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It\u2019s just after midnight at LIV Nightclub. Throngs of bodies pack the dancefloor, bottle girls shoulder bright neon signs emblazoned with \u201cScorpio SZN\u201d and I\u2019m sharing a section with Vanderpump Rules<\/em> reality TV star James Kennedy. My head\u2019s on a swivel searching for cameras\u2014Could this be season 12? Is this the show\u2019s next ceremonious Vegas episode playing out?<\/em> But unlike what I\u2019m used to seeing Kennedy stir up on screen, there\u2019s very little drama. Instead, the internationally recognized resident DJ of LIV has hopped behind the decks to deliver, in true Vanderpump<\/em> fashion, one of the best days of our lives.<\/p>\n Newly acquainted strangers smush and grind together to his mashup of Icona Pop\u2019s \u201cI Love It\u201d and Rihanna\u2019s \u201cBitch Better Have My Money.\u201d And it\u2019s almost instinctual how the hands go up for Kendrick Lamar\u2019s \u201cNot Like Us,\u201d which Kennedy seamlessly transitions into a remix of M83\u2019s \u201cMidnight City.\u201d Pretty soon, he\u2019s ditching his t-shirt and scaling the DJ booth to sing along with his fans.<\/p>\n Within its first year on the Strip, LIV Nightclub and LIV Beach have orchestrated countless moments like this, drawing the likes of Kehlani, Ti\u00ebsto, Calvin Harris, John Summit, Dom Dolla, Busta Rhymes and plenty more through its doors. And nightlife impresario David Grutman of Groot Hospitality isn\u2019t finished making his mark on Las Vegas.<\/p>\n \u201cComing into a market where you have the best operators in the world all condensed into one area, and just to be able to open in that kind of marketplace, for me, was a very humbling experience,\u201d says Grutman, who opened the original LIV Nightclub at Fontainebleau in Miami 16 years ago.<\/p>\n \u201cWe went a little bit of a different route with some of our DJs, and it was so great to see John Summit, Metro Boomin, Cloonee and Dom Dolla all have record years,\u201d he continues. \u201cWe\u2019re pretty good at projecting people\u2019s trajectory and to see how those guys just took off is incredible.\u201d<\/p>\n Grutman says stakes were incredibly high in the first year, launching LIV in a hyper competitive nightlife town. He leaned heavily on his Las Vegas team to help navigate the scene, knowing that what worked well on the East Coast didn\u2019t always translate well to the West.<\/p>\n \u201cThe hospitality, a lot of the lighting and sound and stuff like that, we elevated it for the Vegas market,\u201d he says. \u201cBut one thing that we were able to work even better in Vegas is the ecosystem, because we have [restaurants] Papi Steak and Komodo. \u2026We really wanted to be that full ecosystem where you come and have dinner and then you could take that and go to the nightclub afterwards.\u201d<\/p>\n That strategy has helped bolster business all around at Fontainebleau, and quickly established LIV as the place to be. During Super Bowl weekend, Bad Bunny popped in. And where else could you catch a club residency by Metro Boomin this year?<\/p>\n \u201cAlso seeing those days of John Summit, and it\u2019s like 90% female, is crazy to me,\u201d Grutman says. \u201cI\u2019ve never seen a nightclub that\u2019s 90% female before in my life. John Summit is definitely America\u2019s sweetheart, that\u2019s for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n Grutman says it\u2019s even more impactful to see these artists flourish at LIV because they were there from the beginning.<\/p>\n \u201cThey were walking the property with me when it was under construction,\u201d Grutman says, \u201cand I was like, \u2018I swear to you, this ceiling is going to move around, this and that.\u2019 And they\u2019d see workers and builders and duct tape. So to see it come alive, I feel like they take it so personal. They feel like they were a part of the success of LIV, especially in the first year.\u201d<\/p>\n During Formula 1 race week, LIV will host a wealth of nightlife programming, including performances by Dom Dolla and Cloonee at LIV on the Grid and a trackside hospitality experience called Papi Steak Garage. Grutman says more resident artists will also be announced for the clubs soon to ensure the momentum keeps building.<\/p>\n \u201cThe level of hospitality here … It\u2019s like nothing else I\u2019ve ever seen,\u201d he says. \u201cVegas has the best of the best. I\u2019m just so happy to even be there with these guys and to be able to play on the same field.\u201d<\/p>\n LIV Nightclub\u00a0<\/strong>Fontainebleau Las Vegas, 702-678-9700,\u00a0livnightclub.com<\/a>.\u00a0Friday-Sunday, 10:30p.m.-4 a.m.<\/em><\/p>\n