Casinos bet on laughs
Atlantic City comedy clubs provide chuckles all week long
Friday, October 27, 2006
By CHUCK DARROW
Courier-Post Staff
Atlantic City is a funny place.
Not funny as in peculiar (although goodness knows it qualifies there, too). Funny as in ha-ha.
Almost every weekend of the year, at least one top comic can be found on a casino stage. Recent headliners have included Jerry Seinfeld, Dave Chappelle, Larry the Cable Guy and George Carlin.
But once-a-week, big-ticket shows are just the tip of the stand-up iceberg; three comedy clubs keep the gaming hall laughs going seven nights a week.
The trio of chuckle huts are the Comedy Stop Cafe & Cabaret at The Quarter inside Tropicana, an outlet of the Catch A Rising Star chain at Resorts Atlantic City and the Borgata Comedy Club, which utilizes the upscale complex's 940-seat Music Box theater.
While their facilities vary, the clubs' formats are generally the same, as they each showcase three comics per bill. Not surprisingly, the headliner is usually the most successful of the bunch.
Most of the performers are not widely known (although one Comedy Stop regular is Jimmie "J.J." Walker of Good Times fame). But one of the cooler aspects of going to a comedy show is that there's always the chance you'll catch a star-in-the-making.
The Comedy Stop, which has been in business since 1983, boasts such glittering alumni as Rosie O'Donnell, Ray Romano, Drew Carey and Tim Allen.
Such establishments are part of a "the more the merrier" philosophy on the part of their host gaming halls. While relatively small operations, they do attract -- and keep on property -- people who might eat, drink and gamble before and after the shows.
"We're open every night, and we're bringing in people from up and down the boardwalk," said Comedy Stop owner Bob Kephart.
He added that his marketing research indicates that only 10 percent of his customers who stay overnight in town do so at the Tropicana, while the rest have rooms at other hotels.
In addition, the clubs play an integral role in a casino-hotel's overall ambience, or "vibe."
"The premise is that everyday entertainment is part of the Borgata strategy," said Sid Vaikunta, the resort's vice president of marketing. "It's making sure Borgata keeps the energy level high all year long."
Those who go to Atlantic City's laugh lounges have various reasons for patronizing them. According to Michele Kunnas, a 32-year-old accountant from Charlotte, N.C., the rooms offer unmatched entertainment bargains.
"It's the cheapest entertainment in . . . Atlantic City," said the former Marlton resident during a recent visit to the Comedy Stop, which she described as her comedy club of choice.
"There's always a nice mix of comedians and they're always very entertaining."
For Marvin and Sonia Schwartz of Philadelphia, Catch A Rising Star provides non-gaming diversion when the bigger showrooms are dark.
"If there's no other show, to go to, we usually come here just for something to do," said Sonia, 70, a Philadelphia school district secretary.
Marlon Kilgore of Newark agreed with Schwartz that his favorite spot, the Borgata Comedy Club, provides him with something to do other than gambling. But, he added, it's also an inexpensive vehicle for therapy.
Comedy, said the 42-year-old mental health specialist, "keeps the stress away."
Maybe that's true for Kilgore, but it probably isn't the case for comedian Steve Shaffer, who has been playing the Comedy Stop since it opened 23 years ago.
"Atlantic City audiences, in general, are considered difficult," said the South Philadelphia-bred stand-up artist.
"(The Comedy Stop) is one of the few clubs in the world where (audiences) will give me that look that says, "What else you got?' " |
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