Jewel Nightclub at Aria Permanently Closing After F1 Weekend

^{Headliners like Steve Aoki used to perform at Jewel Nightclub in its heyday, but the club’s era is coming to a close after Formula 1 weekend. (Photo: Tao Group Hospitality)}

LAS VEGAS – Jewel Nightclub at Aria will permanently close on Saturday, Nov. 21, 2026, according to an official press release from MGM Resorts. The closure caps off 10 years of service at the Las Vegas Strip resort, with the club’s final scheduled event landing during F1 race weekend.

Tao Group Hospitality's event calendar shows Kid Conrad as Jewel’s final headliner for Nov. 21, and the following weekend's events show the venue as closed. The venue's final night will fall during the Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix, one of Las Vegas' busiest annual tourism weekends.

MGM has confirmed that there are no immediate plans for the 24,000-square-foot space. In lieu of Jewel, the resort has pointed guests to its other nightlife options, including Easy's Cocktail Lounge, Lift Bar and Alibi Cocktail Social. Alibi closed earlier this year and is scheduled to reopen Nov. 13 with a new 1920s-inspired aesthetic.

Decade of A-List Nights at Jewel Coming to a Close

Jewel Nightclub opened in May 2016, replacing the Haze Nightclub concept that had previously occupied the space when Aria opened in 2009. Luxury architecture firm Rockwell Group handled the redesign, adding two levels, LED lighting, and five themed skybox suites.

The opening attracted plenty of celebrity attention, including appearances from members of the Kardashian family. Jewel established itself as a nightclub focused more on hip-hop than the other Tao Group Hospitality nightclubs on the Strip, hosting DJs and performers such as Usher, Nelly, Steve Aoki, and many others.

It was home to many celebrity parties, as to be expected with any nightclub at a casino on the Vegas Strip. The Golden State Warriors celebrated their championship there in June 2017, and the Las Vegas Aces celebrated winning a WNBA title there in 2023.

Dana White rented it out in 2022 for his daughter Savanna’s 16th birthday, with Lil Uzi Vert and DaBaby performing alongside a parade of 22 custom cakes made in her honor. In May 2024, Usher showed up for a surprise set at the club with Victoria Monet and Lil Jon after the city’s Lovers & Friends music festival was canceled due to high winds.

Despite that history, many locals barely knew it was still open. For what it’s worth, I went there for a friend’s birthday as part of a group getting bottle service last year, and nobody asked for my ID. In hindsight, it probably said more about how badly they needed bodies in the room than anything else.

A Similar Tale to Drai’s Down the Strip

This isn’t the only hip-hop-focused nightclub to shut its doors in the last year. Drai’s Beachclub and Nightclub closed its rooftop location at the Vanderpump (Cromwell at the time) around this same time in 2025, moving back into the basement space where it originally started. MGM hasn’t tied Jewel’s closure to anything specific like business performance at this time, but the connection is hard to ignore.

A source who previously spoke to Casinos.com said Tao Group has been focusing more of its attention on nightlife and dayclub concepts planned for Hard Rock Las Vegas, which could be part of why Jewel didn’t make the cut going into 2027. Tao Group already has Hakkasan Nightclub at MGM Grand in its portfolio for the big hip-hop headliners like Cardi B, Tyga, and even DJ Pauly D. 

Since Drai’s closed, it seems that Hakkasan has carried that side of the business rather than splitting attention across multiple venues as they do with their electronic dance music (EDM) megaclubs.

There’s been plenty of turnover across Las Vegas nightlife lately, but Tao Group itself has otherwise stayed steady – the company hasn’t announced venue closures in several years. But shutting doors right after one of the busiest weekends of the year makes sense: squeeze out the F1 big spenders, then shut the doors to redirect resources elsewhere.

With both of the Strip’s prominent hip-hop rooms now gone in such a short span of time, it’s hard not to notice that EDM still seems to be what keeps people coming back to the Strip’s biggest nightclubs.

Nightclub closures and changes happen constantly in Las Vegas; if a venue isn’t making enough money or something better could be in its place, it can’t stay open. Plenty of locals reacted to the news on social media, and many of them didn’t even realize Jewel was still open.

For now, Aria hasn’t said what will replace Jewel or if the space will get repurposed entirely. Jewel’s location downstairs, right at Aria’s entrance on Harmon, could actually be well-suited to something more exclusive, like a members-only club with a private valet, if MGM decided to go that route.

Visitors can check out the resort’s remaining nightlife lineup, or head to clubs at nearby MGM properties like Marquee Nightclub at The Cosmopolitan just across the street.