Jay-Z’s 40/40 Club seems to be taking over the world. And so are the people who work there. Meet Osiris Mae, the man behind the VIP room. With an illustrious career spanning 13 years, Mae has taken on the role of making sure all of the VIPs are happy. And when you’re dealing with NBA and NFL players, you better pay extra close attention. The San Jose native, who has worked in such notable venues such as Glo, Rain, Ghost Bar and OPM (aka: Poetry), sat down with Clubplanet to
dish on Jay-Z, Beyonce and the infamous gaming lounge inside the club.
Clubplanet: How did you get this much desired gig?
Osiris Mae: I was asked to come over there by one of the managers. I’ve been working in nightlife for about 13 years. I started in Oakland. A little old club called Jeffrey’s. It was funny because a friend of mine who owned 80% of the clubs in San Francisco introduced me to Jeffrey who owned Jeffry’s. Within a half an hour of talking to Jeffry, he gave me $300 and he said “Go buy a suit and I’ll see you on Saturday.” That was the first gig I ever had.
Seems like Jeffrey prepared you. So, what are your responsibilities as VIP host?
Basically to make sure the [sports] players and the customers who make reservations that come in are taken care of. I make sure they have their VIP area. Whatever they need, I take care of it.
How does it feel to work for the greatest rapper alive?
It’s the best thing ever. He comes to the club. I’ve seen him a few times with Beyonce. He just walks through the club like a regular person and interacts with people. It’s probably the best thing I’ve ever seen.
Do you often interact with him?
We have a gaming lounge inside 40/40. We’re the only club in Las Vegas that has our own gaming lounge. And they were in there gambling. I had to go in there for some reason, take some players in there that wanted to gamble. One of the tables was reserved, Irv Gotti, Phil Ivey, guys like that were on the table, and one of my players wanted to play and we needed permission from Jay to unlock the table. I had a conversation with him about it and he said “Yeah.” And my player was able to get on. It was cool that he was like “oh, yeah.”
How does one get into the VIP section if they don’t want to buy bottles?
It’s very controlled. It’s not like normal clubs where there is easy access. We have a lot of security. Obviously you can’t be scraggily. You have to look good. Not just anyone can get into the VIP room if they don’t have their A-game on. Especially if they aren’t paying.
What about the ladies? How should a woman present herself to get in?
That’s just a hard question. I would say 5 notches below and above Kim Kardashian. You have to be as comparable or above to her. You have to look hot.
What is a successful night for you?
When we have over 2400 people to come in or are waiting to come in. That’s a very good night.
What about a bad night? Experienced one of those yet?
We have the upper echelon of people that come to the club. They come expecting to spend money; they come expecting to have a good time. There aren’t any real issues I’ve encountered just yet.
And we hope you don’t.
More info on 40/40 Club Las Vegas
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