Las Vegas Drag Icon Frank Marino on Ending His 41-Year Run in Vegas Showbiz

^{Frank Marino is ending his residency on top after four decades, with two plaques on the Vegas Walk of Stars, a key to the city, and the title of longest-running headliner on the Strip. (Photo: courtesy of Frank Marino Enterprises)}

LAS VEGAS – Anyone who knows old-school Vegas entertainment should know who Frank Marino is. The drag impersonator has spent four decades in Sin City as one of the biggest names in Las Vegas showbiz, building a residency on and off the Strip that’s seen the ups and downs of the entertainment industry. 

This weekend, that multi-decade run will come to an end as Marino has announced the end of “Divas, Drag, and Drinks" at the Virgin Hotels Las Vegas. Casinos.com spoke with Marino the week before his final performances to discuss the legacy he's leaving behind and how he kept the show fresh over the years. 

"It's bittersweet," he says. "This has been my job since I was 17. It's going to be very strange hanging up the heels after the last show."

Marino holds the unofficial record for the longest headlining performance at a single casino after being a part of “An Evening at La Cage” for more than 20 years at the Riviera Hotel. He is also the highest-paid female impersonator in the world, with his show generating approximately $2.5 million annually during its run.

“Divas, Drag, and Drinks” will have its final performances this weekend, May 29-31, at Oxford 24 inside Virgin Hotels Las Vegas. Ranked number two on TripAdvisor among more than 302 Las Vegas shows, the show has been running seven days a week, with three shows a night since 2024. 

Master of Drag Before It Was Mainstream

When Marino flew from New York to Las Vegas in the early 1980s, he snagged a job as a performer in "An Evening at La Cage" at the Riviera Hotel, one of the city's iconic old-school properties that is now an empty lot near the Las Vegas Convention Center owned by Fontainebleau. Drag at that point was far from the mainstream entertainment form it has become today.

“I think what I'm proud of is taking an art form such as drag, which was a very vaudeville-type of entertainment in the past, and turning it mainstream,” Marino said. “We opened the doors so that other people like RuPaul could come through and be able to take it even further. But we did all the groundwork laying down the foundation.”

Marino watched Las Vegas dramatically transform around him just as dramatically and said he misses the version of Vegas when the mob had a hand in running the show.

"I even miss the mafia," he says. "Corporate America has pulled it down, trying to squeeze every dime out of every area they can."

He was candid when he said he it’s a tough time in Vegas’s entertainment landscape and he wouldn’t start a show with the way the economy is now. That’s also part of why he values Virgin Hotels as a final home for the show. For Marino, the property's welcoming nature for locals, its free parking, and its off-Strip accessibility represent something closer to the old-school Vegas he remembers and loves.

Joan Rivers: The Woman Who Started It All

No conversation with Marino is complete without talking about Joan Rivers, whom he spent countless years impersonating. Their relationship actually helped to start his career.

When Marino was young, he traveled to Atlantic City to catch one of her shows, and he was lucky enough to be let backstage. It was there that he met a producer putting together a new show in Las Vegas, who asked if he'd like to audition. Marino went for it and got the job. The rest is 41 years of Las Vegas history.

"I always feel like Joan Rivers helped me get my start," he says. "A lot of what I did was thanks to her, so I honor her through the impersonations."

The relationship, however, was not without its bumps in the road. In 1986, Rivers sued Marino for $5 million over his use of material from her hit album at the time in his act. Marino found it baffling at the time, given that impersonating her was literally his job.

But they settled the case, brought in writers to sort out the material, and they ended up creating a genuine friendship. 

“It’s even a joke in the show, thank God we settled because I was 80 bucks short,” he joked. “But we then became good friends again.”

Frank Marino performs during a show in his Joan Rivers look. (Photo: courtesy of Frank Marino)

Just weeks before Rivers passed away in 2014, he appeared alongside her on Fashion Police, the E! series where she reviewed celebrity red carpet looks. He said he’s grateful that his career came “full circle” like that.

After her passing, Marino had to navigate the delicate task of continuing to honor someone who was no longer there to weigh in on how she was being portrayed.

"I always felt I had to be more careful about how I portrayed someone, especially someone who has passed,” he said. “It was like walking a tightrope."

Keeping a Show Fresh Over Four Decades

When you run a Vegas show for over 40 years, it’s important to keep it fun for both new and returning audiences. He’s paid close attention to audience feedback after every show, including which numbers land and which don't, and what people are talking about. If multiple people flag the same number, he takes it seriously and makes changes. 

Taking that feedback into account has helped the show be a living thing that has evolved continuously over four decades.

“I take the advice of the audience because let's face it, why am I doing the show for the audience?” he said. “After the show, I come out every single time, whether it be one show or three shows a night. My favorite part is listening to the feedback from everyone.”

That philosophy extended into one of his ideas roughly a decade ago when Facebook Live was gaining traction. In the 10 minutes before each show, Marino would go live and project the feed onto the theater's big screen, and let the audience vote on which characters they wanted to see that night. Whether it was Whitney Houston, Diana Ross, Cher, or Celine Dion, people would get to pick who they’re seeing in the show.

"I gave them the opportunity to actually pick who they wanted to do the show with,” Marino said. “At the time I was working for Caesars Entertainment and the audience loved that gimmick.”

What Comes Next for Vegas's Drag Pioneer

For Marino’s final three performances, he's gone back into his personal warehouse and pulled out gowns he hasn't worn in years and looks that longtime fans may remember from earlier chapters of the show. It'll be the last time he wears them on stage, but it doesn’t mean he’s retiring entirely.

He tells us he's seen changes in the entertainment industry over the years he's been here, and he isn't fond of many of them. Given how the city has changed, Marino wants to leverage his four decades of living and performing here to fully commit to becoming a Las Vegas influencer.

He already has a presence on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok, and says his knowledge can help visitors navigate it properly. Marino's connection to the city gives him credibility that's hard to deny.

He's earned his standing in this city, holding two stars on the Las Vegas Boulevard Walk of Stars and a key to both the city and the Strip. They’re all proof of Marino’s hard work of performing three shows a day, night after night. 

"Vegas has been very good to me," he says. "Very few people have had the opportunity to be here so long and get invited to so many things. I lived my life as a tourist the entire and now I want to use that to be the expert for people coming to Vegas.”

He's looking forward to what comes next, but he says the final shows will definitely be “bittersweet.” Guests can expect some surprises and returns of some classic outfits, but most importantly, he says it'll be an emotional end of an era.

"I wanted to go out while I'm on top," he says. "I'm always going to be Frank Marino. I'm just ready to do it on my own terms."