Lewis Black returns to Vegas: ‘How much more can you build?’

Lewis Black is distracted, but it’s a healthy sort of distraction.

“I’m glad I am able to do this interview, because I was dealing with my fantasy football team,” says Black, headlining at 10 p.m. Saturday at Mirage Theatre. “I have three teams now, which is the perfect distraction from the BS things going on right now and the rest of the noise we are dealing with.”

More from our back-and-forth with the acerbic comic, “The Daily Show” alum and veteran of the Vegas stage:

Johnny Kats: Did you have Aaron Rodgers on any of your fantasy teams?

Lewis Black: No. I would not have anyone on any of my teams who enters a cave to experience sensory deprivation, while possibly on drugs. I have no faith in such a person.

The NFL has finally accepted fantasy leagues as a way to generate revenue and interest. You can have some betting action on every play now, right?

Oh, yeah. I think gambling and fantasy football go hand-in-hand. In fact, I used to go to the sports books in Vegas on a regular basis. I like to bet these massive parlays that can’t possibly win. I would pick three that I think can absolutely cover, and those would be the first three that get (screwed) on.

We’re going through a comedy moment in Vegas, with many headliners in arenas, theaters, several new clubs have opened. Are you sensing the upswing, as someone who has played the city for many years?

It’s feel like it is. I was just there doing the Bert Kreischer “Fully Loaded” tour in July, at your new jumbo-thing there …

Yep, T-Mobile Arena.

T-Mobile Arena, yeah. The first thing I noticed is, I didn’t realize you could put more (expletive) on to the Strip. I mean, it’s astonishing. I didn’t even know there was space there for an arena. You’ve gotta realize, I’ve spent a lot of time out there, when Catch a Rising Star was at Bally’s, then at the Trop, and MGM Grand. I’m watching them build and build, and I’m like, “How much more can you build?”

We’re finding out. T-Mobile was built on a parking lot between Monte Carlo and New York-New York, and you wouldn’t have imagined that was even possible.

Yes, and then they built Area15 in Vegas, and I thought, “Well, now you’re building a city, inside the city.” How much more can you handle? We used to drive around behind the Strip, to avoid stuff, and get to places faster. Now there is stuff everywhere. There is a whole new realm for me, driving on the Strip. To avoid stuff, you need to use parking lots. You don’t even drive on the street.

You’re in one of the big renovation projects, the Mirage, which is going to turn over to the Hard Rock Hotel in a couple of years. How does that affect your relationship with the comedy series at the Mirage Theater?

This should get people out to my show: They will be working, possibly while I’m performing on stage. They will be building around me. So, you might want to come in and catch that. “I don’t know if the show was any good, but they did put up chandeliers while he was talking and they were beautiful!”

This is the new Lewis Black Experience!

Right, “I couldn’t hear him talking, but I understand he was very funny.” Come and catch that, only in Las Vegas!

John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. His “PodKats!” podcast can be found at reviewjournal.com/podcasts. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.