It's been around for the last 24 years, but last night, An Evening at La Cage at the Riviera Hotel and Casino closed.
"I always said we survived four presidents, two wars, and the turn of the century," said headliner Frank Marino.
But the female impersonator cabaret show could not survive the current recession. The shows headliner and the Strip's longest running performer, Frank Marino, thought Las Vegas shows had seen the worst after September 11, 2001.
"9/11 happened, with all that tragedy and everything, the accounts went down in Vegas and the economy took a toll on people. But now the economy is really taking a toll," he said.
Marino is saddened to see shows that have been around for years close their doors. Just last month the Folies Bergere at the Tropicana announced it would close in March. The world famous topless revue opened back in 1959.
"The shows that you see closing, like La Cage and Folies, it's history. It's just like when a building goes down," he said.
More and more shows are having a hard time paying the bills, "Getting the photos, dine, getting the ads done, paying the ad rates, paying hotels rent, it's a big undertaking."
Marino says Folies and La Cage are the first casualties, but fears many others will have their final curtain call too, "I know for a fact more shows are closing. My friends have told me, ‘We're closing at the end of February, or in March.' There's about five or six more shows."
A lot of shows on the Strip are doing all they can to attract tourists and locals, from half price tickets to two for one deals.
