Pool PartyComparison · 2026
Tailgate Beach Club vs Tao Beach
Which pool party is better for your Vegas night? A side-by-side comparison of Tailgate Beach Club and Tao Beach to help you decide.
| Tailgate Beach Club | Tao Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Cover | $20–75 (varies by event; free with guest list on select dates) | $25–75 (free with guest list) |
| Guest List | Free via NoCoverVegas | Free via NoCoverVegas |
| Hours | 11:00 AM – 8:00 PM (Thu–Sun; extended hours for major sporting events) | 11:00 AM – 6:00 PM (Thu–Sun, seasonal) |
| Dress Code | Swimwear and resort-style attire. No outside food or beverages. | Upscale daylife attire required. Resort swimwear, bikinis, and fashion-forward cover-ups welcome. No tank tops, basketball shorts, team jerseys, baseball caps, robes, athletic wear, jeans, or torn clothing. Cover-ups required when transiting through The Venetian casino floor to the Tao Beach elevator. |
Head to Head
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Category | Tailgate Beach Club | Tao Beach |
|---|---|---|
| Location | Mandalay Bay | The Venetian Resort |
| Hours | 11:00 AM – 8:00 PM (Thu–Sun; extended hours for major sporting events) | 11:00 AM – 6:00 PM (Thu–Sun, seasonal) |
| Dress Code | Swimwear and resort-style attire. No outside food or beverages. | Upscale daylife attire required. Resort swimwear, bikinis, and fashion-forward cover-ups welcome. No tank tops, basketball shorts, team jerseys, baseball caps, robes, athletic wear, jeans, or torn clothing. Cover-ups required when transiting through The Venetian casino floor to the Tao Beach elevator. |
| Music | EDM, House, Open Format | EDM, House, Open Format |
| Cover Charge | $20–75 (varies by event; free with guest list on select dates) | $25–75 (free with guest list) |
| NoCoverVegas | FREE Entry | FREE Entry |
The Full Picture
Detailed Experience Comparison
Tailgate Beach Club debuted May 1, 2026 at Mandalay Bay with an official Vegas Golden Knights playoff watch party, followed by its grand opening on May 16 with Snoop Dogg headlining. The Las Vegas Strip's first sports-and-pool hybrid venue has 2,000 capacity, 25 cabanas, two premium bungalows, and 125+ feet of LED screens viewable from every pool position. Operated by Clique Hospitality and situated directly across from Allegiant Stadium, the venue runs Thursday through Sunday with three heated pools for year-round viewing of every NFL game, UFC fight, and major sporting event. Summer 2026 performer bookings include Tyga, BigXThaPlug, and Fabolous on select weekend dates. The overall vibe at Tailgate Beach Club is best described as sports-meets-pool-party energy. a unique hybrid concept where you can watch every game on massive led screens while lounging poolside with bottle service. more social and interactive than traditional dayclubs with gaming amenities in cabanas. perfect for sports fans, bachelor parties, and groups who want entertainment beyond just music. With a capacity of 2,000 guests, Tailgate Beach Club provides a more intimate setting where the atmosphere feels personal and curated. The music programming at Tailgate Beach Club focuses on edm, house, open format, which shapes the crowd and energy throughout the night.
