From the Pool to the Club, the Best LGTBQ+ Hotspots in Las Vegas

We’ve got queer day parties, bottomless drag brunches, the official pool party of Las Vegas Pride, and more.

Flickr/The Vox Agency
Flickr/The Vox Agency
Welcome to We’re Out Here, your year-round hub for LGBTQ+ travel and experiences! Here, you’ll find everything you need to plan your next great gaycation, including queer-centric travel stories, nightlife guides, profiles, pride event roundups, and ways to give back to local queer communities.

In Las Vegas, we celebrate Pride in October (officially LGBT History Month). June is just too hot—not sweaty-sexy-ripped-bodies hot, but eyeliner-running-down-the-face hot. That said, there are still plenty of places to celebrate your LGBTQ+ pride in Vegas all throughout “official” Pride month and every other month of the year, too.

When it comes to gay destinations, Las Vegas isn’t exactly Miami or Palm Springs, but we do what we can, and we do it with a whole lot of camp. The best gay bars tend to be beloved dives, many of which are located in the "Fruit Loop”—the actual name of Vegas’ gay bar district just east of the Strip. But on and off Strip, you’ll find fun bars, clubs, events, variety shows, and entertainment that warmly welcome the LGBTQ+ community, even if they don’t explicitly cater to it. This is Vegas, after all.

And even though we celebrate Pride in October, there are still plenty of Pride events happening around town throughout June and all summer long! Some highlights include the Henderson Pride Festival (with events happening throughout the month) and PRIDE OUTside’s hiking events held throughout the summer. Kick things off with Pride Night at Cowabunga Bay on May 26; celebrate all weekend long June 1-5 at the Tidal Wave Party at the Tuscany Suites & Casino; and join the Pride Bar Crawl along Fremont Street and in the Fruit Loop on June 17. Check out the Las Vegas PRIDE events calendar for complete listings.

The Luxor
The 13th season of Las Vegas’s longest-running LGBTQ+ pool party has already kicked off at the Luxor with appearances from two-time Emmy Award-winning choreographer and dancer Travis Wall; Miss Nevada Kataluna Enriquez, the pageant’s first-ever openly transgender winner; previous RuPaul’s Drag Race contestants Jade Jolie and Tamisha Iman; and a host of other LGBTQ+ and Las Vegas celebs. For the second year in partnership with nightlife impresario Eduardo Cordova (owner of The Garden), Temptation Sundays promises more drag queens, more sexy go-go dancers, and more guest DJs and celebrities. Temptation Sundays run weekly through September 3.

East Flamingo
Hamburger Mary’s, the campy queer burger joint with locations all over the US, has a full calendar of drag events like the “Drag Becomes Her” variety drag show on Fridays, “Drag Your Sass to Brunch” drag brunch, and the “SHE-nanigans” dinner drag show on Saturdays, and their “Drag-tastic Brunch Revue” on Sundays. The cocktail menu features drinks with names like “Piña Cum-Alota” and “Strawberry Dickari” so, yeah, it’s that kind of place!

West Tropicana
The country-western theme is strong here, with some of the most enthusiastic line dancing you’ll find east of the Strip, plus every day of the week they’ve got some sort of themed special or event, like “Sing with the Queen” Karaoke Mondays, “Gayme Night” Tuesdays, and “Wet Wednesdays” when men who arrive in their skivvies drink free.

Fruit Loop
FreeZone is basically the superclub (think Omnia) of Las Vegas gay bars. This is a 24/7 nightclub that never sleeps with dangerously cheap drink specials, especially on Thirsty Thursdays where they have $2 well drinks from 8 pm to 12 am. On “Underwear Party” nights, those who show up in their skivvies drink for FREE from 10 pm to 2 am. There’s “Drunk Karaoke” Mondays with 2-for-1 Fireball shots and $5 “Adios MF” Long Islands, and $20 mix-and-match all-you-can-drink beer & liquor from 8 pm to 12 am. There’s also variety shows, drag competitions, themed parties, more $20 all-you-can-drink nights, AND the first drink is always free!

East Twain
Jimmy’s at Madison’s is a super-fun LGBTQ show bar with a packed roster of daily events including, but certainly not limited to, Roxie’s Big Bingo Bash on Tuesdays, Tuck Be a Lady drag show Saturdays, and bottomless (as in mimosas! but maybe not just that…) Drag Brunch Sundays. The food is great, the performers are top-notch, and it’s a fun, casual, and welcoming space to hang. They also have quite the fantastic outdoor pool and patio for soaking in the sun.

DTLV
The only gay bar in Vegas that fully caters to the city’s large Latinx population (rather than just a weekly Latin night), the BackDoor hosts live music, DJs, vaquero (cowboy) and reggaeton nights, plus drag performances.

East Tropicana
The Las Vegas Eagle opened as a “Levi’s and leather” bar in 1991 but has since evolved into a more all-inclusive LGBTQ+ neighborhood bar with pool tables, ping pong, arcade gaming, slot machines, a dancefloor, and a stage. Open 24/7, they have different events and specials happening almost daily, including their popular karaoke three nights a week. There are also leather nights, “puppy play” events, drag performances, lip-sync battles, and drag queen bingo, plus dirt-cheap late-night all-you-can-drink specials for the nocturnal bears. Longtime owner Judy Nelson recently passed away, so stop by and have a drink in honor of this beloved matriarch of the local LGBTQ+ community.

