The N9NE Group is a partnership that owns and operates restaurants and nightclubs in the Las Vegas metropolitan area

Las Vegas metropolitan area

The Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...

, Chicago

Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

 and Dallas.
The N9NE Group was founded by Michael Morton

Michael Morton

Michael Morton is the son of Zorine and Arnold Arnie Morton, the restaurateur and founder of Morton's Steakhouse Chain. He is the brother of Peter Morton, founder and former owner of Hard Rock Hotel and Casino and co-founder of Hard Rock Cafe and the uncle of Harry Morton, President and CEO of...

 and Scott DeGraff. The two have been friends since age nine, which is the source of the company's name. The son of restaurateur Arnie Morton, Morton grew up in the restaurant business, while DeGraff pursued a career as a real estate attorney

History

In 1992 Morton and DeGraff partnered and launched the nightclub Drink and Eat, Too in Chicago. They went on to open Drink in Las Vegas in 1995. N9NE Steakhouse and Ghostbar opened in Chicago in 2000.

In 2001, George J. Maloof, Jr.

George J. Maloof, Jr.

George J. Maloof, Jr. , also credited as George Maloof Jr. of the Maloof Family, is the son of Colleen and George J. Maloof, Sr...

 of the Maloof family

Maloof family

The Maloof family owns numerous business properties in the Western United States. The origin of the family name is Maalouf and is of Levantine descent; the family is Lebanese via their paternal grandfather. The Maloofs are the owners of the Sacramento Kings of the NBA . The family consists of...

 and owner of the Palms Hotel and Casino asked DeGraff and Morton to recreate their Chicago steakhouse Nine and after-hours Ghostbar at the Palms. N9NE opened Rain Nightclub

Rain Nightclub

Rain Nightclub, at the Palms Casino Resort, opened in the 2001 by the N9NE Group. The club is or has been known as Rain Las Vegas and Rain in the Desert. A variety of celebrities have been spotted at Rain, including Jerry Bruckheimer, Nicky Hilton and David Katzenberg. Rain was the first mega club...

, Ghostbar, N9NE Steakhouse, and Skin Pool Lounge - all at the Palms. In Dallas, Morton and DeGraff partnered with Ross Perot Jr. to create a "new urban showcase" in Victory Park feature Nove Italiano, N9NE Steakhouse, Ghostbar and the retail store Stuff.

The N9NE Group, in conjunction with Green Mountain Energy's BeGreen Business division, works to make its nightclubs environmentally-conscious. In 2007, the N9NE Group offset 100% of its electricity usage by purchasing renewable energy credits (RECs) made from wind and biomass sources. The company also offers guests the opportunity to purchase a "BeGreen" ticket to help the company continue to purchase RECs. The N9NE Group has used Sustainable Waves' solar powered lighting and sound equipment at many of its events.

For Earth Day 2009, the N9NE Group unveiled the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada's (RTC) first Grease BUs, powered by used vegetable oil from N9NE Steakhouse.

The N9NE Group is also one of a number of companies and organizations including Southwest Airlines, Cirque du Soleil, and Planet Hollywood that sponsor events and awards at the CineVegas Film Festival.

Playboy Club at the Fantasy Tower at the Palms

In 2006, N9NE opened the Playboy Club

Playboy Club

The Playboy Club initially was a chain of nightclubs and resorts owned and operated by Playboy Enterprises. The first club opened at 116 E. Walton Street in downtown Chicago, Illinois, United States, on February 29, 1960. Each club generally featured a Living Room, a Playmate Bar, a Dining Room...

 at the Fantasy Tower at the Palms, the first Playboy Club since 1988, in partnership with Playboy Enterprises

Playboy Enterprises

Playboy Enterprises, Inc. is a privately held global media and lifestyle company founded by Hugh Marston Hefner to manage the Playboy magazine empire. Its programming and content are available worldwide on television networks, Websites, mobile platforms and radio...

. Michael Morton's father, Chicago restaurateur Arnie Morton

Arnie Morton

Arnold "Arnie" Morton was a restaurateur who founded Morton's Restaurant Group/Morton's Steakhouse. He is the father of Peter Morton, owner of Hard Rock Hotel and Casino and co-founder of Hard Rock Cafe; of Michael Morton, head of the N9NE Group, which operates contemporary American steakhouses...

, built and operated the original chain of Playboy nightclubs.

Restaurants and Clubs

• N9NE Group Las Vegas - all in the Palms Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas:
  • N9NE Steakhouse - Essentially, this is a steakhouse.
  • Playboy Club
    Playboy Club (Las Vegas)
    The Playboy Club is a nightclub located on the 52nd floor of the Fantasy Tower at the Palms Casino Resort in Paradise, Nevada, which is located in the Las Vegas metropolitan area...
    
     - Directly above Nove Italiano
  • Rain Night Club - encourages out-of-state visitors to leave the Strip
  • Nove Italiano Restaurant - located on the 51st floor of the Palms Fantasy Tower, just below the Playboy Club and Moon Night Club, it offers Italian cuisine
  • Ghostbar - Located on the 55th floor of the Palms, Ghostbar features DJs spinning house and hip-hop and a mixed crowd of Vegas locals and tourists.
  • Palms Pool and Bungalows - three outdoor pools with poolside gaming available. Some of the games are in the pool.
  • Moon Night Club - Located on the 53rd floor of the Fantasy Tower
• N9NE Chicago
  • N9NE Steakhouse Chicago - a steakhouse off
  • Ghostbar floor - located at the upper Level of the Nine.
• N9NE Cabazon
• N9NE Dallas
  • N9NE Steakhouse - Steakhouse and caviar bar located in the South Center Plaza of the American Airlines Center. Closed February 4, 2009 due to lack of business.
  • Ghostbar - The Ghostbar atop the new W Dallas Victory Hotel and Residences Tower in downtown Dallas bar has a 100 square feet (9 m²) deck built entirely of glass with a see-through floor
  • Nove Italiano Restaurant - italian restaurant located in the South Center Plaza of the American Airlines Center. Opened in 2007, closed September 2008 due to lack of business.

N9NE Steakhouse

The original N9NE Steakhouse in Chicago was open prior to Palms Casino Resort owner George Maloof's offer to partner with Morton and DeGraff to replicate the steakhouse at his new hotel. Condé Nast Traveler

Condé Nast Traveler

Condé Nast Traveler is a US magazine published by Condé Nast. It has its origins in a mailing sent out by the Diners Club club beginning in 1953, listing locations that would take the card. It began taking advertising in 1955. In order to attract more advertisers, it became a full-fledged magazine,...

 called the original N9NE Steakhouse “one of the newest, hottest and best places to eat in the entire world,” while John Mariani of Wine Spectator

Wine Spectator

Wine Spectator is a lifestyle magazine that focuses on wine and wine culture. It publishes 15 issues per year with content that includes news, articles, profiles, and general entertainment pieces...

dubbed it “the hottest of Chicago’s new restaurants.” The Las Vegas N9NE Steakhouse earned honors as one of “America’s Best Restaurants” from Gourmet magazine.

When the Palms opened its doors in 2001, it housed not only the Las Vegas edition of N9NE Steakhouse, but three other N9NE Group venues as well: Rain Nightclub, ghostbar, and Skin Pool Lounge.