Frank Marino’s final bow shows Vegas drag’s shift

Frank Marino’s – Frank Marino is set to retire May 31 after decades as a Las Vegas drag fixture, reflecting on how drag went from underground shows to mainstream entertainment, and how the city—and the business of performing—changed along the way.

The night he plans to close the curtain, Frank Marino doesn’t sound nostalgic so much as alert—like a performer taking one last look at how far the Strip has traveled, and how quickly.

Marino, a drag legend who headlined his first Las Vegas show in 1985 at the Riviera hotel and casino, is preparing to take his final bow with “Frank Marino’s Divas, Drag & Drinks” at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas before retiring May 31. He remembers what drag looked like then: “underground.”

“People would come to Las Vegas and that’s when you’d go see your strip show, like a Chippendales or a Crazy Girls, and then you would see your drag show,” Marino told.

Four decades later, the setting is different and the expectations are higher. Marino is still onstage, but the bigger story for him is what’s happened around the stage—how the business of entertainment, the audience, and drag itself have all been pulled into the mainstream.

During Marino’s 41 years on stage in Las Vegas, he says drag moved from the underground to household popularity. He feels he played a role in opening doors, saying he’s “part of the history of drag, making it mainstream.”

“People had come before me and they opened the windows. I think we came in and burst open the doors, and then people like RuPaul took it into the stratosphere,” Marino said. “Now there is, really, a drag show on every corner… there’s a drag run going somewhere in your town.”

He also points to how shows have evolved. Earlier drag acts relied heavily on celebrity impersonations. Now, Marino says, the format has shifted toward a blend of impersonations and original characters. He retired his signature Joan Rivers impression after her death. though his “Frank Marino” character still draws from his long-running alter ego.

For Marino, staying relevant across decades has meant reinventing the act. “I try to make it interesting for myself, because I feel if I’m on stage and I’m interested in what I’m doing and what I have around me, they might be interested as well,” he said.

The city that raised him as a headline act has also been remade. During his time performing at the Riviera. the Imperial Palace (now the Linq). the Tropicana. and the Westgate. two of those hotels have since been demolished. The Riviera site is now part of the Las Vegas Convention Center’s West Hall and surrounding parking lots. while the Tropicana has been cleared to make way for the future home of the Las Vegas A’s.

And Marino says the way casinos do business with performers has changed too. reflecting how the entertainment industry shifted into a more competitive. riskier model. “Back then. you’d come to Las Vegas. and a hotel would pay you to do a show. and they pay for all your advertising … We would do the show, and they would make their money on the casino floor,” Marino said. “Nowadays, there’s more than one show in a hotel, and it’s become more of a rental thing. A lot of shows rent a (show) room and they throw the dice. gambling (on) themselves. and they try to get people in.”.

The audience, he says, has always been hard to win over in Sin City—especially because it’s a “melting pot” of tourists who might be in the crowd on any given night. Still, Marino believes that audience has changed over time.

“When I looked out, it used to be furs and gowns and jewels, and now it’s like fanny packs and flip flops,” Marino said. “Sometimes I feel a little ridiculous in those beautiful Bob Mackie gowns that I’m wearing in the show, and then the audience is very casual.”

Even when the crowd dresses casually, Marino says expectations remain sharp. “You pretty much have to be an intelligent person and very schooled to know a lot of things about what’s going on, especially pop culture, so that you could keep up with the audience expectations,” he said.

The shift in drag—from underground rooms to mainstream slots—has marched alongside the changing economics of the Strip. from hotels underwriting a show to performers competing for attention in a crowded lineup. Marino’s career mirrors that transition: constant adaptation onstage. and a constant read of what the audience can bring with them—whether it’s tuxedos or flip flops.

Looking ahead, Marino says his next act will be as a Las Vegas content creator, drawing on his decades of experience around the Strip and the city.

“I’ve lived as a tourist for the last 41 years in Las Vegas, so I really hope that all that knowledge and all that joy and pleasure I got from being here I can give to somebody who’s coming on a vacation and only has three days to experience what I’ve had 41 years to experience,” he said.

For any performer hoping to follow the same path, Marino’s advice is blunt—because he’s seen the ground move under every career he’s watched. When asked what he would tell a performer who wants to follow in his footsteps in Sin City, he said to be prepared for change.

“Nothing stays the same, and if you think something’s going to last forever, it’s not,” Marino said. “Just be ready to be able to go with the blows and make those changes and make those changes work for you.”

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