In Sin City, the jokers are wild
âWeâre going to have a black president come November! Raise the roof!â
The packed house erupts in cheers. People are clapping their hands and stomping their feet.
âWeâre going to have a black president! And itâs going to be me!â
The cheers continue. But the man generating all the excitement isnât Sen. Barack Obama. Itâs George Wallace, a comedian now in his fifth year entertaining crowds on the Las Vegas Strip.
Itâs a Saturday night in August, a traditionally slow month in Vegas. Gas is hovering around $4 a gallon.
Yet despite the sour economy and the fact that, on this particular night, Jerry Seinfeld is performing across the street at Caesars Palace and Jay Leno is at the Mirage, Wallace is playing to a crowd thatâs just shy of a full house. Even in hard times -- perhaps especially in hard times -- Vegas is still a laughing matter.
âMovie stars go to Hollywood, actors go to Broadway, and comedians go to Vegas,â observes comic Louie Anderson, who has a regular gig at Excalibur. âVegas is the Broadway for comedians.â
This weekendâs Labor Day lineup bears out Andersonâs belief. David Spade is at Planet Hollywood, Lewis Black at the Mirage, and Bill Cosby is performing at Star of the Desert Arena in Primm, Nev. This fall, the Vegas lineup includes Wayne Brady, Dana Carvey, Kevin James, Howie Mandel, Dennis Miller and Ray Romano.
There are also plenty of comics here nearly all the time. In addition to Anderson and Wallace, Rita Rudner, Carrot Top, and Penn & Teller all have nightly shows. Yet despite all the name acts, itâs not necessarily easy to make audiences laugh here in Sin City.
âThereâs no gauge in Vegas,â says Rocky LaPorte, a comedian who performs several weeks a year at the Improv at Harrahâs, one of several comedy clubs on the Strip.
âWhen you go to Iowa or Texas, you kind of know the mind-set,â LaPorte continues. But in Vegas, he notes, âYou have people from everywhere [and] some of them ainât in the best mood because they just lost a lot of money.â
LaPorte tries to win over the gamblers in the audience with some jokes they can relate to.
âWhen they told me I was coming here to Vegas, I got excited, âcause I like to gamble,â he begins. âSo, on the way out, on the plane, I got warmed up a bit. I started throwing my money in the toilet and pulling the handle.â
Indeed, Las Vegas provides plenty of fodder. Wallace asks audience members if anyoneâs staying at the Venetian. When some people raise their hands, he jumps in.
âIf youâre in the lobby of the Venetian, youâre actually closer to the airport than you are to your room! Am I right?â he asks amid nodding heads and roars of laughter.
For the plus-sized, self-deprecating Louie Anderson, McCarran International Airport is good for laughs.
âThey should rename that the Las Vegas Airport and Fitness Center. I never walked farther to baggage claim in my life. People were betting on me, on whether Iâd make it!â
Anderson -- who first performed at the Dunes 25 years ago -- gets his audiences to relate to him by sharing stories about his troubled childhood.
âMy father never hit us,â Anderson says of his alcoholic father. âHe just carried a gun.
âI grew up in a Midwestern family,â he continues. âWe had the âfatal fiveâ food groups: butter, eggs, milk, cheese and butter.
âThe first words out of my motherâs mouth at a restaurant were, âCould we get some extra butter, please?â And the host says, âWell, why donât you wait till youâre seated, maâam?â
âThereâs substance to my show. Iâm not just doing jokes,â Anderson explains. âI awaken memories.â
Anderson does this without being vulgar. Despite Las Vegasâ reputation as an adult playground, most of the comedians keep their shows pretty clean.
âAdults can bring their adult parents to my show,â Anderson says. âAnd they can bring their teenagers.â
âThe only way youâre going to do TV is if youâre clean. . . . Thatâs the only way out of the clubs,â LaPorte recalls being told early in his career.
LaPorte began doing comedy after being shot and stabbed while driving a truck in Chicago. He began in small clubs on the South Side, near where he grew up.
âSometimes my folks would come to gigs,â he recalls. âI didnât want to say anything embarrassing in front of my mom or my aunts. [Now] people come up to me after the show and say, âHey, thanks for being clean. I really appreciate that.â â
Anderson and Wallace each attribute their career longevity to their hard work, both on and off the stage. Wallace, for example, regularly visits the various hotels around town, offering free tickets to the concierge staff. âIf you donât put your business out on the street,â he says, ânobody will know.â
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The regulars
George Wallace performs at 10 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays at the Flamingo Showroom. $75; (800) 221-7299.
Louie Anderson performs at 7 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays at the Excalibur. $54; (702) 597-7600.
Rocky LaPorte will appear at the Improv at Harrahâs Nov. 11 to 16, with shows at 8:30 and 10:30 p.m. $31.95; (702) 369-5223.
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