Showgirls Filming Locations: The Campiest Vegas Tour Ever

"Showgirls" flopped spectacularly at the box office but found its true calling as a camp masterpiece beloved by LGBTQ+ audiences, creating an unexpected but perfect lens for exploring Las Vegas's theatrical, shady soul. Elizabeth Berkley's over-the-top performance as Nomi Malone has attained a legendary status in cinema history.

MGM's marketing team recognized the film's gay appeal early, deliberately recruiting drag performers for midnight screenings starting in 1996. What emerged was a communal viewing experience similar to "Rocky Horror Picture Show," where audiences celebrated the film's commitment to pure, unfiltered camp. As Berkley noted at a 2024 Pride screening, "You guys saw me before anybody else saw me... You rescued it."

Tracing Nomi's journey through vanished Vegas

The film's primary location, the Stardust Resort and Casino, captured the essence of old Vegas glamour where Nomi performed in the "Goddess" show. The Stardust closed November 1, 2006, and was dramatically imploded March 13, 2007, making way for today's Resorts World Las Vegas. While the hotel is gone, its iconic sign lives on at the Neon Museum, creating a pilgrimage site for "Showgirls" devotees.

Cheetah's Gentleman's Club on Western Avenue, where Nomi worked as a stripper, closed permanently during COVID-19 after becoming The Library Gentlemen's Club in 2019. The original Cheetah's signage was removed in August 2020, erasing another physical marker of the film's Las Vegas geography.

However, Caesars Palace endures as the film's most accessible location. You can walk the same marble corridors where Nomi window-shopped at Versace (pronounced “Versays”) and dined at Spago.

The drag renaissance fills the showgirl void

Vegas's traditional showgirl era officially ended when "Jubilee!" closed at Bally's in 2016, but drag culture has inherited and transformed this theatrical legacy. RuPaul's Drag Race Live! at Flamingo Las Vegas has celebrated over 700 performances, proving that Vegas audiences still crave the glamour, choreography, and larger-than-life personalities that defined both showgirl revues and "Showgirls" itself.

Frank Marino's Divas, Drag & Drinks at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas continues the celebrity impersonation tradition, while Hamburger Mary's brings drag brunch to weekend audiences. These venues honor the camp sensibility that makes "Showgirls" resonate with LGBTQ+ audiences – the worship of artifice, the celebration of performance as identity, and the understanding that sincerity and camp can coexist.

The Fruit Loop blooms in the desert

The Paradise Road area, known locally as "The Fruit Loop," serves as Vegas's historic LGBTQ+ district, though gentrification has reduced the concentration of venues. Piranha Nightclub reigns as the premier gay dance club, attracting celebrity visitors like Britney Spears, Janet Jackson, and Lance Bass. The recently reopened Gipsy Nightclub features RuPaul's Drag Race queens and cirque performances.

Strip accommodations are very gay-friendly

Major Strip hotels have evolved significantly since 1995, with MGM Resorts earning a 100% Corporate Equality Index score from the Human Rights Campaign. Luxor Hotel & Casino hosts Temptation Sundays, Vegas's longest-running LGBTQ+ pool party, while The Cosmopolitan earned perfect HRC scores for its inclusive policies.

Flamingo Las Vegas gains special significance as home to "RuPaul's Drag Race Live!" and SAHARA Las Vegas hosts both Magic Mike Live and Elevate Pride Pool Party at AZILO Ultra Pool.

Annual celebrations honor Vegas camp culture

Las Vegas Pride takes place during National Coming Out Day weekend in October, featuring a night parade through Downtown Las Vegas and community festival with approximately 10,000 parade participants and 8,000 festival attendees. This event is unique as it’s one of the only gay Pirde parades on the planet that takes place at night.

The Sin City Classic in January represents the world's largest annual LGBTQ+ sporting event, bringing over 8,000 athletes competing in 24 sports. Temptation Sundays from May through September provide weekly LGBTQ+ pool parties at Luxor, creating regular community gatherings.
Wedding capital welcomes all couples

Vegas maintains its "Wedding Capital of the World" status with full LGBTQ+ inclusion. The Gay Chapel of Las Vegas offers traditional and themed ceremonies, while multiple venues hold recognition from the Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce Nevada. Same-sex couples can experience the same spontaneous, theatrical wedding experiences that define Vegas: Elvis officiants, pink cadillacs and swifty divorce options.

Modern camp meets classic Vegas

Showgirls (1995) may have flopped upon release, but it has since risen — stilettos first — to become one of the most beloved camp classics in queer pop culture. Over time, LGBTQ+ audiences embraced Showgirls not in spite of its flaws. As filmmaker John Waters once declared, "Showgirls is the only movie I have ever seen in my life that I have watched every single week for a year." He called it “an accidental masterpiece,” cementing its place in the pantheon of camp cinema.

Drag queens like Alaska Thunderf– have referenced it in shows and on social media, and Peaches Christ, a San Francisco drag legend, famously staged live Showgirls parodies (with Berkley herself joining one performance). The character of Nomi has become a queer icon — messy, dramatic, over-the-top, and absolutely unforgettable. From midnight screenings to drag brunch tributes, Showgirls continues to serve sequins, screams, and camp realness to audiences who know exactly what it means to “push that button.”