The Schnitzer bros have strong bonds with Vegas’ club scene—and one another

By Deanna Rilling

Tuesday, Nov. 23, 2010 | noon

Sucks to be you, Chicago. Vegas lured the Schnitzer brothers away with our shiny lights and—for one bro at least—the promise of a master bedroom. Neal, Bryan and David Schnitzer are nightlife employees at Wynn and Encore who work together, live together and play together. And somehow they manage to still like each other. Miracle? Not so much. Spend a few minutes with the Schnitzers and you’ll understand.

Neal was the first to call Las Vegas home. After studying education in college, he moved to the Valley to help a friend open Pie Town Pizza in 2006, while doing club reservations on weekends. “It organically turned into a career,” says Neal, 30. “Then I told David about it and …”

“… I had a month left of college,” chimes in David, 25. “Neal called me up and said, ‘What are you doing when you graduate?’” Though he was working on a bachelor’s in recreation, sport and tourism, it took David only a few minutes to decide to join his oldest brother in Las Vegas. “I was here for a year and Neal and I moved into a house with the intention of luring Bryan with the master bedroom.”

“I came out here shortly thereafter,” continues Bryan, the 28-year-old middle Schnitzer who holds a degree in human development and family studies. Bryan has since given up his master bedroom privileges thanks to Neal’s pet cat and ferret. David didn’t want the litterbox in the laundry room because he’d end up with “steamed cat-poo suits,” says Neal.

The Schnitzer brothers joke often, complete each other’s sentences and try to hang out as much as possible, which, despite working and living under the same roofs, isn’t as easy as it sounds. Neal currently works as a senior VIP host at Blush and spends his nights at the club. David works mostly days as an executive assistant for Encore Beach Club, Surrender and Blush owner/operator Sean Christie, and Bryan balances photography at Blush and bussing at Surrender. He’s usually the last one home.

Surprisingly, working together seems to have only strengthened their bond. “I think together we have a good reputation because we’re supportive of each other and lively and friendly,” says David. Adds Neal, “We watch each other’s backs and make sure we’re on the same page, and if we see that one of us is slipping, we like to have brothers meetings.”

It’s just another sign of the camaraderie of the Schnitzer boys, who chat about their work as summer camp counselors, throwing an ’80s party in Guatemala and their mother, Stellie Friedman. Still back in Chicago, she comes to visit her sons on holidays and is considering moving to Vegas. Can you blame her? Maybe the brothers can persuade her to get a nightclub job, too. We hear she has some pretty snazzy dance moves.