Diddy, Mike Tyson host a splashy bash at Rehab Beach Club
Hard Rock Hotel is about to check out of its Rehab stint.
Sean “Diddy” Combs and Mike Tyson were the combination who led the final Labor Day event ever at the club over the holiday weekend. The party ushered in nostalgia of the famous “daylife” merriment (though rumors of the actual Usher participating did not pan out).
Rehab is closing at the end of this year after a spirited, 15-year history at HRH. We all have Rehab memories, or should. I saw The Knack perform at the pool’s summer concert series in July 2006. I remember the set list placed at the edge of the stage for the late singer Doug Fieger, with “Sharona” listed simply as the encore.
This weekend’s party was a far more hip-hop undertaking, which starred Tyson and Diddy along with hip-hop artist O.T. Genesis, and Diddy’s son, Justin Combs. PartyNextDoor, Laidback Luke, and DJ Ookay were among the name (and they are biggies if you are in to the hip-hop scene) who thundered onstage for thousands of guests.
Dancers from Genise Ruidiaz’s GAR Entertainment in Las Vegas performed on and around the stage. The dance crew also fired champagne from semiautomatic-fashioned weapons into the crowd. This was an aggressive, and moist, experience.
Well-suited, if needlessly so, was Hard Rock Hotel/Virgin Hotel Las Vegas Chief Executive Officer Richard “Boz” Bosworth. The Boz had a ball, in a refined sort of way, and reminded that Rehab is still to host Laidback Luke, the final Bikini Invitational competition (which I helped judge, along with Mark Shunock, in 2014) and DJ Camilo through its last day of operation Oct. 14.
“An all-new daylife experience, which will again set standards in Vegas, will emerge in 2020,” Boz said. He met Tyson on Sunday, and said, “I appreciated the champ’s support. He himself is a Vegas icon and we were honored he was here for the event.”
John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on Twitter, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.