What Vegas drag legend Frank Marino learned in a lifetime on the Strip

LAS VEGAS — When drag legend Frank Marino headlined his first show in Las Vegas at the Riviera hotel and casino in 1985, drag was “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 USA TODAY.

As the longtime Sin City fixture prepares to take his final bow with “Frank Marino’s Divas, Drag & Drinks” at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas before retiring May 31, he reflected on about four decades of change — both in his act and in the city itself.

“Until you look at the history of it, you don’t notice the change, because you’re gradually doing it, but there’s been great change since the beginning on how we do everything in the show,” Marino said.

From underground to ‘making it mainstream’

During Marino’s 41 years on stage in Las Vegas, drag had gone from the underground to household popularity. He said he feels that he is “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 noted that shows have evolved from relying on celebrity impersonations to now being a blend of impersonations and original characters. Marino retired his signature Joan Rivers impression after her death, though his “Frank Marino” character still draws from his long-running alter ego.

For Marino, the key to remaining relevant over decades was the ability to reinvent the show.

“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.

A changing city and audience

During his time as a headliner, Marino has performed at the Riviera, the Imperial Palace (now the Linq), the Tropicana, and the Westgate, according to a profile by the Las Vegas Review-Journal .

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.

Marino said the way the city does business with performers has also changed, as casinos have shifted how they make money.

“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.”

He called the Las Vegas audience “the most difficult audience to please” because of the “melting pot” of tourists who may be in the crowd on any given night. Still, he said, that audience has changed over the decades.

“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.”

But he said the people who see his shows maintain high expectations, whether they are in tuxedos or T-shirts.

“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.

What’s next for the drag icon?

Marino said 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,” Marino said.

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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