On Jan. 27, 1993, Liliana Lovell opened the doors to the first Coyote Ugly on Manhattan’s 1st Avenue, unleashing a chain of events that would result in a movie based on her bar and second location in the heart of Las Vegas that became an immediate hit. The party continues in the present at the Vegas venue, which in November celebrates 21 years of serving shots and bar top hijinks on the second level of New York-New York. On Friday and Saturday evenings beginning at 9 p.m., Coyote Ugly guarantees a good time on the Strip.
Lovell’s blueprint for a successful bar started when she discovered she had a knack for making money in the bar business. A Catholic school girl turned New York University student, Lovell found that after a few drinks she was uninhibited enough to jump on the bar and sing along with the jukebox. The bar owner found drink sales increased with Lovell’s enthusiasm. After a post-college stint working on Wall Street, she realized she felt more comfortable and made more money behind the bar. When an opportunity to become a partner in what would become Coyote Ugly presented itself, it seemed like destiny.
Her modus operandi became the way of the Coyote Ugly bartender: sassing customers, challenging them to drinking contests and dancing on bars to country music while looking great doing it. Asking for a frozen drink will likely result in a friendly insult followed by a challenge to drink Wild Turkey. As the place fills, the fun really begins.
No one can quite match Lovell when it comes to singing, dancing and egging on the crowd, but she certainly knows how to bring the best out of bartenders, whether they’re slinging drinks in New York, Las Vegas or any of the more than 20 other Coyote Ugly outposts around the world. If you haven’t experienced the fun for yourself, now is the perfect time.
New York-New York, 702.740.6330
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