DJ Nicky Romero putting in hours at Mandalay Bay clubs

Back in June, Nicky Romero didn’t just walk up to his DJ booth at Light nightclub. He ziplined to it, down from the ceiling, then he queued up the music and let it rip.

“I’ve never seen a (nightclub) like this,” Romero says. “The place is amazing. It looks great. The people go crazy. Everything is next-level.”

Romero returns to Mandalay Bay to perform at the hotel’s pool, Daylight, on Saturday and then follows up with a show at Light that night.

The last time he played at Daylight, Romero, 24, flew his parents here — all the way from the Netherlands — and took them onstage with him.

“I brought my parents onstage and people went mental because it’s a little bit of the real you,” Romero says. “You’re turning into the person Nick, and not just the artist.”

Those Vegas gigs were eye-opening for his father, to see how substantial his son is regarded in the music world.

“He didn’t know it was that big. He just thought it was like a nice hobby,” Romero says. “He sees his son up there in Las Vegas, on the other side of the world, while people are going wild.

“It was an emotional moment.”

But his parents did know Romero was pulling in large paychecks because they help run his record label Protocol Recordings.

Romero’s label works with such stars as Calvin Harris, Nervo, Krewella and John Dahlback, as well as up-and-comers Vicetone and Don Diablo.

Romero tours with those acts at times. But he tries to stay out of their business, so they can all remain as friendly as possible.

So anyway, Romero’s parents — who are police officers by day — manage a lot of the heavy financials at their son’s label.

“I don’t want to get too involved in the business stuff. I’m an artist. I just want to make music and have fun. I always say, ‘I have a lot of fun. The rest I leave to my parents. They sort it out.’ ”

Romero jokes that since his parents are cops, that helps them keep the peace at Protocol Recordings.

“They are the law. They know what they are doing. And if you don’t follow the law, you will go to jail, so you better treat them well,” Romero says.

But truth be told, his mom and dad are “the most chilled out parents you could think of,” he says.

“They let me drive the car before I was allowed to. They let me shoot guns. My parents were so easy and future-thinking. They aren’t old fashioned.”

Doug Elfman’s column appears on Page 3A in the main section on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. He also writes for Neon on Fridays. Email him at delfman@reviewjournal.com. He blogs at reviewjournal.com/elfman.