The owners of db's Pong and Pool believe they've created a real neighborhood bar in the middle of the Strip.
With cheap drinks, pub food and old-school games, the new sports and game bar in the Miracle Mile Shops hopes to draw locals.
"We're trying to do it by offering prices and deals you can't find anywhere else down here," said Kevin Rodgers, general manager of db's, which opened in October. "Usually, you're going to spend a lot more on the Strip."
The bar offers Tuesday "nickel night," when a $10 cover buys you 5-cent PBR drafts and Svedka vodka drinks from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. It also has all-you-can drink nights, meal specials and bottle service starting at $100.
Even when they’re not on special, PBR drafts cost $2. Other draft beers range from $5 to $6 and mixed drinks cost $5 to $12.
Db's offers pool, darts, foosball, video games and ping pong. On Monday nights, ping pong is free for locals with an ID. The bar also is one of few places in Las Vegas with shuffleboard tables.
Beer pong tournaments with cash prizes take place Wednesdays and Thursdays. Db's is one of only a handful of Strip venues that offer the sport. O'Sheas was most widely known for its beer pong play, but it closed in April. Now, db's is trying to pick up the slack, along with Blondie's and the Slush Bar at Bill's Gamblin' Hall, although that will close next month for renovation.
The "db" stands for "dirty blondes," a nod to its sister sports bar Blondie's, also in the Miracle Mile Shops.
"Blondie's has quite a following already, so we thought of the name as a kind of inside joke," co-owner Glenn Klinker said.
The 20,000-foot space used to house the Asia Nightclub. It now is divided to include two levels and private party rooms for groups. A large stage holds DJs and live bands.
The Friday and Saturday lineup includes the American Storm Male Review, but curtains section off a small area in front of the stage so people can eat, drink and play without buying tickets (or seeing more than they want to).
"We're not a nightclub," Rodgers said. "We want people to be able to dance and listen to music but not be so loud they can't carry on a conversation. The biggest hurdle is getting people to this side of Harmon.
"We're going to get the tourist crowd regardless. We want the locals and the industry people who work the Strip to know there's an unpretentious bar right across the street, just like they’d find in their neighborhoods.”