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Mar 30, 2023

Lil Jon parties with Stanley Cup at Wet Republic in Vegas during Final

LAS VEGAS -- The Stanley Cup sat on a table in the back of the DJ booth at Wet

LAS VEGAS -- The Stanley Cup sat on a table in the back of the DJ booth at Wet Republic Ultra Pool, a dayclub at the MGM Grand billed as the "ultimate pool party experience."

Men in swim trunks and women in bikinis stood on their tiptoes and craned their necks, trying to peer over a wall and sneak a peek at the hottest thing in the place.

"Nobody touch the [bleeping] Cup!" Lil Jon shouted as he arrived to tape a segment to air on TNT before Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final between the Vegas Golden Knights and Florida Panthers on Monday.

[RELATED: Complete Stanley Cup FInal coverage]

Lil Jon is a famous rapper, producer and DJ. He's also a huge hockey fan who has supported the Golden Knights since they joined the NHL as an expansion team in 2017-18.

The Cup came out on stage, overlooking a pool packed with partiers. Lil Jon joined it wearing a black Golden Knights floppy hat, black and gold designer sunglasses, two thick gold chains, and a red Golden Knights tank top.

"The Stanley Cup in the building tonight!" he told the crowd, bending down and holding his right hand out toward the Cup in reverence. "Now, in about two weeks, the Golden Knights are going to close this series out with the Stanley Cup, and we're going to parade this thing down Las Vegas Boulevard!"

Video: Lil Jon shows support for Golden Knights

He pumped his fists in the air as the crowd cheered.

To appreciate the scene, you must appreciate Wet Republic. This is an adults-only indulgence with a very Vegas vibe -- 54,500 square feet of large pools, intimate dipping pools, daybeds, banquets, luxurious bungalows and deluxe cabanas, according to the venue website.

Celebrity DJs spin each weekend throughout the summer, pumping music with the same sound technology used at the Omnia Nightclub and the Coachella and Tomorrowland festivals. There are 4,000 square feet of LED displays complementing the audio. The focal point is a 13-foot interactive cube with pixel-mapping and color-mixing capabilities that cantilevers directly above DJ booth.

Let's just say Stanley wasn't the only cup in sight. As the partiers held their cups, Lil Jon rose the energy level.

"All right, everybody, hands up!" he shouted. "Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey!"

For a second, amid the insanity, Lil Jon bent down and looked at the Cup again, as if he were studying his reflection or reading the names of the champions of the past. Then he stood back up.

"Las Vegas!" he shouted.

The crowd roared.

Later, he led a chant you'd hear inside T-Mobile Arena less than a mile away.

"We have wanted to give our fans watching on TV a true feel of Vegas," NHL chief content officer Steve Mayer said. "Lil Jon is a real NHL fan, and when he started getting the crowd at Wet Republic to scream 'Go Knights Go!' I loved it. So Vegas. So much fun."

It was all part of the Stanley Cup Final spectacle. Marshmello performed at Toshiba Plaza outside of T-Mobile Arena before Game 1 on Saturday. Flo Rida will take the stage outside FLA Live Arena in Sunrise, Florida, before Game 3 on Thursday. More is to come. Stay tuned.

Mike Bolt, Keeper of the Cup, has seen many Cup victory parties, including at least two at Wet Republic. Members of the Los Angeles Kings brought the Cup here in 2012 and 2014. Members of the St. Louis Blues brought the Cup to Vegas right after the parade in 2019 and might have brought it here too, but it's, um, well, hard to remember exactly.

Bolt had never seen a Cup preparty like this one, though.

"This is the first time we've done something like this at the actual Final," Bolt said as he stood to the side in the DJ booth, keeping an eye on the Cup. "This is like what we would do in the summertime when we go to a nightclub, except it's in the afternoon."