Playboy Club Cancun opening in Mexico draws international attention

Playboy Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE: PLA, PLAA) today announced the opening of Playboy Club Cancun, a boutique gaming and entertainment venue that features a restaurant, nightclub, casino, sports gaming, and sports lounge.  The new property is located in the renowned hotel zone district of Cancun, Mexico, and will celebrate its opening on Saturday, December 4, with an invitation-only VIP party for Playboy Club members and a red-carpet celebrity event.

“I am pleased to bring the Playboy Club to Mexico for the first time and to combine the sexy sophistication of the Playboy brand with the international allure of Cancun,” said Hugh M. Hefner, Founder and Chief Creative Officer, Playboy Enterprises, Inc.  “With the opening of Playboy Club Cancun and the arrival of the Playboy Bunnies, nightlife there will never be the same!”

The 12,000 square foot property, designed by Archon Design, incorporates influences from the original Playboy Club inChicago with the jet-setting ambience of tropical Mexico.  The venue’s intricate custom design details include an authentic Mexican hand-punched metallic wall featuring the iconic Playboy Rabbit Head Design; select pieces from Playboy’s multi-million dollar art collection; and a specially commissioned illustration of the Cancun Playboy Bunny by famed pinup artist Don Lewis.  The new property integrates gaming with contemporary nightlife, and will showcase an international mix of DJs and musical entertainment.  Playboy Club Cancun also boasts a restaurant with a tapas menu offering flavors from around the world.

Playboy Club Cancun will feature the world famous Playboy Bunnies, who will be making their debut in Mexico.  Bunnies at the Playboy Club Cancun will work as hostesses, cocktail servers, and Bunny dealers and hail from countries including Argentina,Cuba, Canada, Russia and Mexico.

“With the opening of this striking new venue, both Cancun residents and international visitors alike will now be able to experience the energy and excitement that the Playboy brand generates,” said Scott Flanders, CEO, Playboy Enterprises, Inc.  “By working with this caliber of strong local partners we have at Playboy Club Cancun, we will continue to grow our successful licensing and location based entertainment businesses around the world.  We look forward to bringing the Playboy brand to life at additional Playboy venues in select global markets.”

Playboy Club Cancun will be owned and operated under license by Entretenimiento De Mexico S.A. De C.V., a leading Mexican casino company that operates and licenses over 18 gaming venues throughout the country under the Palmas group. The company and its subsidiaries serve over 2,500,000 players a year and also own and operate two restaurants. Entretenimiento De Mexico S.A. De C.V was established in 2005 and is headquartered in Monterrey, Mexico.

Hugh M. Hefner opened the first Playboy Club in Chicago in 1960 and the venues quickly became the embodiment of urban sophistication around the world.  In their more than two decades of operation, Playboy Clubs sold nearly 2.5 million membership keys and became one of the most successful nightclub chains in history.  The Playboy Clubs, together with the hotel, casino and resort facilities, eventually included 40 properties in 25 states and seven countries.

Playboy Club Cancun joins Playboy Club Las Vegas at The Palms Casino Resort, Playboy Club Macao, and future properties in development in Miami and London.

About Playboy Enterprises, Inc.

Playboy is one of the most recognized and popular consumer brands in the world. Playboy Enterprises, Inc. is a media and lifestyle company that markets the brand through a wide range of media properties and licensing initiatives. The company publishes Playboy magazine in the United States and abroad and creates content for distribution via television networks, websites, mobile platforms and radio. Through licensing agreements, the Playboy brand appears on a wide range of consumer products in more than 150 countries as well as retail stores and entertainment venues.

The Cosmopolitan Resort ofers a few twists of the on the Vegas formula

The 2,995-room resort next to CityCenter is chameleon-like, offering non-gambling areas separate from the gaming crowd, rooms with balconies, digitally up-to-date surroundings, upscale shopping such as Chanel and Cartier, eight restaurants, artists-in-residence and a few other twists on the Vegas formula.

If you take stock of the Vegas landscape, it’s no wonder several Las Vegas clubs are hosting “good riddance to 2010”New Year’s Eve parties.

The construction cranes atop the flashy but bankrupt Fontainebleau resort, between the Sahara and the Riviera, haven’t moved in months. Opposite the Riviera, plywood-covered fences try to hide the foundations for Echelon, a CityCenter wannabe whose owners have pulled the plug, at least temporarily. And at CityCenter, the multi-billion-dollar hotel/retail behemoth that debuted a year ago, the problem-plagued Harmon Hotel will not open this month as expected. Indeed, the owners have even discussed tearing it down.

Yet as Vegas seeks to close the book on 2010, the 2,995-room Cosmopolitan resort, sandwiched between CityCenter and the Bellagio, is to open its doors Dec. 15, raising this question: Are the owners suicidal or exceedingly savvy?