Tao Beach at The Venetian Resort is a 47,000-square-foot rooftop dayclub rebuilt from the ground up in a $75 million renovation completed in 2022 — the most comprehensive dayclub transformation in Las Vegas Strip history. The venue sits above The Venetian's tower structure, and the surrounding resort architecture creates a wind-blocked microclimate that makes the deck warmer and more comfortable than ground-level pools on cooler spring and fall days in March and October. Operated by Tao Group — the hospitality company behind Marquee Nightclub, OMNIA Nightclub, and Hakkasan — Tao Beach benefits from the group's A-list booking power, and the 2026 resident DJ roster reflects it: Alesso, Fisher, Chris Lake, Tiësto, and Zedd all hold seasonal resident positions, making it the single dayclub in Las Vegas with the deepest concentration of electronic music headliners. The Asian-inspired design language that defines the Tao brand extends fully to the outdoor space: oversized Buddha statues anchor the main pool deck, bamboo dividers create semi-private pockets between VIP sections, and a koi pond positioned near the entrance establishes a luxury resort atmosphere before the music builds. The elevated Main Stage cabana row faces the DJ booth directly and accommodates up to 20 guests per unit, each with full bottle service and dedicated hostess coverage for the entire afternoon. Tao Beach is one of a small number of Strip dayclubs operating on Thursdays during peak summer months, from late April through early September — making it the strongest full-scale dayclub option for groups who want Thursday programming without paying peak Saturday pricing or competing with Saturday crowd sizes. As part of The Venetian's integrated Tao Group complex — which includes Tao Restaurant and Tao Nightclub on floors below the pool level — guests can structure a complete afternoon-into-evening experience beginning at Tao Beach and transitioning directly to the nightclub, with a single host managing both reservations. The rooftop position delivers clear sightlines across the Venetian pool complex toward the wider Las Vegas skyline, and the elevation above Las Vegas Boulevard means dramatically less street noise than ground-level dayclubs along the main Strip corridor. In contrast, the vibe at Tao Beach leans toward upscale asian-inspired rooftop oasis with a refined, style-conscious crowd and a tao group dj roster that reads like a festival headliner announcement. the $75 million 2022 renovation rebuilt every inch of the 47,000-square-foot deck with oversized buddha statues, bamboo dividers creating semi-private pockets between sections, and a koi pond at the entrance that establishes luxury resort atmosphere before the dj audio reaches you. the main stage cabana row faces the booth directly — no general admission guests between the vip section and the stage — making it the most direct headliner-to-audience sightline of any las vegas dayclub vip tier. alesso, fisher, chris lake, tiësto, and zedd all hold 2026 resident slots, giving tao beach the deepest concentration of electronic music headliners at any single las vegas dayclub this season. the thursday programming window makes it the strongest full-scale option for convention attendees who want a complete pool party experience on a weekday without weekend crowds or weekend pricing. great for couples, groups with genuine electronic music interest, and anyone who prefers the visual sophistication of a luxury resort pool over the louder edm-arena aesthetic of competing mega-dayclubs. Tao Beach accommodates up to 3,000 guests, creating a large-scale party atmosphere with plenty of room to explore different areas of the venue. Music at Tao Beach centers on edm, house, open format, attracting a crowd that matches that energy.
When deciding between Tailgate Beach Club and Tao Beach, consider what matters most to your group. If three heated pools — open year-round appeals to you, Tailgate Beach Club is the clear pick. If multiple pools and vip sections is more your style, Tao Beach delivers. Both venues are available through NoCoverVegas with free guest list entry, so the only cost difference comes down to what you spend once inside.
Key Differences
What Sets Each Venue Apart
Why Choose Tailgate Beach Club
Music programming: Tailgate Beach Club programs edm, house, open format across its primary operating nights. The programming format attracts a crowd calibrated to this specific genre rather than the broad pop-crossover audience that many Las Vegas nightclubs target.
Atmosphere and vibe: Tailgate Beach Club's overall atmosphere is best described as sports-meets-pool-party energy. a unique hybrid concept where you can watch every game on massive led screens while lounging poolside with bottle service. more social and interactive than traditional dayclubs with gaming amenities in cabanas. perfect for sports fans, bachelor parties, and groups who want entertainment beyond just music. This vibe is established from arrival and remains consistent through the night, creating a crowd-character that groups can anticipate before arriving rather than discovering on the floor.
Location at Mandalay Bay: Mandalay Bay provides Tailgate Beach Club with its specific geographic context on the Las Vegas Strip, influencing both the surrounding pre-club dining and entertainment options and the rideshare logistics for arriving groups.
Dress code: Tailgate Beach Club enforces swimwear and resort-style attire. no outside food or beverages. Confirming dress code compliance for every member of the group before departure prevents the most common guest list failure mode: a confirmed reservation that cannot be honored because of attire.
Why Choose Tao Beach
Music programming: Tao Beach is programmed around edm, house, open format. Both venues program similar genres, so the genre preference is not the differentiator here — the distinguishing factors are physical environment, location, and the specific resident DJ roster.
