Rodriguez sees Latino link for Tropicana

At 55, Paul Rodriguez says he "woke up the other day and found I'm a veteran."

The comedian worked The Comedy Store at the Dunes all the way back in the early '80s. Now he says he is the right age to be an ongoing presence at the Tropicana, where "Paul Rodriguez and the Whole Enchilada" will be in residence through June 20.

The Mexican-born comedian also woke up to a controversy a few weeks ago, when he canceled an Arizona date to protest the state's new immigration law. He later reneged, but donated his check to the League of United Latin American Citizens.

"I got all kinds of hate mail from the far right," he says. But he describes himself as middle of the road, and no longer has a beef with Arizona after revisions to clarify who could be stopped for suspicion.

"I don't put myself as that kind of (political) pundit," Rodriguez says. But there is "such a vacuum in the Latino community for anyone with a backbone. ... And to be honest with you, I have differences with the Latino community. When they look at me for any kind of sage intelligence, they're really scraping the barrel."

Rodriguez says he will keep this Tropicana showcase loose and talk about current events -- to a degree. "I like to talk about how really I feel today. If there's something in the news that day that's on everybody's mind, you gotta cover it."

For instance, the recent oil spill, tornados and floods created "all this work we're gonna need, and we're throwing the people out who are gonna repair it all."

In late 2008, the comedian pulled out of hosting The Venetian's poker game show "The Real Deal," saying he wasn't getting paid; the show imploded a few weeks into its run.

"If I could find a home here, I'd live here," he says. "It's the only place where you can have an audience that's representative of every corner of America."

He met with Tropicana chief executive Alex Yemenidjian and liked what he heard about the casino's future plans. "The Latino community is growing, and if the Tropicana can market itself as the place to go if you want to hear salsa and have a cigar and eat some Latino food, I think they'll flock," he says. "If I had the money, I'd be his partner." ...

The Riviera showroom best remembered for "La Cage" will be back up to speed this weekend. After a few false alarms on starting dates, "Dao: The Asian Celebration" debuts Friday in an 8:30 p.m. slot. There also may be a second show coming in a 7 p.m. slot.

The staging has been expanded and the lighting enhanced to host the "Dao" mix of Chinese martial arts, dance and acrobatics. It's helmed by former "Mystere" performer Hou Chunyan. ...

It was hard to come up with a good name for a certain '90s subgenre. "Bands for People Who Aren't in Their 20s Anymore But Still Like to Go Out and Hear Something Besides '70s Classic Rock" was a little cumbersome, but described my situation at the time.

So I was cheered to see a few old favorites from the days of the Huntridge Theater or Fremont Street Reggae and Blues Club on the roster for a new "Party on the Rocks" series at Red Rock Resort: Robert Cray (Saturday), Cowboy Mouth (June 12), Little Feat (June 25), the BoDeans (July 24) and the Smithereens (Sept. 25) are interspersed with some of the usual suspects.

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