Sashay Away, Vegas! RuPaul’s Drag Race Live! Closes Dec. 31

^{Asia O'Hara performs with a troupe of tuxedoed male dancers in "RuPaul's Drag Race Live!" at the Flamingo Las Vegas. The revue, which opened in 2020, will close on New Year's Eve. (Photo: RuPaul's Drag Race Live / Facebook)}

LAS VEGAS — You know that moment on “Drag Race” when RuPaul sends a queen home and everybody waits a beat because surely she’s about to call her back? I’m still waiting for that moment, except this time it’s for the whole show.

“RuPaul’s Drag Race Live!” is closing at the Flamingo, and there’s no last-minute save coming for this show. The queens will take their final bow on New Year’s Eve, ending a six-year Las Vegas residency after 1,500 performances. Of all the things I expected to get emotional about on Dec. 31, a casino showroom was pretty far down the list.

A Drag Queen Residency That Outlasted COVID

A little appreciation for whoever looked at the room where Donny and Marie Osmond spent more than a decade and thought, You know what this place needs? A lip sync. On Jan. 30, 2020, “Drag Race Live!” opened in the Flamingo Showroom. RuPaul and choreographer Jamal Sims co-directed the revue, which gave fans a chance to see the queens they’d been yelling at through their TVs. Only now the queens could hear them.

About six weeks later, COVID-19 shut the showroom down. The queens waited nearly 17 months for a second opening night, and finally got one on Aug. 5, 2021.

Fast-forward to March 15, 2025: Asia O’Hara is on that same stage for show No. 1,000. Fans around the world can watch live, with Derrick Barry and Kennedy Davenport mic’d up to do commentary. I’d also like those two available as an audio option for the New Year’s Eve ball drop as well, please!

Over the years, Asia held court as emcee, and the rotating cast included Vanessa Vanjie Mateo, Yvie Oddly, Jaida Essence Hall and Latrice Royale. That’s the part of the closing that hurts a little. On TV, your favorite queen gets eliminated, leaves a lipstick message on the mirror, and disappears until somebody at “All Stars” picks up the phone. In Vegas, you could buy a ticket and see what she did with a whole stage with no one threatening to send her home.

Vegas shows have had a few too many season finales this year. In May, Frank Marino said goodbye to “Divas, Drag, and Drinks” at Virgin Hotels after 41 years in Vegas showbiz. Then Cirque du Soleil’s “Mad Apple” played its final show at New York-New York on Sept. 5, followed by “Awakening” at Wynn on Oct. 10.

Meanwhile, more than 3 million people visited Las Vegas in September, about even with the same month last year. People are still coming to Vegas. It’s the “we’ll catch it next trip” part I’m starting to reconsider.

World of Wonder Hints at a Life After Vegas

World of Wonder co-founders Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato told Entertainment Weekly they’re discussing bringing “Drag Race Live!” to other cities in the U.S. and abroad. No new city or opening date has been announced.

I’m happy for whichever city might get the queens next, but I just wish we could talk about this after we’ve had a minute to be dramatic.

In the meantime, tickets are still available for the remaining Flamingo performances until Dec. 31. If “we should go see the queens” has been sitting in your group chat for three years, somebody needs to be the friend who actually picks a date. 

Which brings me to my last question: will RuPaul make an appearance at the Flamingo to send the queens off? A finale appearance hasn’t been announced, but Ru did surprise the crowd for the 1,000th show in March 2025. The final performance starts at 9:30 p.m. on New Year’s Eve. If the queens take their bows and a familiar voice says, “Wait,” somebody better check on me.