Question of the Day - 16 May 2025

Well, this one is up for grabs and pretty much depends on your definition of "headliner." The confusion arises from whether the focus is on a single performer versus a pair of them or a whole show and if the headlining is continuous or can be broken up. 

Frank Marino, for example, has been "headlining" Las Vegas shows since 1985, so a total of 40 years. He started playing Joan Rivers in Las Vegas drag shows and logged 20 years as the headliner in the long-running drag show, An Evening at La Cage, at the Riviera. Then he moved to Imperial Palace in his own show, Frank Marino's Divas Las Vegas, which ran until 2018, another eight years. He also appeared in Legends in Concert for a few years. So by one standard -- a single headliner in several different shows with breaks in between -- Frank Marino could be the longest-running Las Vegas headliner.

But by that standard, Wayne Newton could also be. He's been headlining Vegas stages since 1959, starting out at the Fremont as one-half of a duo with his brother Jerry. And he's still at it, on and off, so that's a total of 66 years. Of course, his performances were at many many venues, certainly not a single continuous residency.

By the other standard, it would be Penn & Teller. This duo began performing in the Penn & Teller Theater at the Rio in 2001 and continue to do so (minus a few short breaks, the longest for Teller's numerous surgeries). Still, they definitely take the prize for longest continuous run in a single venue at a single casino, now going on 25 years and beating Frank Marino's stint at the Riviera handily.

So? Who's the longest-running "headliner act?" You make the call.