Drai’s Wrapping Up Rooftop Run at The Cromwell

^{Nestled on top of The Cromwell, Drai’s Beachclub & Nightclub offered prime rooftop views and entertainment. Now, as the venue prepares to close, the brand descends back down into the basement where it first began with Drai’s After Hours. (Photo: Ceri Breeze / Alamy)}

LAS VEGAS -- One of the Strip’s most iconic rooftop venues is preparing to undergo a serious operational change this fall. Drai’s Beachclub & Nightclub at The Cromwell announced the closure of the rooftop club set for Halloween weekend, with its final rooftop party scheduled for Nov. 2. The closure marks a major change for one of the Strip’s long recognized hip-hop clubs.

For now, only the rooftop venues are shutting down. Drai’s After Hours, the underground late-night club on the basement level, will continue to stay open five nights a week. However, the closure comes with drastic layoffs across all of Drai’s venues.

According to management, the rooftop space still has a promising future in Summer 2026 as a reimagined resort pool under a new name. Drai's will continue offering a mix of hip-hop, house, and other genres five nights a week in their basement club. But the fine print of which days they will be open now is still yet to be revealed.

Blow to Vegas Hip-Hop Nightlife?

The announcement was met with shock across social media. Many longtime visitors of the club expressed shock and disappointment for what’s to come. Many posts echoed the sentiment that Drai’s was the only reason they would even visit The Cromwell, showing just how deeply the venue was tied to the identity of the resort.

For others, the change has raised questions about whether the transformation into a resort pool will preserve any of the rooftop venue’s original style. Drai’s stuck out as one of the only large nightlife venues dedicated primarily to hip-hop on the Las Vegas Strip. With Drai’s being reduced to simply an after-hours club, it could lose its impact in a city where EDM has dominated the other competing venues.

The change also has fueled speculation about how Drai’s fits into Caesars Entertainment’s broader strategy for rebranding The Cromwell. Back in March, Lisa Vanderpump announced that she will be transforming The Cromwell into the Vanderpump Hotel. Vanderpump has already made her mark with restaurants at other Caesars Properties including Pinky’s at the Flamingo and Vanderpump Cocktail Garden at Caesar’s Palace.

"Lisa Vanderpump wants to have a new lounge there," commented Simon Sayz in a TikTok. "And hip hop ain't got nothing to do with her brand! I can tell you right now, there is no way Drai's stays there long term."

Given the timing just a few months later, fans still question how Drai's image will fit in with her more glamourous brand. That question remains unanswered but fueled plenty of social media commentary on the future of the property.

Layoffs Confirmed Across Drai’s Operations

The impact of the closure probably hits employees the hardest. According to files from the Nevada Department of Employment, Drai’s management has confirmed that 351 positions will be eliminated across its three venues:

• 236 jobs will be cut from the Nightclub
• 108 from the Beachclub
• 7 from After-Hours 

The layoffs impact a variety of positions including cocktail servers, marketing team members, bartenders, and more. Seasonal workers at the day club expected the end of their positions as the pool season comes to a close mid-October. But the cuts at After-Hours are more of a shock since the venue is set to remain open.

Drai’s Legacy on the Strip 

Over the years, Drai's has built a reputation as the Strip’s top hip-hop and RnB megaclub, hosting performers like The Weeknd, Chris Brown, Ne-Yo and others over the years.  At 65,000 square feet and 2 levels to party, both locals and visitors have made it a prime spot for hip-hop fans in Vegas. 

“We’ve welcomed over four million guests and hosted residencies with more than 40 iconic artists,” said Victor Drai. “Some of whom have been with us from the very beginning.”

But the venue’s history also includes some controversy. The venue was the site of Cardi B’s 2023 microphone-throwing incident against a fan who splashed her with water during a performance, and NFL player Alvin Kamara’s arrest for violently assaulting another club guest. Even further back, Drai’s reputation has been shadowed by frequent fights, including a fatal shooting in 2013 and a massive brawl after the Mayweather vs. McGregor fight in 2017. Past alterations at the venue have led to it being caught up in some not-so-positive headlines through the years.

What Comes Next for the After-Hours Spot

Still, Drai’s owners Victor Drai and his son Dustin Drai are pushing back on the idea that the change is the end of the club as people know it. In the initial announcement of the shift to the basement club, they framed the closure not as a loss, but as an evolution of what nightlife is becoming. 

It will be interesting to see what the future holds for both Drai’s and The Cromwell as the rebrand into The Vanderpump Hotel. Drai's After-Hours venue will need to deliver the Drai’s legacy in a more intimate setting for both the artists they book and the guests who may want to visit. Meanwhile, the rooftop’s transformation into a resort-style pool in 2026 signals a new direction for the hotel and casino that may be dramatically different than what was there before.

“The future of nightlife isn’t about the biggest room or the biggest artist,” said Dustin Drai. “It’s about the people you’re with, the room you’re in, and the feeling you get when it all comes together.”