Las Vegas: Forever Adulting

From the new Dazed Lounge pot smokers hang at the massive Planet 13 dispensary a block off the Strip, to a myriad of residency shows featuring strippers of every gender, (and not to mention 24-hour gambling) Las Vegas is a mecca for a specific kind of entertainment. Despite how family-friendly the city might have seemed for a brief period or still might like to think it is with hotel façades of castles, nightly dancing fountains, and pirate ships, sanitized offerings could never underscore the surely naughty adult nature of a place sporting the infamous catchphrase of “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.”

Dr. Victoria Hartmann, Director of the Erotic Heritage Museum, the sex-positive educational, performance, and exhibit space that sits right next to Planet 13, says, “I know as the Director of the Erotic Heritage Museum that visitors are looking for adult activities of a unique nature when visiting our venue - because they inquire with me and my staff every day.”

Into the mix of these adult activities comes the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino “Swingers Las Vegas,” indoor golf, and adult social spot. It's a new place that might very well speak to the ever present, adulting Las Vegas always seems to remind itself of.

What It Is

More than just a massive indoor minigolf, the soon-to-be-opening flagship location of Swingers spreads across 40,000 sq. ft. Featuring four mini courses, bars and private lounges, the space, modeled after an English country estate (the Swingers parent company is UK-based) also features a “double-height animated projection that transforms the spaces as much from day to night as contingent on the seasons, features a Swingers Carnival with its vibrant party scene,” the company’s press release states, emphasizing Swingers commitment to “Crazy golf and competitive socializing.”

The golf

Those four ‘crazy’ courses are laid out across three floors. The “Clocktower” and “Hot Air Balloon” courses, make up the heart of Swingers, while the “Carousel,” and the “Meteorite” courses are on the upper levels. And as is true of pretty much all minigolf, there are moving installments like windmills and waterwheels, plus jumps and loops to challenge even the best golfer.

Beyond the golf

Featuring what they call “Caddies with Cocktails,” where pretty much all libations can be ordered and delivered by caddies following players from hole to hole, to the main level’s Swingers’ "Sunken Garden" parasol-covered lounge with its DJ booth and two private rooms, the "Estate Bar" spanning the length of the club and "The Clubhouse" and "Carousel Lounge," drinking here is surely encouraged.

As drinking is surely encouraged throughout Las Vegas.

Swingers also features a new “street food” restaurateur and their carnival area where a Belle Epoque theme informs a space where guests can play old-school games and enjoy sideshows. Points earned playing those games can be used to redeem an array of prizes.

Mistress Kay, writer of sex toy reviewers and sex education articles at her Kinky World site describes her experience at the Swingers she went to in Washington D.C. as "....a blast to experience mini golf without waiting for families. Not only are the obstacles and difficulties crafted for adults, but being able to sip fruity cocktails and hit up street-food-style booths afterwards really rounds out the experience. It's an entire evening you won't forget anytime soon...all in one place."

And as she added about this particular location:

"There's something fun about being to able to say you're going to a Swinger's Club - even though there's no sex involved. It's really not that erotic/sexual of a location/experience. It's a big networking business for workers in DC if that gives you an idea of the vibe. It's fun, pretty, and lots of drinks."

The Vegas location might indeed prove more adulting.

Families come to Vegas

Tourism down in the late 1980s, when a new casino opened on or even close to the strip, some sort of family entertainment was attached to it, hoping to make Las Vegas a family destination. Treasure Island’s nightly pirate show, Excalibur’s medieval jousting event, and MGM Grand’s “Adventures Theme Park,” were all great examples of the city hoping to counter their adult entertainment reputation with family-friendly options. And as reported here, family fun still seems to be found in the city and a few places beyond it.

But as Dr. Hartmann weighs in again, “Las Vegas has been a veritable adult playground for most of its existence despite ongoing attempts to sanitize it by our city and state leaders. Countless adults without children, or with grown children, or parents needing a break think of Las Vegas as an escape. An adult playground.”

“It's good to see another adult-only establishment come to our wonderful city.”

Swingers might just be that establishment. Another example of the adulting of a city that will always be catering to adults.