Atmosphere and vibe: The Tao Beach atmosphere is upscale asian-inspired rooftop oasis with a refined, style-conscious crowd and a tao group dj roster that reads like a festival headliner announcement. the $75 million 2022 renovation rebuilt every inch of the 47,000-square-foot deck with oversized buddha statues, bamboo dividers creating semi-private pockets between sections, and a koi pond at the entrance that establishes luxury resort atmosphere before the dj audio reaches you. the main stage cabana row faces the booth directly — no general admission guests between the vip section and the stage — making it the most direct headliner-to-audience sightline of any las vegas dayclub vip tier. alesso, fisher, chris lake, tiësto, and zedd all hold 2026 resident slots, giving tao beach the deepest concentration of electronic music headliners at any single las vegas dayclub this season. the thursday programming window makes it the strongest full-scale option for convention attendees who want a complete pool party experience on a weekday without weekend crowds or weekend pricing. great for couples, groups with genuine electronic music interest, and anyone who prefers the visual sophistication of a luxury resort pool over the louder edm-arena aesthetic of competing mega-dayclubs. The contrast with Tailgate Beach Club's sports-meets-pool-party energy. a unique hybrid concept where you can watch every game on massive led screens while lounging poolside with bottle service. more social and interactive than traditional dayclubs with gaming amenities in cabanas. perfect for sports fans, bachelor parties, and groups who want entertainment beyond just music vibe reflects a genuinely different crowd character — groups whose preference aligns with one aesthetic often find the other feels like the wrong venue regardless of DJ booking quality.
Location at The Venetian Resort: The Venetian Resort's 7,128 combined rooms across The Venetian and Palazzo make it the highest-capacity hotel complex on the Strip — Tao Beach draws from the largest on-property hotel guest pool of any Las Vegas dayclub or nightclub.
Dress code: Tao Beach requires upscale daylife attire required. resort swimwear, bikinis, and fashion-forward cover-ups welcome. no tank tops, basketball shorts, team jerseys, baseball caps, robes, athletic wear, jeans, or torn clothing. cover-ups required when transiting through the venetian casino floor to the tao beach elevator. This differs from Tailgate Beach Club's requirement of swimwear and resort-style attire. no outside food or beverages — groups planning to visit both venues on different nights should verify that their attire meets each venue's specific standard.
How to Decide Between Tailgate Beach Club and Tao Beach
Music preference: Both venues program edm, house, open format, so genre is not the deciding factor. Focus on resident DJ lineup, venue architecture, and hotel location instead.
Hotel location: Groups staying at Mandalay Bay benefit from proximity to Tailgate Beach Club. Groups at The Venetian Resort have an easier transit to Tao Beach. For groups staying at neither property, compare the rideshare time from your hotel to each venue and factor in whether the program night aligns with your trip dates.
Budget Planning
Cost Comparison
Understanding pricing at each venue helps you plan your night out. With NoCoverVegas, the cover charge is eliminated at both Tailgate Beach Club and Tao Beach, but drinks, bottle service, and other spending vary between venues. Here is what to expect at each.
Tailgate Beach Club Pricing
Tao Beach Pricing
Money-Saving Tip
By using NoCoverVegas for both Tailgate Beach Club and Tao Beach, you eliminate cover charges entirely. This saves the average group of four to six people anywhere from $100 to $400 per venue visit. Sign up for free guest list below to lock in your savings.
Planning Your Trip
How to Visit Both Venues
Most visitors to Las Vegas enjoy Tailgate Beach Club and Tao Beach on different nights rather than trying to squeeze both into a single evening. Both venues are full-night experiences, and rushing between them means missing the best parts of each. If you have a two-night trip, plan Tailgate Beach Club for one night and Tao Beach for the other. For longer trips, you might revisit your favorite or explore the remaining pool partys on the Strip. NoCoverVegas offers free guest list at both, so there is no extra cost to doing multiple nights.
For transportation between Tailgate Beach Club (Mandalay Bay) and Tao Beach (The Venetian Resort), rideshare services like Uber and Lyft are the fastest option. Most rides between Strip venues take 5 to 15 minutes and cost $10 to $25 depending on surge pricing. Avoid walking between off-Strip venues at night — distances in Las Vegas are deceptive and the desert heat persists well into the evening during summer months. Taxis are available at all major hotel taxi stands, though rideshare apps typically offer shorter wait times and better pricing.
Strengths
What Each Does Best
Tailgate Beach Club
Pool area or dayclub option
125+ feet of LED screens for live sports viewing
Premium cabanas with PlayStation 5s, private 50–75-inch TVs, beer pong, and foosball
Tao Beach
Pool area or dayclub option
On-site dining available
Asian-inspired design and architecture
Tao Group DJ lineup (Alesso, Tiesto, Zedd, Martin Garrix, Fisher, Chris Lake)
Quick Picks
Best For Your Group
Pool Party
Tailgate Beach Club
Located at Mandalay Bay with a unique pool party experience
Best Value
Both
Free entry at both with NoCoverVegas guest list
The Verdict
Which Should You Choose?
Tailgate Beach Club
Choose Tailgate Beach Club if you want a pool party experience at Mandalay Bay with 125+ feet of led screens for live sports viewing.
