Drama and transition defined Vegas gay nightlife throughout 2013. And given the changes happening in just these first two weeks of January, it may experience an even more momentous 2014.
A refresher: Last year, LGBT merrymakers saw the (over-)ambitious Krave Massive fail so spectacularly, it took down gay-and-straight favorite Drink & Drag with it; longtime leather bar the Buffalo close; and Marquee Nightclub start, then stop the first gay megaclub promo within three weeks. The old Keys piano bar space went gay again for the new Club Metro; the former Club Utopia/Empire Ballroom spot briefly hosted the Affair and later a downsized Krave, bought back by original owner Sia Amiri; Latino mainstay the Backdoor suffered extensive damage during an early-morning fire; and Las Vegas Eagle became the latest homo hangout to get spanked (and not in a good way) by the unlikely moral crusaders in the Nevada Gaming Control Board. Finally, nightlife entrepreneur Paul San Filipo memorably rejected TV show Bar Rescue’s renovation of his pioneering but fading gay nightclub, Gipsy.