Show lineups a game of chance

I look at the lineup for The Mirage and yawn: Jay Leno, Ray Romano, Brad Garrett, Kevin James. Sometimes they really shake things up and team Romano with James instead of with Garrett.

Nothing wrong with all this from a tourist's perspective. Or from that of corporate parent MGM Mirage, which is trying to keep its stock price above the cost of a fast-food lunch. These are big names, and if they can fill a big theater several times per year, locals can't complain about the lack of variety.

I look at the coming attractions for the South Point and I go, "Huh?"

I'm supposed to know some stuff about entertainment, and yet these names are sending me to the search engine: Jon Reep, Jo Koy, Alonzo Bodden.

In Las Vegas, you only experiment when you absolutely have to. It's better to extend the Excalibur residency of Louie Anderson, who is still fairly well recognized, than to find somebody new. Creativity goes to the suburbs.

So it falls to the South Point -- not part of a corporate chain, miles from the Strip -- to test whether comedy club headliners can make the jump to a 405-seat room on the strength of their own names.

Sometimes it clicks. Ralphie May has become a favorite and is good for at least two visits a year, says Roy Jernigan, who books South Point with the final nod from chairman Michael Gaughan.

Sometimes you go back to the drawing board, as they will after a less popular stint by Drew Hastings last weekend.

Locals casinos pass around a lot of the same acts, but some rooms are developing an identity. The two Cannery casinos are usually the places to find '60s nostalgia and costumed impersonator tributes. The Suncoast has become a refuge for almost-famous acts who gave up trying to maintain a year-round presence on the Strip.

Clint Holmes will be at the Suncoast Aug. 28-30, then back in a different format Sept. 25-27 with Vocal Soup. He tallies up seven total weekends this year. "For me it's really great," Holmes says. "(The casino) has a core following and I have a core following, and it adds up to having good houses every night."

The Scintas and Society of Seven also used the Suncoast to tap some of the good will they cultivated among locals while fighting the good fight in the tourist corridor. "Competing with the Bettes and Celines and Manilows is not an easy task," Holmes notes. In the suburbs, "There isn't that kind of pressure, especially in this economy."

Sometimes a surprise hit makes the others pay attention. South Point signed 83-year-old comedian Shecky Greene for two engagements next year after his impressive comeback at the Suncoast in May.

At this rate, someone will be offering Greene a rent-the-room residency on the Strip in no time.

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