Because the hotel field is so crowded — Vegas boasts 151,397 rooms — the stakes are high for the new kid in Sin City, and the financiers — a group of German bankers — understand that success of their $3.9-billion property hinges on making the Cosmopolitan stand out.

John Unwin, the hotel’s chief executive, describes the goal as “polish without pretense.”

“It’s polished in that it’s in the premium, luxury segment,” Unwin said. “It’s as nice as anything that you’ll see in Las Vegas.”

In this neighborhood, nice is a given, but this is different too.

Inside the two tower buildings, one 50 stories and the other 52, visitors will find themselves in one of a dozen settings or environments, depending on what’s being displayed on the eight video columns that stretch from floor to ceiling. You might see an autumnal forest where leaves have drifted to the ground or find yourself amid a cascade of bubbles. In another video-created setting, a pair of dancers moves from pillar to pillar, eventually reaching the screens behind the front desk, and you may feel as though you’re wheeling your luggage through a ballroom.

In a break from what’s become a Vegas tradition, the elevators to the rooms are just a few feet away from reception, negating the need to schlep suitcases through a cavernous casino. In fact, hotel guests who choose not to gamble can attend a convention or eat at the buffet without ever seeing a slot machine or 21 table.

Those who do venture onto the gaming floor will find a three-story bar tucked inside a giant crystal chandelier, plus floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the Strip that eliminate the feeling of being trapped inside a vacuum devoid of time.

“I think we want to give people credit for their intelligence,” Unwin said. “I think people will enjoy knowing what time of day it is. And people are going to do what they want to do when they want to do it, not because we tricked them into it.”

Another departure: About three-quarters of the guest rooms have a furnished balcony.

“You open your sliding glass door — normally you can’t open your window — and you step out onto a terrace that’s 6 feet deep and as wide as your room,” Unwin said.

The “city” rooms, at 460 square feet, are the only ones without balconies. Upgrading to a studio adds 270 square feet, including the outdoor space. Premium rooms offer a Strip view. Wall-mounted, flat-screen TVs and the latest digital technology are standard. Credit for the livable yet hip feel of the rooms goes to designer David Rockwell, who even thought to include some surprisingly quirky wallpaper in the closets.

The Cosmopolitan also offers a retail component where prices at the 11 stores start at $40 and stop about $400, significant for a neighborhood where shoppers can find three Cartier, four Dior and five Chanel stores. At the CRSVR Sneaker Boutique, high-end rubber soles from Nike and Supra, including limited-edition styles not sold elsewhere, make up much of the inventory. Shoes, said Eric Aguirre (better known to night clubbers as DJ Vice), make the outfit.

“I’ve always felt that you can wear a plain white T-shirt and just a pair of Levi’s, but when you have the right shoes, the shoes are what bring the whole package together,” said Aguirre, a partner in the business, which opened its first shop a couple of years ago in Santa Barbara.

Club music, often mixed by live deejays, will be the backdrop to the shopping experience.

“We’re going to create the perfect DJ booth where all the deejays that come to Vegas … [are] going to want to jump on and … maybe try out some music they never get to play,” he said.

One floor up, on level three is what’s being called the “restaurant neighborhood.” A choice of eight eateries awaits, including a hidden, Manhattan-style pizzeria and an upscale Greek restaurant, Estiatorio Milos.

In the same “neighborhood,” rotating artists-in-residence will showcase their works while demonstrating their skills. In this contemporary, almost funky gallery, artists will use mediums as diverse as canvas and fingernails to display their work. Many of the artists are being placed by the Art Production Fund, a nonprofit that promotes art in public places.

The obligatory pool deck and a nightclub top off the Cosmopolitan, but again with a twist. Cabanas, each with a rooftop whirlpool affording views of the Strip, surround the pool. Marquee, the club, is a bi-level space with four rooms, including a library featuring vintage books about Sin City.

“We make it feel like a Tribeca apartment in New York City, where you have a fireplace, a dining room, [and] a proper billiard table,” said developer Jason Strauss.

Who will stay here? ” ‘The curious class’ are those customers that we’re after,” Unwin said. “They like interesting hotel experiences. They like to eat foreign food. They think of themselves as broad-minded and creative. So what’s on offer here appeals to them.”

The Cosmopolitan, 3708 Las Vegas Blvd. S.; (702) 698-7000,http://www.cosmopolitanlasvegas.com. Opening night rates start at $300 but drop to as low as $135 a night midweek in January.

The Perfect Chair for Poker Players

This Exercise Office Chair Looks Like Torture

The Gymygym chair combines the ergonomics of a Herman Miller with the benefit of 16 resistance band, core exercises. It’s supposed to help people get a decent workout while sitting at their office chair.

Come on, it looks a little bit like a torture chair, right? The chair will retail for $600 and comes in three different colors. Here’s how to work out with one of these chairs: