Tao Group Hospitality celebrates 20 years of innovation in Las Vegas

Twenty years of success and survival on the Las Vegas Strip is an incredible accomplishment; only a few venues and experiences have been able to do it.

What Tao Las Vegas has accomplished in two decades is something different. When it opened in fall 2005 at Venetian, it was an extension of the trendy original restaurant and lounge in Midtown Manhattan, but also a next-level nightclub that set a new standard on the Strip.

Then and now, it has created the perfect paragon of Las Vegas nightlife—a single destination to dine, drink and dance, an experience where music and mood and celebration are inescapable and infinite.

“Looking back to that time, Wynn had opened La Bete nightclub and had closed it around the time we were opening. Everyone was saying, ‘If Steve Wynn opens a world-class nightclub and has to close, how are you going to make it work, in a convention hotel, on the second floor of the mall?’” recalls Jason Strauss, co-CEO of Tao Group Hospitality. “It was also a challenge because no one [in Las Vegas] knew what the Tao brand was, or wanted to work for an unknown group. We were trying to meet waitresses and bartenders and bouncers in the food court at Venetian. It was definitely an uphill battle in the beginning.”

The battle is to be able to execute on innovation, and innovation is the key to Las Vegas. Tao capitalized on the immense appetite for nightclub fun and managed to deliver a superior “vibe dining” experience, and the restaurant remains one of the top grossing establishments across the country. When it expanded a couple years later with the opening of Tao Beach, it created the first dedicated dayclub experience for 21-and-over guests and completed the one-stop shop blueprint.

Strauss and his team are certainly proud of carving out that often imitated model—and the longevity of the company’s initial venues including Lavo and Marquee—but the most pride is found in the team itself.

“There are people who have worked at Tao Las Vegas for 20 years, bled in that room,” Strauss says. “We are nothing without the team here that delivers that experience day in and day out, and that’s what makes this such a momentous occasion for us.”

The nightclub and dayclub operations, encompassing nine venues along the Boulevard, dominate the landscape, but Tao’s Las Vegas restaurants—especially the original—are equally important to the company’s success and perhaps overlooked in the vast ocean of Strip dining.

“We get branded as a club-staurant—and we invented this—and it was sort of a knock on us. Now it’s a red badge of courage,” says Ralph Scamardella, chief culinary officer and 18-year veteran of Tao Group Hospitality. “I put our food up against anybody, anywhere else in the world, and we have restaurants all over the world.”

While that blueprint exists, “each restaurant needs its own personality and character,” he continues. “Our commitment to the guest experience is never settling on, this is what we do and how we do it. We’re always looking for the next level, how we can give our guests exactly what they’re looking for.”

But how does Tao create and stay on top trends? “There’s no magic pill, it’s just a lot of hard work,” Scamardella says.

Strauss puts it bluntly: “We have a theory in our company—if you don’t change, you die.” He and other execs travel to other markets, analyze new trends and data, and spend a lot of time with the younger members of the team to understand what’s relevant to those demographics.

We’ve seen some of those updates and changes in Tao’s most recent venues, Palm Tree Beach Club at MGM Grand and Caramella Restaurant and Lounge at Planet Hollywood, and we’re about to see more—Marquee Nightclub and Dayclub at the Cosmopolitan is about to unveil a full makeover including a new sound system, LED lighting and kinetic features “bringing the technology up to par with world-class nightclubs around the world,” Strauss says. “Marquee has had an unbelievable run for 15 years as the first club to bring EDM residencies every night of the week, and every club from that point followed that model. But it’s never been renovated, and the impact is going to be dramatic. For guests, it will feel like a whole new experience, and our artists and DJs are really going to have a Ferrari to drive.”

And there’s even more: the company will soon debut the biggest investment in its history with Omnia Dayclub in front of Caesars Palace.

“While other companies are pulling back, we’re betting on our brand, betting on our team and our ability to innovate with the times and stay relevant,” Strauss says. “Our team has given us the ability to deliver for 20 years and still be on top, and it’s something we’re super proud of.”

Tao Vegas timeline

Sept 2005 Tao Asian Bistro and Nightclub opens with the launch of Worship Thursdays, Jermaine Dupri’s birthday party on Friday with Janet Jackson, Mariah Carey, Usher and more, followed by the grand opening night Saturday with Paris Hilton, Chelsea Clinton and others.

April 2007 The original Tao Beach opens. Guests include Tommy Hilfiger, Helen Mirren and Tyler Perry.

Sept 2008 Lavo Italian Restaurant opens at Palazzo with celebs Will.I.Am, Amber Heard, Busta Rhymes and Jamie Foxx.

Dec 2010 Marquee Nightclub opens at the Cosmopolitan with a performance by Florence + The Machine. Rihanna, Jay-Z, Beyoncé, John Mayer, Chris Martin, Gwyneth Paltrow, Alex Rodriguez, Cameron Diaz and others are in attendance.

Oct 2011 The Lavo Champagne Party Brunch makes its debut.

May 2016 Beauty & Essex opens at the Cosmopolitan.

Feb 2017 The Madison Square Garden Company acquires a 62.5% interest in Tao Group Hospitality.

April 2021 Tao Group acquires Hakkasan Group and absorbs its many venues in Las Vegas and around the world.

April 2022 The new, expanded Tao Beach Dayclub opens on the Venetian’s rooftop.

March 2023 Stanton Social Prime opens at Caesars Palace.

May 2023 Mohari Hospitality acquires a majority interest in Tao Group Hospitality from MSG.

Nov 2023 Luchini opens at MGM Grand.

May 2025 Palm Tree Beach Club opens at MGM Grand in the former Wet Republic space. Sydney Sweeney, Jessica Alba, Patrick Schwarzenegger and Kygo celebrate the new dayclub concept.