Jason Strauss

Strauss was born in 1974 and raised in Manhattan. He attended Riverdale Country School in The Bronx,^[4][5] where he later hosted a homecoming party, at which he met Noah Tepperberg.^[6] The two became friends and had a mutual interest in throwing parties. The two began by hosting prom and college parties before entering the nightclub industry. Strauss graduated from Boston University in 1997 with a Bachelor of Science degree in communications and Hospitality management.^[7]

Strauss moved back to New York City and in 1997 formed a special events, public relations, and marketing company known as Strategic Group whose clients included PlayStation and Coca-Cola.^[8] In 2003, he started Marquee New York in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood with Tepperberg. The nightclub quickly grew to host over 1,200 guests a night and began Strauss' full time career in the nightclub hospitality business.^[9] He, Marc Packer and Rich Wolf, who owned Tao Asian Bistro New York nightclub, and Tepperberg partnered to open a new nightclub known as Tao Asian Bistro Las Vegas inside the Venetian in 2005.^[10] This project turned out to be the biggest success of his career. Tao Group Hospitality was formed in 2009 to operate his and Tepperberg's properties. He has hosted some of the world's most famous celebrities including Leonardo DiCaprio, Martin Scorsese, Paris Hilton, Swizz Beats, and Jho Low, the latter was charged with money laundering.^[11][12] Strauss founded LAVO, an Italian restaurant with locations in the Marina Bay Sands, Mexico City, and Las Vegas.^[13][14]

Tao Group Hospitality now runs over 80 locations across the world and it acquired the Cantonese restaurant Hakkasan in 2021, further expanding its catalog of restaurants.^[15][16] Strauss still plays an active role in running the Tao locations, specifically the Las Vegas location, while he and the other founders hold a collective 33% share in the company as of 2025.^[17] He helped establish the Omnia Nightclub and Dayclub at Caesars Palace.^[18][19]