You can never have too much golf, apparently.
Swingers Las Vegas, a new golf-themed lounge and restaurant at Mandalay Bay, has set an opening date: November 8, 2024. That’s the news. All of it.
Yes, it’s a slow news day.
Swingers will cost $50 million and encompass 40,000-square-feet with multiple bars, minigolf, food and something called the “Swingers Arcade.”
Which we’re pretty sure is going to lead to a lot of disappointment in the swingers community.
The new venue will be inspired by an English country estate, although nobody’s really sure why.
The news release does say, “As guests enjoy the venue, the country house will come alive with double-height, animated projection mapping that changes from day to night and with the seasons, transporting guests to the bucolic English countryside and setting the scene for the ultimate house party.”
“Bucolic”? Why bring up a plague, or possibly babies crying? Weird marketing.
According to the official announcement of the opening date, Swingers Las Vegas will feature: “Crazy Golf Courses” (four golf courses across three floors, each featuring its own layout), “Caddies with Cocktails” (guest can purchase drinks from caddies going hole to hole), “Bars and Beats” (Swingers’ Sunken Garden, main level; Estate Bar will span the length of the venue; The Clubhouse, upper level), “Street Food Eats” (food), “Swingers Carnival” (old-school games, points can be earned at the Swingers Carnival and used to redeem an array of prizes that will take guests back to their childhood) and “New Vegas Nightlife” (DJs).
Swingers is described as being “located only steps away from the Mandalay Bay parking garage entrance.” That’s the former Light nightclub space. You can see S Bar in the background.
Here’s the official Swingers site.
Because this story doesn’t feel enough about us, here’s the previous version of the Swingers.
In our original story about Swingers, we pointed out some nuances in the rendering. To the credit of Swingers, they appear to have adjusted the rendering accordingly.
Opportunities to smack balls abound in Las Vegas. There’s the O.G. Topgolf near MGM Grand, Atomic Golf at Strat and PopStroke at Town Square, a mall five minutes south of the Las Vegas sign.
We were going to predict tough times for Swingers, given the over-abundance of “interactive, immersive, competitive socializing” offerings in Las Vegas at the moment, but our crystal ball has been off ever since Play Playground opened at Luxor and made us look like a clueless idiot.
Companies with deep pockets continue to take big swings with venues like Atomic Golf. That complex at Strat cost $75 million to build.
These venues aren’t really about sports. They’re lounges and restaurants with sports activities to give people something to do and talk about.
You can throw darts at Flight Club at Venetian or throw axes at places like Axehole at Neonopolis and Dueling Axes at Area 15.
That was a shorter list than we thought it would be, but we’re exhausted from padding this story and don’t have the time or energy to Google anything. You get the idea.
Longtime Vegas obsessives will recall there was a short-lived (it survived about a year) Swingers Club at Plaza back in 2011. That was the brainchild of Anthony Cools, a comedy-hypnotist who now seems to be enjoying retirement. Swingers Club became the similarly short-lived The Drink. Plaza’s Sand Dollar has fared much better without golf, but it does have pool tables.
Minigolf is a tried-and-true way to spend an evening without breaking the bank, along with not having to be interesting or a good conversationalist.
It’s fascinating such venues are opening in and near casinos, as back in the day, casinos did everything they could to avoid customers doing anything but gamble. That’s why Las Vegas shows are shorter than other places. Shows can actually be penalized for running long, as it keeps gamblers away from the tables and machines.
Today, casinos are very interested in margins and monetizing idle spaces, and rent for a venue like Swingers is substantial. Attractions can draw bodies to a resort, some of whom might not have visited otherwise. Such attractions also appeal to a younger customer demographic, something casinos are very interested in given their core customer base is aging and dying off. Sorry, maturing and dwindling in size. It’s the circle of life!
We are not really a golf (or socializing) person, but we love TopGolf and Atomic Golf, so we’ll definitely give Swingers a go. There’s something for everyone in Las Vegas, and if you can’t beat ’em, you may as well join the club.