East Sahara
This easy-going country-themed spot offers super-cheap drinks and theme nights like Trivia Tuesdays (hosted by a drag queen, natch), Humpday Karaoke Wednesdays, a “Hips, Heels and Tucks” weekly drag show on Fridays, and monthly leather nights. Possible bonus: it’s also just steps away from the Green Door sex club, which often draws adventurous/confused heterosexuals.

Fruit Loop
Open 24 hours a day, the central destination of the Fruit Loop has a sound system to rival most clubs on the Strip and an outdoor patio perfect for catching your breath between trips to the dance floor. They host almost-nightly events, including Latin Tuesdays with $5 wells until midnight, “Wiggin’ Out” Wednesdays with $20 White Claw buckets, and “We Love the Weekend” drag nights with performances at midnight and 1:30 am.

Fruit Loop
If the madness of Piranha gets to be too much, QuadZ offers a Fruit Loop alternative sans dance floor, where the regulars prefer to hang out with the bartenders, shoot pool, play darts, and pick out songs on the video jukebox. This is another loosely themed “country” bar with “Cowboy Bingo” nights supporting the Nevada Gay Rodeo Association.

West Sahara
Nothing says inclusivity like people of all genders and sexual proclivities sharing a game of Super Mario Bros on a giant projector screen. The Las Vegas Gaymers even hold weekly video game tournaments here. It’s one of the most welcoming bars in the LGBTQ+ community, thanks to its ladies’ nights, burlesque nights, “divalesque” nights, and fandom-themed events. There are also trivia game & music video bingo nights, pool tournaments, karaoke nights, and Vegas Golden Knight playoff watch parties—truly a little bit of everything for everyone!

East Flamingo
The Garage has plenty of TVs to watch a playoff game, plus pool, darts, and shuffleboard to play a few games of your own. The auto theme is taken seriously—bartenders are called “mechanics” and serve drinks like the “Monkey Wrench” and “Strawberry Stickshift.” They’ve got a two-for-one happy hour deal that runs every day from 11 am–7 pm, plus different daily deals that run from 8 am–4 pm, including $4 shots of 1800 Silver on Sundays and $5 Long Island Iced Teas on Saturdays, and a WHOLE bunch of all-you-can-drink specials throughout the week.

East Sahara
The 24/7/365 Spotlight Lounge is probably best described as a quintessential gaming bar for locals that caters to the gay community. This is a friendly, relaxed spot with daily drink specials, video poker, keno, slots, pool tables, six 50'' TVs, and daily gaming promotions.

The Flamingo
The fiercest queens from RuPaul’s Drag Race can be seen slaying at their very own show at the Flamingo, and these “showgirls” know how to WERK. RuPaul’s Drag Race LIVE! is an original production based on the Emmy Award-winning reality competition with new dance numbers, costumes, and choreography. Clap your hands and scream for world-renowned drag show queens like Aquaria, Asia O’Hara, Derrick Barry, Eureka O’Hara, Jaida Essence Hall, and Jorgeous. There’s also RuPaul’s Werk Room, a merch shop where you can slay with a new makeover and meet the performers. Sashay! Shante!

Treasure Island
The infamous Liquid Drag Brunch at Señor Frog's happens twice every Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, with wild performances by the stars of RuPaul's Drag Race and Vegas's finest drag artists. The liquid part of brunch is blessedly bottomless, so sidle up to the open bar and pick your poison before grabbing a front seat at this interactive stage show. Plus, brunch is buffet-style, so you can hit that line as many times as needed to make sure you don’t fall out of the bar when you leave.

DTLV Arts District
The Garden is easily the hottest gay bar in town, thanks in part to a sexy, stylish space in the super-hot, hip, and happening DTLV Arts District, as well as a can’t-miss Bottomless Drag Brunch every Saturday and Sunday. They’ve also got great food—think upscale gastropub fare like Angus beef sliders and cauliflower wings—great happy hour specials, Drag Bingo on Saturdays, and DJs and bottle service on weekends. They also host multiple drag and performance shows weekly, like SHADE! on Thursdays, Popstar Fridays, and Slay Saturdays.

East Twain
The Fun Hog Ranch is a cash-only leather dive bar that’s open 24/7. They host monthly events like “Bears Roam the Ranch” and “OINK Night” that also serve as fundraisers for community partner nonprofits. But make no mistake—parties can get wild at night, and leather, fetish wear, and bondage gear is all highly encouraged. But if you’re not into that, skip the dancing, grab a beer, and play a little video poker. Drink specials are easily some of the best in Vegas, with $2 bottled beer and well drinks on Tuesdays, $12 all-you-can-drink well drinks on Thirsty Thursdays, and daily BOGO specials.

The Strip
If you only see one show in Vegas in your entire life, make it one of Spiegelworld's whacked-out, raunchy, NSFW, and most definitely queer variety/vaudeville shows. Right now, that roster includes Absinthe, a green-fairy-fueled circus held in a big top in front of Caesars Palace and hosted by the enigmatic Gazillionaire; OPM, the out-of-this-world space odyssey led by a horny robot; and their WAY “Out” West production, the Atomic Saloon Show, where Madam Boozy Skunkton and her boy Blue Jackson will have you saddling up for the wildest ride of your life. And keep an eye out for their newest production DiscoShow opening at the LINQ later this year! These shows are basically like Cirque if Cirque had an NSFW sense of humor and thoroughly embraced queer camp.

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Nicole Rupersburg is a freelance writer covering food, travel, arts, culture, and what-have-you. She winters in Las Vegas and summers in Detroit, as does anybody who's anybody. Her favorite activities include drinking beer and quoting Fight Club.