Coyote Ugly: It's A Hoot

LAS VEGAS -- If you are a young, straight male with an appetite for rowdy bars, loud music, beautiful women, and lots and lots of booze, you're going to love Coyote Ugly. I am almost none of those things, and yet I still thought the place was a hoot.

If you haven't seen the movie of the same name let me bring you up to speed on the concept. In the film, Coyote Ugly is the name of a raucous roadhouse-style bar in New York City where beautiful, female bartenders twirl bottles, blow fire, spray water, sing along with the jukebox, and dance on the bar, creating a wild nonstop party.

In perhaps one of the most brilliant cross-promotional concepts since dinosaurs ruled the toy stores, Coyote Ugly is now an actual place in Las Vegas, and they've done a great job of capturing the spirit of the fictional version. Although it may help to have seen the film first, you don't really need it because the concept is pretty apparent from the minute you walk into the place.

It's on the mezzanine level of New York-New York, just above the main casino, and it's not as big as you'd expect a theme place to be. It's just one big room, scuffed wooden floors, and a bunch of southern roadhouse decor (street signs, aluminum siding, exposed beams, etc.) filling out the space. There are bars on either side and big empty areas in between for you to stand around and take in the show, or dance along if the spirit moves you.

And what a show. These bartenders are not beautiful in the classic Vegas showgirl style. No, they are more like that girl you knew in high school who smoked and drank and drove her boyfriend's Camaro faster than he did and probably would've kicked your sorry butt if you had tried to ask her out, which you probably wanted to because she was pretty hot.

I think you know the type.

As such, their hooting and hollering and carrying-on both behind and on top of the bar is not at all affected or staged, but rather a bunch of good ol' gals having a rip-snorting good time. They scream at the customers, spray them with water, encourage them to drink more than they probably should, sing along to Billy Idol and Pat Benatar, and dance while serving drinks. It's pretty impressive from just a coordination level if nothing else.

Unlike the film, which showed a clientele of all ages, races, sexes and types frequenting the fictional Coyote Ugly, most of the crowd at the real version was the aforementioned young, straight, white male. But I think just about anyone could have a good time here if they go into it with the right attitude and don't worry about getting their hair mussed. If nothing else, it's a welcome relief from the "trendy casual" BS of most of the nightclubs in this town.

Cover and drink prices are reasonable, and the staff was friendly but obviously not willing to put up with any crap from anyone. In other words, if you think you can down a few dozen shots and get up on the bar to dance with one of the bartenders, you're going to find yourself in a hammerlock faster than you can say, "Dad, can you bail me out of jail?"

To sum it up, I have to go back to that word I used in the first paragraph: Coyote Ugly is a hoot.

Grade: B+

Coyote Ugly
New York-New York
3790 Las Vegas Blvd. S.
Las Vegas, NV 89109
(702) 740-6969

This Week's Trivia

Q. Coyote Ugly at New York-New York is not the first Las Vegas attraction inspired by a film or television show. What is the other one? ANSWER

The Weekly Trivia Question is sponsored by the Online Memorabilia Museum at Vegas4Visitors.com

The Full Story

Lady Luck Offers Great Value, Low Prices
Gardunos Offers Affordable Mexican In Casino
Coyote Ugly: It's A Hoot
Other News: Chuckwagon Races Coming To Vegas
Vegas Q&A: What's The History Of The Land?
Vegas Q&A: Antiuque Shopping In Vegas
Vegas Entertainment Top 21

In Next Week's Column

Next week: More new show, hotel, and restaurant reviews.

Plus, don't forget to send me your questions about Las Vegas. I've got room for more, so send them in today!

Click here to go to the main page of Vegas4Visitors.com and see all of the fantastic resources Vegas4Visitors has to offer you when planning your next trip to Las Vegas.