Monster remodel of Vegas’ Wet Republic promises an even splashier pool party

When Las Vegas’ longest-running pool party reopens this spring, visitors will find a new multimillion-dollar playground.

A top-to-bottom reboot of Wet Republic Ultra Pool at MGM Grand will introduce new plunge pools, reimagined artist performance spaces and cabanas, a revamped culinary program and an audio-visual experience that insiders promise will be without equal on the Strip — a bold forecast in a city known for excess. The face-lift should be completed in time for the opening of pool season in March.

Day clubs popped up more than a decade ago, promising high-wattage pool parties with the feel of a nonstop college spring break. Dress codes are strictly enforced (no street clothes or jeans, for example, and generally the less clothing, the better).

Swimming isn’t the point of these saltwater pools. Filled with waist-high water, they’re intended for sloshing, dipping and mingling. Champagne showers pop up unexpectedly, well-known DJs turn the music up to beyond loud, and food and beverage menus go far beyond burgers and bottle service to include lobster rolls, sushi, keto bowls and margaritas made with watermelon juice and aged tequila.

Wet Republic is the granddaddy of them all, a 54,000-square-foot Sasquatch of Vegas pool parties spread across an area larger than an NFL football field. It has three main pools, a dance floor, cabanas, day beds, DJs and outsized cocktail bars.

Designers are installing whiz-bang audiovisual tech to amp up the party. The performance space will soon be surrounded by 4,000 square feet of high-contrast video displays, including a 13-foot interactive, pixel-mapping cube. Workers are also installing the same sound technology used inside Omnia Nightclub (like Wet Republic, part of Hakkasan Group), which borrows heavily from Tomorrowland and Coachella music festivals.

The lineup of artists already includes Tiësto, Zedd, Martin Garrix, Steve Aoki and Illenium. One of the goals of the overhaul is to deliver clearer sight lines from any angle in the venue, said Krystle Anttonelli, a Hakkasan spokeswoman.

Tickets to Wet Republic’s summer party series go on sale Feb 4.