Spendy Las Vegas 'divorce parties' offer a raucous 'fresh start'

In October 2015, Ariel Khawaja traveled to Cozumel, Mexico, to say "I do" before a group of 55 wedding guests.

Three years later she corralled her two best friends to stand beside her in Las Vegas as she said two other magic words: "I don't."

Anchoring the trip around a Drake concert, the 28-year-old, who works in real estate, filled her week with gambling, clubbing at the ritzy 1 OAK, partying poolside at Wet Republic — a day club at the MGM Grand — and otherwise recharging.

"Las Vegas is fun all the time, but when you're there for your divorce, you're really free," says Khawaja. "When you're there celebrating such a big change, you live in the moment and you're not worried about what happened yesterday. I didn't pay to have a pity party — I wanted to relax and enjoy time with my friends after the hell I had been through."

If the "Hangover" films cemented Las Vegas' reputation as the ultimate bachelor-party town, Khawaja and other fun-loving travelers are helping establish it as the opposite: the perfect destination for a divorce party. Often an exultant multiday escapade, these vacations celebrate — not mourn — the ending of a marriage. And in a city versed in over-the-top hospitality, venues are finding creative ways to help divorced men and women embrace their new relationship status.

Although the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority doesn't track divorce-party figures, it also doesn't shy away from the issue, and seasoned Vegas hospitality vets have seen the festivities firsthand.

Adam Clough first heard about the concept 10 years ago but says it's taken off more recently. He once helped a guest fete his divorce in the company of his former groomsmen.

Preferring the moniker "girls' trip" or "friends' trip," Julie Banning, a travel adviser at Embark, has seen the trend rise in the past year or so.

"Lately we've seen a lot of people finding any excuse to travel," says Banning, who's planned several such trips. "It used to be that you go on your honeymoon. Now you go on a mini-moon before you go on your honeymoon. This is like one of those milestone trips — like, 'OK, guess I'm going to take my divorce trip now.' "

A few years ago, Las Vegas native Bri Steck was deciding what to call her fledgling concierge company. To meet the rising demand for divorce parties, now about 10 percent of her business, she went with Vegas Girls Night Out (VGNO).

"I know bachelorettes get crazy, but it's only to an extent because they're getting ready to spend the rest of their life with somebody," Steck says. "When you're having a divorce party, you don't have to worry about anybody else. There's no guilt there. There's nobody to answer to at home."

Banning says a group of friends celebrating a divorce might be a bit older — and more financially solvent — than a gaggle of future bridesmaids. That means cocktails at an exclusive speakeasy instead of Jell-O shots, and shelling out for capacious accommodations instead of cramming 10 people into a single hotel room.

According to the 2018 Las Vegas Visitor Profile Study, although 74 percent of visitors gambled while in town, two-thirds did so for two hours or less per day. That leaves plenty of time for endeavors like seeing a show. Or, as someone once told MGM's Clough: "I want to do good things during the day and bad things at night."

Some venues market specifically to the divorce-party crowd. The Just Divorced package ($499) at Machine Guns Vegas, a self-described "luxury gun range," encourages divorcées to take a machine gun to their wedding dress and marriage certificate while wearing a black "Just Divorced" sash.

But often, Las Vegas itself is enough. Banning's clients have embraced activities that their husbands might have pooh-poohed, including a Grand Canyon helicopter excursion, top-notch seats to Jennifer Lopez and private meet-and-greets with Britney Spears.

Not surprisingly, mending shreds of a broken heart with barely any shred of clothing is a popular option as well.

VGNO's divorce-party clients especially appreciate the VIP seating at Thunder From Down Under — say, around the very tables the oiled-up Aussies-in-thongs dance on.

Strip clubs are also a popular choice. "Your spirits will be insanely lifted by the time you leave," jokes Lindsay Feldman, the director of brand marketing for Crazy Horse 3, an upscale gentlemen's club that's hosted high-profile celebrity divorce parties.

"Divorces are obviously very sensitive, but they're also symbolic of freedom, and these parties are about the 'power divorce,' " Feldman says. "They're about celebrating in a dynamic atmosphere with people who love you."

That atmosphere drives home another truth: Las Vegas is one of the best places on Earth to be single.