NuWu Cannabis to host consumption-friendly MJBizCon after parties

When darkness falls on the Las Vegas Strip and the neon flashes light up the desert sky, Benny Tso has a front-row seat.

So does anyone else lucky enough to be at NuWu Cannabis Las Vegas’ Sky High Lounge just north of downtown, owned and operated by Tso’s Las Vegas Paiute Tribe.

And this year, that will include anyone attending MJBizCon from Dec. 2 – 5.

The largest lounge in Sin City, NuWu is also an official partner of MJBizCon for official conference afterparties and events, all held at the tribe’s 3-acre facility.

In addition to a full retail experience, NuWu’s campus includes a massive outdoor space with heaters as well as an indoor lounge that serves cannabis-infused drinks and a space to convene and consume legally.

The partnership between NuWu and MJBizCon grants conference attendees the privilege to sample product while networking and see an example of retail and lounge success.

And it’s a model for marijuana social-equity entrepreneurs and other tribal organizations considering entering the legal cannabis space.

NuWu Cannabis’ SkyHigh Lounge is official MJBizCon partner

“We are a tribe, and we’re trying to make it in this industry,” Tso told MJBizDaily recently.

Benny Tso, chairman of the Las Vegas Paiute tribe, wants NuWu Cannabis to provide for his people for seven generations. Photo courtesy of NuWu Cannabis.

In addition to giving conference attendees a VIP experience, the partnership between NuWu and MJBizCon allows the Las Vegas Paiute “to get our story out,” he added.

And it’s a story that could benefit attendees as well as marijuana industry veterans.

“We’ve had our trials and tribulations in this ever-growing cannabis industry,” Tso said.

NuWu – another name used for the Southern Paiute people who populated the vast expanse of southern Nevada centuries before the first gambler stepped onto the strip – entered the legal marijuana space in 2017.

The first purchase? Benny Tso, who picked up a pack of Willie’s Reserve pre-rolls.

NuWu offers tribal marijuana model

It was the first tribal cannabis business in Las Vegas and predates legal marijuana stores in most of the rest of the country.

That qualifies NuWu as an elder in the $32 billion overall marijuana industry but also among Native American tribes.

Not every tribe is set up to enter legal cannabis. The Las Vegas Paiute had the advantages of land, water, power and being near a major tourist-friendly marketplace.

Still, success was far from guaranteed.

“We took a chance,” Tso said. “There are not too many other tribes out there doing this.”

But unlike some who may be looking to enter and exit the industry for a quick buck, the Paiute’s mindset was always multigenerational.

“We don’t just look out for ourselves and our grandkids,” Tso said.

“Our mentality is, we’ve gotta keep this thing going for seven generations out.”

SkyHigh Lounge is a unique marijuana experience

NuWu’s retail experience adheres to all the same laws governing marijuana stores in Las Vegas proper and throughout the state.

But unlike other stores, customers at the NuWu store have the luxury of a physically large space – and one in which there’s no rush.

“We have the ability to have our customers  move around and not have them funneled around like cattle, so to speak,” Tso said.

Purchasers can also strike up informed conversations with NuWu budtenders without the pressure of any time constraints.

That’s a benefit for medical cannabis patients, Tso said.

“They want to be greeted, they want to talk about some of their ailments, they want to be able to describe them to budtenders so the budtenders can be able to get them their medicine,” he said.

“The education part of it plays a big role.”

Once customers find the proper remedy, they’re able to partake of the SkyHigh Lounge’s many amenities, which include a golf simulator and cannabis-infused drinks bar.

There’s also a constant parade of programming, including live comedy and music and movie nights.

“Whatever we can think of that will provide that experience for the customer,” Tso said.

For cannabis industry insiders, the lounge offers the peculiar advantage of being able to sample and taste product in the middle of a networking experience.

“That’s something you just can’t do in any other dispensary,” Tso said.

The seven-generation NuWu cannabis story

The lounge doesn’t tell the full NuWu cannabis story.

“We’re gearing up for the second wave of what the NWu brand can offer,” Tso said.

That’s going on behind the scenes as the tribe prepares to fully activate a new 110,000-square foot cultivation facility.

As of June, there were 30,000 plants growing – the first crop of NuWu’s own house brand that it will market to other retailers throughout the state.

In that way, the Las Vegas Paiute will have all the same advantages of a marijuana multistate operator.

“Having that grow, being vertically integrated, now allows us to get closer to having that seven-generation outlook,” Tso said.

“That’s what this is all about: making sure we’re creating longevity for our tribe, creating new revenue to keep our tribe going.”

Chris Roberts can be reached at chris.roberts@mjbizdaily.com.