The Art of Pool Crashing in Las Vegas
Travel Blog • Michael Yessis • 09.07.06 | 8:02 AM ET
Las Vegas pools reflect the city in general: they’re loud, over-the-top (flat screen TVs in the cabana!) and a showcase for sun-drenched people in itsy-bitsy clothing—or, sometimes, no clothing at all. So, of course, they’re in high demand. So much so that they attract a lot of pool crashers. Locals climb fences, pose as employees and hoard used room keys from hotels up-and-down The Strip to get into the best pools. One person, according to a great AP story by Kathleen Hennessey, spent seven hours in a ballroom before trying to sneak into a pool unnoticed.
One crasher told Hennessey that sneaking into hotel pools is a “locals’ prerogative.”
“I’m single. I live a block off the Strip. Really, this is my playground,” Cindy Cesare, a 35-year-old TV producer and former reporter said. “I don’t feel guilty because I’ve paid my share. I’ve spent a ton of money in this town—going out to dinner, shopping, getting my hair cut. I patronize. I tip.”
Oh, okay. Sure. If you pay for a hair cut, you certainly deserve to hang out at the pool at the Hard Rock.
The sense of entitlement astounds.
Hennessey writes that while Vegas hotels don’t necessarily like pool crashers, they don’t always use a hammer on them, either. “The consequences for those who get caught usually involve no more than an escort to the door,” she writes. “Hard Rock security guards say they remove a half-dozen crashers each Sunday and give them the opportunity to pay to get back in.”
The easiest way to pool crash? The Hard Rock pool’s webcam.
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Michael Yessis is the cofounder and coeditor-in-chief of World Hum.
Terry Ward 09.07.06 | 12:30 PM ET
Classic! I agree it’s a local’s prerogative to pool crash when you live in a town where the visitors seem to be having all the fun.
We used to regularly crash the Comfort Inn pool when I lived in Jacksonville Beach, FL after graduating from college. And all that set up boasted was a faux rock waterfall and oceanfront hot tub - not a plasma TV or DJ booth in sight. Viva Vegas.
Jaime 08.09.07 | 2:34 AM ET
One of my favorite pools to crash is definitely the Green Valley Ranch Resort and Casino. It is so beautiful there with the sand-beach entry swimming pools and canvas beds. I walk in like I own the place (confidence is key), and when the waitress asks me if I’d like to charge my $7 Miller Lite to my room, I just say I prefer to use cash!
J Williamson 08.16.07 | 1:12 PM ET
Grew up in Vegas. Been doing it since I was twelve. Very much a local tradition. Although I don’t feel I’m entitled to it b/c I tip.
travel to las vegas 02.15.08 | 5:48 AM ET
hi , nice post
art gallery 05.24.08 | 5:52 PM ET
thats it, let the innocence wash away the guilt.
Armughan 07.24.08 | 11:36 AM ET
Pool crashing is for some a fine art, and a time-honored perk of
living in a world famous resort city. For others, namely the hotel
staff and pool-party promoters, it’s a persistent nuisance. As the
pool-side scene heats up in Las Vegas, bouncers are learning to hone
their crasher-radar and crashers are getting craftier.