Tao Beach
Choose Tao Beach if you want a pool party experience at The Venetian Resort with asian-inspired design and architecture.
Why Not Both?
Many visitors to Las Vegas hit multiple pool partys during their trip. Go to Tailgate Beach Club one night and Tao Beachanother — NoCoverVegas provides free guest list at both. If you're in town for a weekend, plan one venue per night for the ultimate experience.
Insider Knowledge
Tips for Both Venues
Arrive Early
Pool parties fill up fast. Arrive within the first hour of opening to secure the best spots — guest list lines can get long by noon.
Swimwear Required
Both dayclubs require proper swimwear. Board shorts for guys, bikinis or one-pieces for women. No denim or athletic wear in the pool area.
Sunscreen & Cash
Vegas sun is intense. Bring reef-safe sunscreen and cash for tips — poolside service runs on gratuity.
Guest List = Free Entry
NoCoverVegas guest list works at both venues. Sign up the day before for guaranteed free entry.
Learn More
Explore Each Venue
Tailgate Beach Club Full Guide
Everything you need to know about Tailgate Beach Club — hours, dress code, guest list, and more.
Tao Beach Full Guide
Everything you need to know about Tao Beach — hours, dress code, guest list, and more.
Tailgate Beach Club Guest List
Sign up for free entry at Tailgate Beach Club.
Tao Beach Guest List
Sign up for free entry at Tao Beach.
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Common Questions
Tailgate Beach Club vs Tao Beach FAQ
Is Tailgate Beach Club or Tao Beach better?
Both are excellent pool partys in Las Vegas. Tailgate Beach Club is located at Mandalay Bay and is known for 125+ feet of led screens for live sports viewing. Tao Beach is at The Venetian Resort and stands out with asian-inspired design and architecture. The best choice depends on your group's preferences for music, location, and vibe.
Can I get guest list at both Tailgate Beach Club and Tao Beach?
Yes. NoCoverVegas offers free guest list at both Tailgate Beach Club and Tao Beach. Sign up for one venue per night, or contact us to plan a multi-venue Vegas itinerary.
Which is more expensive, Tailgate Beach Club or Tao Beach?
Without guest list, Tailgate Beach Club charges $20–75 (varies by event; free with guest list on select dates) and Tao Beach charges $25–75 (free with guest list). With NoCoverVegas, both are free.
What is the dress code for Tailgate Beach Club vs Tao Beach?
Tailgate Beach Club requires swimwear and resort-style attire. no outside food or beverages. Tao Beach requires upscale daylife attire required. resort swimwear, bikinis, and fashion-forward cover-ups welcome. no tank tops, basketball shorts, team jerseys, baseball caps, robes, athletic wear, jeans, or torn clothing. cover-ups required when transiting through the venetian casino floor to the tao beach elevator. Both venues share similar standards, so one outfit should work for either venue.
What are the hours for Tailgate Beach Club and Tao Beach?
Tailgate Beach Club is open 11:00 am – 8:00 pm (thu–sun; extended hours for major sporting events). Tao Beach is open 11:00 am – 6:00 pm (thu–sun, seasonal). If you plan to visit both during one trip, check the current weekly schedule since specific open nights can change seasonally.
How do I get to Tailgate Beach Club and Tao Beach?
Tailgate Beach Club is located at Mandalay Bay and Tao Beach is at The Venetian Resort. Rideshare services like Uber and Lyft are the most popular way to get between venues in Las Vegas, with most rides on the Strip taking 5 to 15 minutes. You can also use the Las Vegas Monorail if both venues are on the east side of the Strip.
Can I visit both Tailgate Beach Club and Tao Beach in one night?
It is technically possible, but most groups find it better to dedicate one night per venue. Pool Partys in Vegas are designed to be a full-evening experience. If you must do both, arrive at the first venue when doors open, stay for two to three hours, then head to the second. Keep in mind that guest list entry times are usually before 12:30 AM, so plan accordingly.
Which venue is better for a group or bachelor party?
Both Tailgate Beach Club and Tao Beach handle large groups well. Tailgate Beach Club holds up to 2,000 guests and Tao Beach holds up to 3,000. For bachelor or bachelorette parties, bottle service is recommended since it guarantees a reserved area for your group. NoCoverVegas provides free guest list entry at both venues.
Ready to Party?
Get on the Free Guest List
Skip the cover charge at Tailgate Beach Club, Tao Beach, or any venue on the Strip. Submit your info below and we'll get you on the guest list — completely free. Or text us anytime at (725) 999-9293.