Frank Marino hopes Westgate show is last stop in Las Vegas

Frank Marino’s drag race is about at the checkered flag. The finish line seems stretched across Westgate Las Vegas, with a show and a venue both named for him.

“Frank Marino’s Red Carpet Brunch” opens April 24 at the new Frank Marino Cabaret, which seems to be naming everything new after the veteran drag star.

“It’s a supper club, but with brunch,” Marino said Friday afternoon in his first interview about the new show. “It’s a brunch club.”

The show runs 11 a.m. (seating at 10 a.m.) and 2 p.m. (seatings at 1 p.m.) Saturdays and Sundays. This is not a buffet-show concept. There is a full menu, servers taking orders at tables, all that. The format is a show with the option of bottomless mimosas (or, if you will FizzyWater) and brunch. Prices range from $49 for just the show, $69 with the show and mimosas, or $99 for brunch-show-VIP seating (all of those prices are without fees). Tickets go on sale March 24 at Ticketmaster and the Westgate box office.

The hotel is happy to expand its entertainment horizon with a performer who opened at the Riv in 1986.

”Frank Marino is a Vegas entertainment legend,” said Westgate President and General Manager Cami Christensen, who has long been pursuing a top-line brunch concept. “We look forward to having him as part of our Westgate entertainment family.”

Having headlined in Vegas since 1986, Marino is once more showing his resiliency. Starting in April, he will be headlining separately at two major Las Vegas hotels. He’s also the front diva in “Legendary Divas” at Legends In Concert Theater at the Tropicana.

Marino hosts that show in his unshakable Joan Rivers tribute, and will play Rivers in “Red Carpet,” too.

But don’t expect him to be in “Legends” through the fall.

“I have a contract through September, and I’ll finish that out,” Marino said. “But there has to be life after ‘Legends.’ ”

And that is Westgate, home of the famous bronze Elvis statue and real-life Barry Manilow. The venue is being given a makeover, even as Marino’s playmates are familiar faces. Bette Midler, Liza Minnelli, Judy Garland, Cher, Diana Ross, Whitney Houston, Taylor Swift and Tina Turner in the lineup.

This is essentially the celeb collective Marino has employed through his “Divas Las Vegas” shows at on the Strip.

“The difference is the room,” Marino said. “It’s gorgeous.”

The Cabaret, a onetime ballroom, is going to be regally appointed. Marino and co-producers Alan and Kathi Glist are favoring a Beverly Hills vibe. That’s where the “Red Carpet” fits, as guests will enter on flooring of that color.

“We are really the Delilah and Mayfair atmosphere,” Marino said, referring to the sparkling supper clubs at Wynn Las Vegas and Bellagio. “We want this to be the best brunch in town.”

The show enters into the busy drag-brunch trend already permeating Las Vegas. Marino’s own ““Diva-Licious Drag Brunch” ran intermittently at DW Bistro at The Gramercy. The Garden’s drag brunch in the Arts District has been jammed since opening in June 2020.

This show has been months in the making. Marino and co-producers Alan and Kathi Glist have been in talks with Westgate officials since last October. It might ring the (dinner) bell, too, with Marino already talking of potential to expand into a supper club.

Regardless, this might be the last casino deal the 58-year-old Marino makes in his Vegas career.

“There has to be life after ‘Legends,’ ” Marino said. “This is probably my swan song.”

Wish we’d seen this …

Apparently the wind gusts and low temperatures did nothing to quell Cedric the Entertainer’s act at The Amp at Craig Ranch Regional Park last Saturday. The first comedy show at the venue was reportedly very funny, in a “we’re-all-in-this-together” kind of way. May is busy at the outdoor pavilion, with a lineup of Phoebe Bridgers (May 13); Lord Huron (May 17); Ben Harper and The Innocent Criminals plus Shakey Graves (May 26).

Holmes’ second 25

Clint Holmes glided through the first segment of his career retrospective at Myron’s at the Smith Center on Wednesday night. His retelling of “Playground in My Mind” was great. The song was release in the spring of 1972 and did nothing, but became a holiday hit for its happy chorus. The song’s popularity was so strong that Holmes recorded an entire album around it.

On Wednesday, Bill Fayne was back at the keys and as music director, with stellar musicianship from Bill Zappia (also on keys), Steve Flora (bass), Jakuba Griffin (drums) and Eric Tewalt (sax). Naomi Mauro was the guest singer, with her hubby Gio Mauro of Monzu Italian Oven + Bar on hand. Just like old times, as we say. Holmes is set to perform the next 25 years of his 50-year career (covering his time in Vegas) on May 18. Plan ahead, as it should sell well, faster than “Playground,” even.

Cool Hang Alert

Column fave Michael Shapiro’s Reckless In Vegas, the city’s pre-eminent band that rocks up vintage-Vegas classics, is at The Space at 9 p.m. Saturday. Ryan “Dr. Fu” Low is on drums and vocals, and Chris Nichols on bass and vocals. Wild versions of such standards as “Luck Be a Lady,” “The Beat Goes On” and “It’s Not Unusual. Tickets are $25-$40 at thespacelv.com.

John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. His “PodKats!” podcast can be found at reviewjournal.com/podcasts. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on Twitter, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.