Vegas has seen its fair share of big name competition – Hagler vs. Hearns, Morales vs. Barrera, Tyson vs. Holyfield, but nothing rivals the showdown Sin City has going on these days – the battle for the club crowd.

With four new nightclubs opening in just one night this past New Year’s Eve, it’s easy to see that clubs come and go quickly in this town, sometimes before you can even learn to pronounce the name. This kind of climate means that when clubs make it through their fifth birthday and beyond, they’re a rare breed, a special club with something people just keep coming back for.  

In terms of clubs that have spent years honing and partying, making things better night after night, Risqué is right at the top of the list.

Located inside the Paris, Risqué opened six years ago to a collective, “Whoop!” from the party-starved masses on the Las Vegas Strip. With only a handful of clubs rocking out on a regular basis, clubbers welcomed Risqué with open arms and never let go.

Six years later, Risqué is as popular as ever, with special event nights unlike anything else on the Strip and a diehard crowd that swears by the club.

“We come here every Friday night,” said Faith Herr, a Las Vegas local who first visited the club three years ago with friends in town on vacation. “It’s where we go to dance.”

Fridays at Risqué are where a lot of people go to dance, actually. Fridays play host to Risqué’s “La Revolucion,” a party with Latin DJs spinning salsa, meringue, cumbia and Latin house music – a relative rarity on Las Vegas Boulevard.

The club’s staff (which is about the only thing that has changed much over the club’s successful run) keeps it going the next night with “VOLUME” on Saturdays. Here, crowds pack onto the dance floor to shake their hips as DJs spin the latest hip-hop, R&B and mash-ups.

Pauly Freedman, director of nightclubs for Rio, Paris and Bally’s, credits the faces behind Risqué with its popularity, in addition to those make-you-wanna-move Fridays and Saturdays.

“[We have] a well-rounded management and staff who can provide experiences that will have guests leaving Risqué with a smile on their face,” Freedman said. “Throwing events which cater to the crowds help make the lasting success of Risqué, as well.”

It’s not all about the music though, Vegas club-goers are a little more discerning with so much to choose from and so Risqué brings top-shelf décor, too.

VIP areas at Risqué are spread out in the club’s two rooms (which play different music, offering you two parties for the price of one) and depending on the location of the table, afford a little bit of privacy or a little bit of right-in-the-middle-of-things action. If your idea of a great view is watching the club’s go-go dancers shake it to Shakira, grab a table just off the dance floor. If your idea of a great view is watching the Bellagio fountains shake it to Pavarotti, grab a balcony table.

Ah, yes, the balcony tables. Arguably some of the coolest VIP tables in town, Risqué has five private balconies overlooking not only the beautiful fountain that adorns the front of the Paris, but also boasting a spectacular view of the Bellagio fountains show.

“Bellagio gives Risqué guests an unbelievable water show every half hour,” said Freedman. “Risqué is the only club where VIP guests can party and dance directly above the Strip in the VIP private balconies.”

If you take away special events and VIP tables (although why would you want to?), Risqué still presents a great atmosphere. Located on the second story, the club is situated atop Ah-Sin restaurant and guests climb a staircase to enter (the line forms on the first floor).

Once inside, there’s a bar almost immediately and then (after grabbing your drink, of course), there’s a couple of decisions to make. If you turn right, there’s a couple more stairs and then the dance floor, flanked by go-go dancers. Not a bad option. If you turn left, there’s a little bridge and then the club’s slightly smaller room, decked out with a separate DJ booth and opulent chandeliers, as well as another bar. Also not a bad option.

The layout of the club makes it easy to get around in and since it’s not overwhelmingly huge, there’s a nice sense of intimacy and your friends are never helplessly lost and separated from you.

With all this coming together so seamlessly, there’s nothing risky about spending your night at Risqué, in fact, it’s a pretty safe bet.

-- Review by Jamie Helmick