corporate greed” for its downfall.
The lounge show was popular in the 1950s and 1960s, with small, intimate venues hosting a full night of entertainment – the heart of the Las Vegas entertainment industry.
But the arrival of mega resorts and hotels in the late 1980s and early 1990s made the hotel the focal point for visitors, with the Las Vegas residencies of superstars from Céline Dion to Cirque du Soleil becoming the biggest draw when it came to Sin City entertainment.
In comparison, the humble performance hall has been relegated to the background, and those that still exist are hanging by a thread.
One such venue is the Moroccan-themed Shag Room, which still hosts a show every Wednesday, with four hours of open-mic entertainment featuring singers from country to rap who perform two songs each over a four-hour period.
Las Vegas lounge shows, popular in the 1950s and 1960s, are disappearing due to corporate greed. Mega resorts and superstar residences have eclipsed these intimate venues (file photo)
The Shag Room at the Virgin Hotel still hosts open mic nights that attract hundreds of people.
The Shag Room has a Moroccan theme and typically attracts hundreds of people every Wednesday night.
It still draws hundreds of spectators, proving that the idea is still alive. But in a crowded market, shows at the hall have had to compete with the appeal of global superstars such as Lady Gaga, Adele or Elton John, whose tickets can cost hundreds of dollars.
The Shag Room’s late-night emcee Shawn Eiferman says the decline of shows that were once a Las Vegas staple is purely due to what boosts the venue’s revenue.
“It’s corporate greed,” Eiferman told the Chronicle of San Francisco. ‘In every casino in town there’s someone in a suit in an upstairs office who’s never been in a lounge. They don’t care. They want to maximize profits, so they decide to turn the lounges into bingo halls.
“Without what we do in this little room, there would be no reason to come to this hotel on a Wednesday night.”
The Shag Room is located in Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Hotel, which opened in May 2021 and is located off the Strip. The hotel believes that by offering something different, guests will be able to experience it for themselves.
Other venues in Sin City include the Piazza Lounge at Tuscany Suites & Casino, across from the Strip, which offers shows five nights a week, Friday through Wednesday. The Rush Lounge, inside the Golden Nugget downtown, also offers musical entertainment nightly.
But even when lounge shows were popular decades ago, they were never a big source of revenue for venues.
The Hard Rock Hotel became the Virgin Hotel in May 2021 and is located across from The Strip.
Each performer is only allowed to perform two songs each over the course of four hours.
The Shag Room offers free entertainment via their open mic with no drink minimum.
It’s a topic that author David Schwartz has written about in Las Vegas history books.
“Casino operators began maximizing revenue from the entire property in the late 1980s,” Schwartz said. “Today, pools are paid-entry day clubs. Parking fees at casinos have become standard fare. It’s hard to see where a free or inexpensive lounge for customers fits in.”
This is what makes The Shag Room stand out on the Las Vegas scene, including the fact that there is no drink minimum, a rare notion in a city motivated by squeezing every last inch of profit.
Despite being an open mic night, there’s nothing amateur about the polished performances, and many of the participants hope to make some money along the way and possibly find their big break.
The Rush Lounge, inside the Golden Nugget center, features musical artists nightly.
The Piazza Lounge at Tuscany Suites & Casino, across from the Strip, features entertainers five nights a week, Friday through Wednesday.
The two-song limit at The Shag Room allows for between 20 and 25 artists to take the stage over the four-hour period.
These include the interpreter, Mackenzie Sol, originally from England, made it to the final 24 on American Idol earlier this year.
Performances at The Shag Room have led to Sol undertaking a paid solo residency at the same venue.
“I love playing in a lounge,” Sol said. Gate of Saint Francis. “It’s intimate and you can connect with each person.”
Virgin Hotels Las Vegas President Cliff Atkinson said the venue is part of the property’s overall strategy to offer a variety of options when it comes to entertainment.
The Shag Room allows local Las Vegas talent a stage to perform while offering an experience that is hard to find anywhere else on The Strip.
Even hotels that advertise having lounges usually mean there’s a DJ playing, rather than a live performance — all part of a dying breed of nighttime entertainment in Las Vegas decades past.