'RuPaul's Drag Race' star Shangela brings the party to the Borgata in Atlantic City

Alex Biese | Asbury Park Press

Atlantic City, can we get a "Halleloo"?

Shangela, a break-out star from "RuPaul's Drag Race," is set to take the Borgata Hotel, Casino and Spa by storm on Saturday, Dec. 7, as part of a grand day of LGBTQ-friendly festivities.

A stand-out competitor from the second and third seasons of "Drag Race," Shangela will be on hand for a special Pride Bingo supporting Asbury Park-based advocacy organization Garden State Equality and presented by the OUT at Borgata initiative happening 3 p.m. Saturday at the Borgata's Central Conference Center.

She will also appear later that evening to host the OUT at Borgata Mezzanine Party at Premiere Night Club, with doors opening at 10 p.m.

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Shangela's Borgata bow is a booking that makes all the sense in the world. For nearly a decade, the Texas native performer has been near the forefront of drag's booming mainstream popularity.

Her 2010 and 2011 runs on "Drag Race," followed by a 2017 stint on the third season of "RuPaul's Drag Race All-Stars," led to a featured supporting role in last year's box office sensation "A Star is Born," and earlier this year she was even featured in a McDonald's commercial.

“I think she’s an extremely talented performer, but I think more importantly she’s a really humble and professional individual," said Long Branch native and Asbury Park-based drag queen Jolina Jasmine. "And I think when you work in the drag community, being humble and being professional is something that will get you further than most.”

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Jasmine, Asbury Park's Miss Paradise 2016, will be among the queens from Asbury Park, New York and Philadelphia who will be joining Shangela at Pride Bingo. In recent months, she has shared the stage with other "Drag Race" alums, including Vanessa "Vanjie" Mateo, Naomi Smalls and Scarlet Envy.

The "Drag Race" franchise earned 14 Emmy nominations and three wins in 2019, with a 12th season of "RuPaul's Drag Race," a fifth season of "RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars" and the debut of "RuPaul's Celebrity Drag Race" on the way.

"The benefit of a show like ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ and bringing the ‘Drag Race’ queens to other events is it kind of makes drag more mainstream and it really normalizes the artform," said Jasmine. "There are so many straight people now, even some of my co-workers, who watch the show and they always say, ‘I didn’t understand why you would do this and it didn’t really make sense to me,’ but now from seeing the show and making it more mainstream it’s become such a normal thing. And also, I think the show delivers a message which is all about acceptance and love, and that’s something that should be pretty much broadcasted everywhere at this point.”

For its part, OUT at Borgata launched about six years ago in an effort to better connect the resort destination with members of the LGBTQ+ community, according to initiative creator Liza Costandino, director of communications for the Borgata.

"The community was telling me, ‘Hey, we want to be spoken to directly,’ so I said, ‘OK, let me make sure that we’re doing the backwork first, in terms of an organization,’ " Costandino explained. "So it took us about 10 months, give or take, to make sure that we truly were an LGBTQ-friendly employer, a great community member, a business that really did the work. I didn’t want to just come out and say, ‘Hey, we’re gay friendly,’ if we weren’t.”

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In the years that followed, the Borgata partnered with the likes of the Greater Atlantic City GLBT Alliance, the Philadelphia-based LGBT chamber of commerce the Independence Business Alliance and the Florida-based International LGBTQ+ Travel Association.

MGM Resorts International, the Borgata's parent company, has received perfect scores on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation's Corporate Equality Index every year since 2016 and has regularly been named one of the best places to work for LGBTQ equality.

“Their support of the community is not just based in financials," said Pride Bingo producer and Out in Jersey entertainment editor Michael Cook. "It’s based in what they really feel and they are definitely putting their money where their mouth is, and it’s not just to appeal to a demographic that historically has availability to disposable income.”

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“I think it’s always very important for communities and establishments, especially such big names as the Borgata, to reach out to the LGBTQ+ community," said Jasmine. "Hearing the way that Liza is speaking about it, I know they’re coming from a genuinely good place. I feel like nowadays we have so may establishments that kind of cater to the LGBT community just for profit, but in this case it seems like it’s coming from a genuinely meaningful place and I’m really happy to be a part of it.”

LGBTQ+ Weekend at the Borgata

Pride Bingo

When: 3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 7

Where: Central Conference Center

Tickets: $35

Luann de Lesseps' Holiday Cabaret

When: 9 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 7

Where: The Music Box

Tickets: $55 to $65

OUT at Borgata Mezzanine Party

When: 10 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 7

Where: The Mezzanine at Premier Nightclub, second floor

Tickets: Complimentary admission before midnight with Pride Bingo or Holiday Cabaret ticket stub, $25 general admission

OUT at Borgata Slay Bells Package

Staring at $399, includes overnight stay on Saturday, Dec. 7 and a pair of tickets to Pride Bingo and Holiday Cabaret as well as VIP entry to the Mezzanine Party

Info: The Borgata Hotel, Casino and Spa is located at 1 Borgata Way, Atlantic City. For tickets, a full schedule of events and more information on the OUT at Borgata program, visit www.theborgata.com/out.