Thursday, August 27, 2009

Club Report: Seminole Hard Rock Casino Nightclubs (Hollywood)


With a tentative "compact" now in place between the Seminole Indian tribe & the State of Florida, the Seminole Hard Rock Casino in Hollywood, Florida offers most styles of gambling. And back behind the casino is an outdoor area very much like CityWalk offering shops, restaurants and night clubs. Following a Fort Lauderdale visit Wednesday I thought this would be the ideal place to hang out on Wednesday night. I was only partly right though....none of the dance clubs were open on Wednesday night! But let me tell you what's out here because at one time or another they all offer techno depending on the "Night" and the DJ.

Passion is the largest & most modern-decor club here with 2 floors and impressive lights and sound system. Meanwhile Opium is a transplant direct from South Beach where it closed the club and reopened here in the location where Spirits used to operate. The Asian-French decor means they can charge expensive prices because they're exclusive.

The other two clubs are Pangaea and Gryphon. The latter brings in big name DJ's, for instance Kaskade is appearing in early September. Meanwhile Pangaea more follows the ultra-lounge model rather than the large dance club model. It has African safari decor and you might spot celebrities here.

So all the clubs are closed but I hear House music off in the distance. I follow my ears to a back entrance behind Passion. The door is open, a bouncer inspects my ID and up the stairs I go only to discover a party going on. DJ Zak is at the helm pumping out techno with some Top 40. It's moderately crowded and people are dancing in different locations. I order a drink and try to pay.....but it's free! What the f---?

Opium and Gryphon are Friday-Saturday 0nly; Passion and Pangaea are Thursday through Saturday. There is a dueling pianos place nearby. There's also an Irish pub called Murphy's Law. I'm not so sure it's very authentic Irish though. The waitresses looked great in their green plaid mini-dresses, however the band was playing Sweet Home Alabama! Is that in southern Ireland?

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Can you pay one admission price and get into all the clubs?

tightglove.com said...

Hmmm, no 70's/80's??, no hightailing it down there for me. :-)

KingBob said...

Anon, there is a separate admission charge to each club. I think that's a mistake however each club is independently owned, unlike CityWalk.

Tightglove, during my multiple visits to SHRC I've never heard of a 70's or 80's night at any of those clubs. The band at Murphy's was playing 70's Rock but typically the term "70's" refers to the disco era.