Tailgate Beach Club Bringing Year-Round Poolside Sports Viewing to Mandalay Bay in May

^{A rendering (left) shows how Tailgate Beach Club at Mandalay Bay will look once it opens in May. (Photos: Tailgate Beach Club, Richard Chegwidden / Alamy)}

LAS VEGAS – Prepare to say sayonara to Daylight Beach Club at Mandalay Bay as Tailgate Beach Club pushes towards opening on May 16. The poolside venue will be a new concept that puts stadium-style sports viewing in the spotlight in a dayclub atmosphere.

The opening of the new dayclub is timed to coincide with the NBA and NHL playoffs, starting off strong with Snoop Dogg headlining on opening weekend. The venue aims to offer a social viewing experience for sports and pop culture on the south end of the Strip, just steps away from Allegiant Stadium.

The announcement comes just months after the reopening of Forty Deuce, the burlesque nightclub inside Mandalay Bay.  

Casinos.com sat down and chatted with nightlife guru and Clique Hospitality Founder Andy Masi to discuss the reworked dayclub concept at Mandalay Bay as it takes shape.

“There’s so many incredible pools, but they’re all doing the same format,” Masi said. “A lot of people want to go out and want to be entertained, but going to see an EDM DJ isn't their thing. We wanted to do something different for the market and really serve an underserved audience.”

Bringing the Stadium Experience to the Dayclub

The reimagined space will take Daylight Beach Club’s old layout and add approximately 125 feet of LED screens and a 360-degree viewing setup visible from every part of the venue, including the club’s pools, cabanas, and bars. The capacity will be approximately 2,000 guests.

“The biggest addition is all the technology,” said Masi, founder of Clique Hospitality. “We added about 125-foot LED screens all around the place … three large super screens in the space that weren’t there before.”

RJMrLA performs at Daylight Beach Club in 2023, when the club was in its heyday in the post-COVID era. (Photo: Daylight Beach Club / Facebook)

The sportsbook-meets-dayclub concept is similar to Stadium Swim at Circa Resort and Casino. But unlike Circa’s downtown location, Clique Hospitality has swapped out Daylight’s traditional dayclub vibe for a sports-focused venue on the Strip at Mandalay Bay.

Clique Hospitality already operates a wide portfolio of nightlife venues and restaurants on the Strip at ARIA, The Cosmopolitan, Resorts World, and Caesars Palace. They also have many venues off-Strip, including Station Casinos properties Durango, Palace Station, Green Valley Ranch, and Red Rock.

The location on the south end of the Strip is a big plus for Tailgate. Being just a 15-minute stroll from Allegiant Stadium, the venue can serve as a natural gathering point on game day without the cost of attending in person.

During Raiders games, Mandalay Bay is a buzzing hotspot of activity compared to a typical day, particularly given the limited traditional tailgating options nearby. To make access easier, the venue will also feature a dedicated valet and drop-off area, allowing guests to enter directly without having to navigate across Mandalay Bay’s expansive casino.

Rather than competing directly with other Strip pool clubs that rely heavily on electronic dance music (EDM) headliners, Tailgate targets guests who want a fun daytime party atmosphere without the traditional DJ-driven model.

That shift also helps extend the venue’s usability beyond pool season. Tailgate will feature three heated pools and is expected to operate up to 10 months out of the year, according to Masi.  Depending on demand during the cooler months, heating elements are expected to be added throughout the space to keep guests comfortable while watching events.

Once completed, the venue will be open Thursday through Sunday from 11 a.m. until the “final whistle” of the day’s games, rather than a fixed party window led by DJ set times.

Snoop Dogg Headlining Opening Weekend, but Sports are the Focus

Instead of focusing on headlining DJs, Tailgate is designed to be an all-day hangout with built-in social elements. Clique thought Snoop Dogg was the perfect artist to start things off on the right foot, and may add artists for high-demand weekends. Otherwise, sports viewing will be the venue’s main purpose.

“The musical artists are not something we're really as focused on,” Masi said. “I wanted to do Snoop Dogg at the games because he's a cultural icon and he's so tied into sports like the Olympics and NFL games. I thought it was important to have an ambassador who represented both music, culture, and sports.”

To keep the focus on socializing and enjoying the live sports experience, cabanas will feature games like foosball, beer pong, ping pong, and PlayStation 5 consoles. The last one is more than enough to make booking a VIP table worthwhile.

The food menu also features many game-day staples, such as slider trays, chicken sandwiches, and mini cheesesteaks. Prices will be comparable to other Strip dayclubs, but sharable options are perfect for groups (and to keep individual costs low).

Masi said pricing will also be a key differentiator from other dayclubs on the Strip, making it accessible to locals and tourists. Unlike traditional dayclubs, guests won’t be required to meet high seating minimums that can easily reach $100 or more.

While Snoop Dogg will start things off strong by headlining the club’s opening weekend, Masi said the venue will only host DJs and musical artists on certain busy weekends moving forward.

“If you really want to come in and watch a game, it’s only $25 to get a lounge chair and have a blast,” he said. “We want the experience to be a lot of fun. It's not about clobbering them over the head for a price because we have to pay a big piece of talent.”

BetMGM Rewards, Non-Sporting Events Attract Visitors

Nowadays, you can’t have live sports at a casino without thinking about sports betting. Tailgate Beach Club will also integrate sports betting through a partnership with BetMGM, with plans for hosted viewing parties and app-based rewards tied to the on-site experience.  

While the specifics of those perks are still being developed, the partnership is intended to reward participants in mobile sports betting and those who attend live viewing events.

Masi said Clique Hospitality is working to create “unique experiences for BetMGM guests” at the venue for betting on sporting events through the platform. The partnership will allow them to offer incentives and rewards for those guests who participate in on-site viewing events.

The dayclub will look to capitalize on the rapid growth of online sports betting, especially in-game play.

 “Every major casino company is chasing online gaming, because all these younger folks are betting on sports,” Masi said. “It's not necessarily that they're throwing all this money at it. You know, I think many 25-plus-year-old people that you're meeting are really into sports betting.” 

But the club will not solely focus on daily sports games. Programming will extend well beyond that with watch parties for major sporting events like the Super Bowl, UFC fights, and the FIFA World Cup. The latter event is expected to be a major opportunity right after opening, as it will be held in the United States for the first time since 1994.

On top of that, Tailgate will also host events for non-sports programming, including reality TV finales and viral streaming events. 

Masi said Clique found success with hosting events like this after their Love Island Watch Party at Bel-Air Lounge inside Durango Casino brought out over 1,000 guests. Hosting non-sporting entertainment allows the venue to capitalize on the hype surrounding global TV shows and events.

The wide variety of events hosted at Tailgate will help set it apart from the lengthy list of 21+ pools in Las Vegas.

“No one's really doing this on the Strip,” Masi said. “This is a unique positioning for us, especially if you look at our location. We're next door to Allegiant Stadium and the NBA world champion Aces, who play within 50 feet of our front door.”