Las Vegas’ most glorious drag queens

When you consider the unrivalled glitz and glam of the Las Vegas strip, replete with its flashy casino resorts and party-minded establishments, it’s hardly a surprise that drag queens have been a staple of the Jewel of the Nevada Desert for as long as visitors and natives can remember.

Here are some of the best to have ever strutted their stuff on the strip’s boards, as well as those still making their way, redefining the American dream one filthy sexual innuendo at a time.

If you ever head to Las Vegas be sure to check out these uber-talented queens

Frank Marino – Ms. Las Vegas

You simply cannot make a list such as this without mentioning the queen of Las Vegas queens that is Frank Marino, whose show Frank Marino’s Divas Las Vegas lit up the strip for more than twenty years.

She shot to fame by impersonating American actress and comedian Joan Rivers, whose spiky personality she channeled to absolute perfection, leaving those on the front row in a permanent state of panic, knowing that at any moment she may pick on them or their significant other.

She stopped being quite so active on the scene in 2019 but did make an appearance on the Discovery Channel’s Plastic Surgery: Before and After series, which showed she still has it in her to entertain.

RuPaul – Of Drag Show Fame, with a Capital F

At the moment there really is only one show in town when it comes to Las Vegas drag and that’s non-other than RuPaul’s Drag Race.

Showing in its spiritual home of the Flamingo Casino Resort, the pause button is pressed at the world’s most popular card games like blackjack and baccarat, as well as on the next generation of apps that are wowing players in Vegas and beyond, as players rush to visit the Flamingo showroom at 9:30pm almost every night, to witness what has become a cultural revolution, all driven by the one-man mega show that is RuPaul.

The show is based around RuPaul’s Emmy Award winning talent show and features some of the world’s best female impersonators. Having appeared in everything from hit music videos to Hollywood blockbusters, RuPaul is by far the most famous queen on this or any list and her star is currently orbiting heaven.

Chad Michaels – Move Aside Cher

Michaels made her name in Vegas taking part in one of the longest running drag shows on the strip called An Evening at La Cage. The show was hosted by The Riviera before being cancelled due to the 2009 financial crisis.

However, the good news is that the show has recently risen like a phoenix at the same venue, so that more queens can follow in the footsteps of this incredible Cher impersonator who has since been inducted to the Drag Race Hall of Fame.

Aquaria – The It Girl of Drag

Forming part of the twelve drag queens who make up RuPaul’s live Las Vegas show, Aquaria is a long legged, fashionista who originally hails from West Chester, Pennsylvania.

She shot to fame in 2018 after winning the Drag Race and prior to that had even featured in Italian Vogue – surely a dream for any and all aspiring drag queens.

Her career has since blossomed, with her writing regular entertainment pieces for Dazed as well as modelling for some of the biggest fashion brands on the planet.

Yvie Oddly – Beautiful

Oddly’s talents have taken her all over the globe as part of the wildly popular Werq the World Tour, which is yet another arm of RuPaul’s ever growing umbrella of ventures.

When Oddly isn’t being jetted somewhere she’s in Las Vegas taking her turn at ruling the Flamingo’s big stage. Despite suffering from a rare genetic disease that means her bones grind together during a performance, she always puts her best foot forward and wows her adoring followers.

Another more fun fact is that she’s the grandchild of the late great Lauren Watson, who was the leader of the Black Panthers’ Denver chapter. We can certainly see that fire in Oddly’s performances!