It’s time for Coco Montrese to begin a new chapter in her career. The Flamingo Resort cast member and Miss Gay America 2010 is moving to Las Vegas to pursue a dream job with Frank Marino’s Divas Las Vegas show at the Imperial Palace. Montrese plans to move on Jan. 31.
“It’s surreal,” Montrese said while taking a break from packing. “This is a change in my life that I wanted and it’s always been a dream of mine to be a Vegas entertainer.”
Montrese, also known as Martin Cooper, was first approached by Marino during a Miss Western States pageant—a preliminary to Miss Gay America—last year. There, Marino served as a judge and saw Montrese perform a Janet Jackson number. Afterward, the Vegas legend met with Montrese backstage.
“He came back stage and the first thing he asked me was if I’d consider relocating to Las Vegas,” Montrese said. “My initial reaction was shock and it took me a few minutes to register what he said.”
Since Montrese was still serving as Miss Gay America, she couldn’t immediately take Marino up on his offer. But the two remained in touch for nearly a year planning out the particulars.
Now, Montrese and her partner will become Las Vegas residents and she should take her place as a permanent cast member of the show sometime in mid-February. Montrese will impersonate both Janet Jackson and Rianna.
“It will be a full time job,” Montrese laughs. “But I’ll still have duties as a former Miss Gay America. I’ve been invited back to a lot of places I traveled to during my reign and I’ll still be able to do that. But I am so excited to work with so many legends in the Divas Las Vegas cast. I’ve always been a fan.”
Many of her fans have expressed that they will miss her in Florida, Montrese said, but that most have been supportive of the next major step in her career. She said she plans to return to Florida for big events—like Pride celebrations—but as of now she’s not exactly sure when she’ll be able to return.
“This is an opportunity I can’t pass up,” Montrese said. “I don’t want to look back and say, ‘Oh, I wish I would have done that.’ Or even if it doesn’t work out and I’m there a year and I decide I want to do something else, at least I won’t have that, ‘I wish I had…’ thought on my mind.”
The 37-year-old credits her transition to a Vegas entertainer to the Miss Gay America system and said she’ll never forget her roots in Florida. In fact, she hopes her Florida fans will make the trip to Vegas to see her perform.
“I hope that if fans ever make it to Vegas that they come see me,” she said. “I would love to see them after the show and get a chance to say hello.”
