Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

One Night in 1Oak: New drinks, feather skirts and hard-to-read graffiti

1Oak dancer

Denise Truscello

All the right angles: Enjoy 1Oak for the party scene—just do not try deciphering the writing on the walls.

“Quick—what do you want to drink?” We’re always unprepared to answer that question. We drink all the time; we know what we like; and we’ve had years to pick a go-to cocktail. But whenever a question is preceded by “Quick!” we get shell-shocked.

My date V. did—last night, at least. So she and I decided on a go-to drink: the Tequila Sunrise. A new favorite cocktail, a new year … and a new club at Mirage: 1Oak.

V. is currently in the midst of a veterinary externship, so she felt right at home alongside 1Oak’s murals of horses, zebras, owls, elephants. But I’m pretty sure they don’t have go-go dancers at her office. Four of ’em at 1Oak. All standing above fans. All stuffed in feather skirts that get blown up and stay up. The dancers have to push them down, Marilyn Monroe-style, and this back-and-forth goes on all night.

Click to enlarge photo

An interior view of the new nightlife venue at the Mirage.

At Tryst, XS and Marquee, everything curves. The walls curve, the booths curve, and the paths curve. But at 1Oak, the opposite is true. Everything’s at right angles. So if you stand in the corner, you can take in everything at once.

Is that good or bad? Depends on what you’re after. For some, it might cut into the mystery of Vegas nightlife; you shouldn’t be able to take it all in at once, some might argue. But for others, who, like me, can still be intimidated by Vegas clubs, it’s nice to feel as though you have a grasp on things. 1Oak is a place you can understand.

The one thing I couldn’t understand was the (literal) writing on the wall. By the entrance, the exit and the restrooms. Cursive and frustratingly illegible. I say “frustratingly” because I got so close to making out those words. But when I failed, I asked the woman selling T-shirts outside the restroom what they say. Surely she’ll know, I figured. She spends all night looking at the damn wall.

“Haven’t even tried,” she said. “Haven’t been that bored yet.”

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