Burlesque Hall of Fame in Vegas Goes Bust, Blames Trump

Posted on: May 5, 2025, 12:55h. 

Last updated on: May 5, 2025, 01:14h.

Corey Levitan Read More
Expertise: Commercial Gaming, Entertainment, Expert Insight, Las Vegas, Restaurants, Las Vegas Myths.
  • A downtown fixture since 2006, the Burlesque Hall of Fame Museum will close in July
  • Museum officials blame President Trump, saying  “recent economic and political events” have caused attendance to plummet
  • Visitor traffic in Vegas dropped almost 8% in March, according to the LVCVA

The Burlesque Hall of Fame Museum, a tourist draw in downtown Las Vegas since opening there in 2006, will permanently close on July 20. The museum, the world’s only one dedicated solely to preserving the art of burlesque, cites plummeting museum attendance as a result of “recent economic and political events.”

The Burlesque Hall of Fame Museum calls its imminent closing a casualty of “recent economic and political events.” (Image: Burlesque Hall of Fame, inset: Shutterstock)

The billion-dollar casino corporations that dominate the Las Vegas Strip refuse to position their recent layoffs — such as MGM Resorts ending its concierge desks at six Strip properties — as indicative of a tourism downtown.

Meanwhile, the owners of the BHOF just came out and said it in an Instagram post on Monday morning. It’s a defiant statement that rails against President Donald Trump without mentioning him by name.

“Recent economic and political events have impacted the Burlesque Hall of Fame deeply,” the statement read. “Our city’s visitation is down 10% over last year, with international travel especially hard-hit. Museum attendance has plummeted along with the drop in tourism.

The collection of the Burlesque Hall of Fame Museum includes the original performance costume and martini glass bathtub used by Dita Von Teese. (Image: Facebook/Dita Von Teese)

“Meanwhile, funders we’ve relied on are struggling as federal funding is withdrawn,” the statement continued. “And Weekender ticket sales are slow as recession looms and international visitors make the difficult but entirely reasonable decision not to risk a US border crossing.”

Data supplied by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) noted that visitor volume dropped almost 8% in March from a year ago, while casino hotel room bookings on the Strip were down 6%.

Airport traffic slowed by 4%, with LAS serving almost 200K fewer passengers in March 2025 than in March 2024. And Strip casinos kept $681.7 million of players’ bets, a year-over-year decline of 4.8%, or $34.2 million.

Although its museum at 1027 S. Main St. is closing, the BHOF says that the organization will remain alive, continuing to stage its aforementioned “Weekender” shows at The Orleans, and to operate its School of Striptease.

It will also preserve its collection — which includes the original giant martini glass used by Strip headliner Dita Von Teese as an onstage bathtub — in storage.

The BHOF, originally known as the Exotic World Burlesque Museum, was opened in 1990 by retired burlesque dancer Jennie Lee in Helendale, Calif. It relocated to temporary digs in the former Emergency Arts building downtown in 2006 before relocating to its current location in 2018.

The next “Weekender” event, spotlighting the annual “Tournament of Tease,” will take place June 5-8 at The Orleans.