Lots of Laughs

Artie Lange may end up betting close to $50,000 on his beloved New York Giants and plans to lay down a grand on the opening coin toss alone.

"I'm a real degenerate," says the comedian whose Vegas-loving exploits titillate Howard Stern listeners on Sirius satellite radio.

Drew Carey probably will put down a bet on Saturday night to make the Super Bowl more exciting, but he'd rather watch a good soccer match. He is minority owner of an upcoming Major League Soccer franchise in Seattle, and because he's so into that now, "to watch an NFL game sometimes is so boring."

These divergent points of view intersect in Las Vegas on Super Bowl weekend, where both comedians have become part of the tradition. The teams change, but Lange is back for his sixth game-connected stand-up gig today at Mandalay Bay.

Carey and his "Improv All Stars" -- who performed together on "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" but can't use the name -- visit for the ninth year overall and their eighth at the MGM Grand, today through Sunday.

"We just love getting that free vacation in Vegas," Carey says of the troupe that first visited the Strip on a non-Super Bowl weekend in 1999. "We all split the money, and by the time it's all split up and by the time you add in our gambling losses, it turns out to be a free vacation and we just get to hang out."

This year's troupe still includes his "Drew Carey Show" co-stars Ryan Stiles and Kathy Kinney, and "Whose Line" improvisers Greg Proops, Jeff Davis and Laura Hall. Both shows have faded into the afterlife of reruns, and Carey's new high-profile gig is "The Price Is Right."

But he says everyone enjoys reuniting to watch the game, and "an improv show is not exactly working in a coal mine," he points out. "Usually, two or three people are in front doing a scene and the rest of us are behind them, laughing our heads off. Most of the time you're just up there enjoying the show."

Lange loves all things Vegas -- particularly the strippers -- but this year he says he wants to enjoy the game itself a little more. This is the first year he is not doing shows Saturday, so he can fly back a little sooner and get some sleep before kickoff.

Stern wants him on the air Monday morning for a Super Bowl post-mortem. In the past, that's meant a 7 a.m. Sunday flight to New York and getting home just in time to "watch it hungover with one eye open. There's been years I fell asleep watching the game and I've got a bet on it. That sucks."

It would really suck this year, since Lange has his heart as well as his wallet on the line with the Giants. "I tell you, my team being in it throws everything out of whack," he says. "If I knew it was a for-sure bet the Giants would lose and not cover (the spread), I wouldn't bet them," because he can't bet against them. "I gotta root for my team."

Lange figures he can absorb big losses. His stand-up career is going so well, "last year I more than doubled what I made on the Stern show on the road." He was here in November for The Comedy Festival, and back again two weeks ago for the Adult Video News Awards.

But he's worried about his bookie. "I'm an old fashioned guinea from Jersey," he says. "I've had a bookie ever since my confirmation, which you get as a gift."

He prefers this tradition to Nevada's sanctioned sports betting, but admits he frets about the amounts he's asking his bookie to cover. "It's craziness. He's not a big-time guy. ... Now it's like I feel guilty almost. It's weird."

Lange may finally crash Sunday evening, but Carey and his improv troupe will be the rare headliner to still perform after the game. Many production shows even take the night off, their theaters co-opted for casino bashes or producers simply deciding there's no more life in the party.

But Carey says, "The Sunday shows are pretty good. If their team won they're in a good mood, or if their team lost, they need a laugh. It works out. Everybody's there for a good reason."

He doesn't expect any of the crowds to be as lively as a "Price" taping, as he discovered after succeeding venerable host Bob Barker last summer.

"When they come into the studio from the line, people are dancing in the aisles. Nobody's telling them to. They're always so happy. Really, I've never seen anything like it ever," he says.

"I love being in that atmosphere, when everybody is so positive and happy. I just love being surrounded by that."

Contact reporter Mike Weatherford at mweatherford@reviewjournal.com or (702) 383-0288.