Las Vegas -- its weather, lounge singers, Elvis impersonators and 24-hour ethos -- has provided plenty of material for comics over the years, but the comedy club scene in the city's tourist corridor is no joke. Almost a dozen venues routinely schedule performers whose only mission is to make guests laugh.
These dark, intimate, tavern-style rooms are typically adults-only, serve relatively cheap drinks and feature just a small stage and a mic. A series of comics appear, their sets of varying in length and topic. Up-and-coming comics hone their craft; more polished entertainers perfect their routines or try out new material.
As social media and streaming services have built new platforms for comedians, Vegas' reputation for comedy has swelled, one industry veteran said.
"My perception is that you can be in Las Vegas and become a professional comic," said Damian Costa, president of Pompey Entertainment, which manages
bookings for Jimmy Kimmel's Comedy Club and other venues in Las Vegas. "[If] you're going to become a professional rock star, you're probably going to other places, like Seattle. If you want to be a professional actor, you're probably going to L.A. or New York. In Vegas [there's] acrobats; [it] used to be showgirls. If you want to be a stand-up comic, Las Vegas is probably the home of that."
Big names in comedy
Kimmel's 8,000-square-foot club at The Linq Promenade is what Costa calls "a comedy showroom" for more accomplished performers.
"We focus on headliners," Costa said. "While you still will have an opener and a lot of times a feature, most of our shows aren't five or six comics. We are, I would like to say, the elite comics, the headline comics. We even have resident comics, which I think is probably a Vegas-specific thing. You can come see them every week, which what sets us apart from, say, a traditional comedy club where you go to watch 90 minutes of comedy, regardless of who's on."
Among its regulars are Luenell, whose recent Netflix special was produced by Dave Chappelle. She sits on what Costa calls a beautiful throne in a living room to deliver her honest, uproarious storytelling. Tuesdays usually mean Vicki Barbolak's celebration of the trailer park lifestyle.
"Jimmy Kimmel's Comedy Club is not only extremely accessible -- it is within an entertainment district within the 'Entertainment Capital of the World,'" Costa said. "We have a fantastic, customized bar offering a lot of things named after Jimmy and his family and curated by Jimmy himself. We have a full food menu, so you can come wanting to have some fun, spend some time at the bar, get some great bites."
Comedians who seek to make Las Vegas audiences laugh usually must have broad appeal and quickly read the room, Costa said.
"You have to put the whole world in one room because everyone's from everywhere, so it has to be very universal. Some comics, if it's their style to talk about something very location-specific, then they'll do that. But most try to keep their comedy universally funny, because it's not one neighborhood or one community that you're trying to impress."
Another space that occupies the middle ground between headliners working in large theaters and the most intimate clubs is Brad Garrett's Comedy Club in The District MGM Grand.
Garrett himself performs frequently at the elegantly appointed club, boasting an old-school Vegas charm since it opened in 2012. Other comics set to appear in September are Omid Singh, Tom Rhodes, Josh Sneed, Dale Jones and Ralph Harris.
So many choices
• L.A. Comedy Club at the Strat Hotel, Casino & SkyPod, the first comedy club to bring breakout comics such as Aziz Ansari, Felipe Esparza and Loni Love to Las Vegas.
• Stars of Comedy at Harrah's features funny men like Carlos Mencia, Paul Zerdin, Ryan Hamilton and Jeremy Piven on the comic calendar.
Acoustic ceiling panels at the L.A. Comedy Club at the Strat pay tribute to comedy legends. Photo Credit: Denise Truscello
• The Comedy Cellar is a 300-seat replica of the famous New York Comedy Club of the same name in the Rio Hotel & Casino.
• Las Vegas Live Comedy Club is located in the V Theater (which also hosts the "Big Black Comedy Show") in the Miracle Mile Shops at Planet Hollywood. "Eddie Griffin: Live and Unleashed" is in the Saxe Theater.
• The Hilarious 7, seven comedians in 70 minutes, can be seen at the Oyo Hotel & Casino.
• Downtown, guests can laugh it up at places like Wiseguys Live Comedy at 1511 S. Main St., and Delirious Comedy Club, in Hennessey's Tavern at 425 Fremont St.
And the headliners
The vibe of these clubs, which admittedly can be found in any big city, is a far cry from the much larger Vegas-style theaters and arenas in which the biggest stars perform.
Upcoming performances include Jerry Seinfeld (Sept. 5 to 7 at Caesars Palace); Kevin Hart (with Lil Wayne and Ludacris as part of Hartbeat Weekend, Aug. 29 to Sept. 1 at Resorts World); Daniel Tosh (Sept. 7 and Nov. 16, Cosmopolitan); Gabriel "Fluffy" Iglesias (Sept. 13 and 14, Cosmopolitan), Nate Bargatze (Oct. 4 and 5, Encore), Chelsea Handler (Nov. 2 and at the Cosmopolitan); Joy Ko (T-Mobile Arena, Nov. 8); Martin Lawrence (Nov. 29, Dolby Live at Park MGM); Ron White (Dec. 7, Cosmopolitan); and Rodney Carrington (Dec. 5 to 8, MGM Grand Hotel & Casino).
Regular longtime comic acts in Las Vegas include Carrot Top (Luxor), Gordie Brown (Golden Nugget) and Terry Fator (Strat Hotel, Casino & Sky Pod). Tape Face, a mime act that became favorite on "America's Got Talent," is opening at the 250-seat Underground Theater at MGM Grand on Sept. 1.
Other options for tourists looking for laughs include any of Spiegelworld's raunch-laden shows ("Absinthe" at Caesars Palace, "Atomic Saloon Show" in the Grand Canal Shops at the Venetian and the new "DiscoShow" at the Linq) and Cirque du Soleil's "Mad Apple" (New York-New York).
Mac King (Excalibur) and Penn & Teller (Rio) have dependably packed a lot of laughs in their magic productions for decades. Comedy magician Adam London's Laughternoon at The Orleans and the Mike Hammer Comedy & Magic Show at Four Queens are relative newcomers to Vegas stages.