Awkward: Bottled Blonde Gets Management Shake-Up
There’s been a management purge at the $50 million Bottled Blonde Las Vegas, outside Horseshoe in the Grand Bazaar Shops sorta. It’s next to Ole Red. You know, the successful one. Told you it was awkward.
Bottled Blonde Las Vegas opened June 26, 2025. News about a new company, 81/82 Group, being brought in to run the place was announced June 17, 2026. It’s fair to assume this move wasn’t because Bottled Blonde is going gangbusters.
Bottled Blonde comes from Arizona-based hospitality company Evening Entertainment Group (EEG) and Creation, a real estate development and “alternative investment firm,” and by “alternative” we assume they mean investments that don’t provide acceptable returns. But that’s all about to change!
EEG, through its “strategic partnership with 81/82,” is bringing in some veteran executives to operate Bottled Blonde, which has one of the best locations in the world.
The partnership will provide a “refreshed vision.” Which, in the parlance of the nightlife business, means “S.O.S.”
81/82 Group is the hospitality company from founders Ryan Labbe and Jason “JRoc” Craig (we thought the “JRoc” thing was being ironic, but nope), and its Las Vegas portfolio includes La Neta Cocina y Lounge in Downtown Summerlin, Mas Por Favor in Chinatown, Early Birds in southwest Las Vegas along with a trifecta of fancy lounges at Venetian/Palazzo; Electra, Juliet and Rosina.
The Internet could not provide the inspiration for the name 81/82, but we trust they are numbers of personal significance to the founders. The official site calls it 8182 Group, but the news release says 81/82 Group.
Perhaps too granular.
The partnership comes with a new leadership team.
Dave Severino has been named Director of Operations. His background includes Hakkasan Nightclub, Clique Bar & Lounge, Barbershop Cuts & Cocktails and Hard Shake at Waldorf Astoria Las Vegas.
Today we learned that bar is called Hard Shake, a name inspired by “things you should never do to infants.”
Michael Peña joins Bottled Blonde as General Manager. Peña most recently served as General Manager of LIV Beach at Fontainebleau Las Vegas, and previously held senior operations roles with Circa, Palms and Wynn Nightlife.
Paul Edgar joins as Director of Marketing. Edgar was previously Senior Director of Marketing for Barbershop Cuts & Cocktails and Clique Bar & Lounge, and also worked with 1OAK, the former nightclub at Mirage.
According to Bottled Blonde, guests can expect changes in the coming months, including improvements to the culinary program, upgraded service standards and a refreshed entertainment calendar.
The first floor of Bottled Blonde will continue to be sports-focused, with major sporting events, expanded live music programming and upgraded menu offerings.
The “rooftop experience is being reimagined as one of the city’s premier open-air lounges, showcasing panoramic Strip views, sunset-focused programming and curated nightlife experiences.”
We enjoyed our visits to Bottled Blonde after it opened, but haven’t really had a compelling reason to return.
We are not a sports or DJs or “curated nightlife experiences” person, but the food was very strong bar food.
This venue has a lot going for it, but it’s a competitive landscape out there, especially at a time when Las Vegas visitation is sagging a smidge.
It’s a massive space (four stories, a total of 25,000 square feet), which is both a blessing and a curse. Even when there’s business, it can feel empty, curated or not.
Bottled Blonde is bringing in execs who are very familiar with the market. We’ll be watching for the biggest red flag, known in the business as “reaching out to locals.”
Our advice is once the operational bases have been covered, devote resources to digital marketing. Have you ever seen a paid ad or post from Bottled Blonde? As part of the effort, woo folks with social media followings. Not influencers or foodies. Just connect with apostles. Skip traditional media entirely, it’s useless.
Get into the conversation. Stop using jargon and communicate what Bottled Blonde is. What’s the core value proposition? The market differentiator? You can’t be all things to all people. Is it a sports bar? A nightclub? A restaurant? A rooftop lounge? The answer might be “yes,” but that muddies the identity of the place.
The key, as always, is to make something so good, it’s buzzworthy. Not with hackneyed buzzwords. Create actual buzz.
If it’s great, word-of-mouth will do the heavy lifting.
Get in the game, Bottled Blonde.
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