It was such a shame that most clubs in Las Vegas were closed Christmas weekend. We put ourselves on the guestlist for Marquee on Christmas Eve and it was free for even ratio until midnight. We didn't end up leaving Encore until 11:25pm and arrived at the Cosmopolitan valet at 11:41pm. I was starting to worry that I had napped too long and wouldn't make it before midnight. When we got into the guestlist line, it was already 11:47pm. I was mentally prepared to make alternative plans.
To my surprise, the bouncers were extremely nice and expedited the guestlist line even though the presale and general admission lines were long. The guy checking ID (11:58pm at this point) had a big smile on his face and greeted each customer happily and wished me a happy birthday. We were off to a great start!
I'm not a party animal and I'm also old now. I just wanted to go out for a little bit that night. We went up the elevator and got ourselves each a drink and headed to the incredibly crowded dance floor. It was clear that once we got onto the dance floor, it was going to be impossible to leave and come back. We found a tiny bit of space toward the DJ booth at the front. Andrew Rayel was the headliner and his set was just ok. Where we stood was too close and it would've been better had we had a broader view of the club, lights, and dancers. But we were stuck and the floor was extremely sticky. I planted my feet down and stuck my elbows out to protect my personal space.
It was alright but after an hour or so, I had about enough. We fought our way off the dance floor and headed outside for a few minutes. Even the covered pool area was very crowded. My feet were killing me at this point and I had already proven to my 31 year old self that I could stay up past midnight and party with the kids. It was time to head back to my comfortable bed, but not before going through Marquee's signature torture of many flights of stairs for intoxicated girls in heels.