Carey wishes for regular improv gig in Vegas

Drew Carey is usually a very colorful interview. But when I was talking to him last week, he was low-key and reserved. I didn't mind, because I didn't want Carey to feel like a performing monkey. But he cared.

"I wish the interview was funnier," Carey lamented at the end of our talk, then he let out his signature laugh.

I comforted him with this Chris Rock story. Rock is usually a vibrant interview. But one time, Rock's mood was sort of flat with me, so I asked him why.

"Because I'm not getting paid," Rock said with absolutely no inflection whatsoever.

Carey laughed at that story.

"Yeah," Carey said. "It gets to the point where you don't want to be funny unless somebody's paying you - or you're trying to get laid. And then I'm really funny."

Carey will get paid to be funny Friday and Saturday when "Drew Carey's Improv-a-Ganza" returns to the MGM Grand.

"Improv-a-Ganza" is one of my favorite shows of any year on the Strip. It's basically a stage reunion of "Whose Line Is It, Anyway?" Carey will be joined by Kathy Kinney, Jeff Davis, Heather Campbell and other improv greats.

"I wish it was a regular gig" in Vegas, Carey said. "But unfortunately, everybody has jobs and stuff."

On the other hand, Carey said he could arrange a regular improv show on the Strip if he really wanted to.

"I could probably get enough people" from improv circles to join him here on weekends, he said. "And I could probably do my stand-up there and everything."

He said he's excited to be in town during the Super Bowl so he can once again watch the big game at an MGM party.

But for once, he has not laid down a multithousand-dollar Super Bowl bet. He cut down on sports gambling after he became part owner of the Seattle Sounders FC soccer team.

"After that, I wasn't allowed to gamble on soccer," Carey said. "I think the last time I made a sports bet was the last Super Bowl. I used to bet games all year for fun."

Carey's withdrawal from sports gambling seems odd to me, because I know that Carey for years would ride his motorcycle here, go to a strip club, or gamble tens of thousands with friends, such as "Simpsons" co-creator Sam Simon.

"I haven't been to Vegas with Sam in a while," Carey said and added with a laugh: "I'm kind of boring lately. Pathetic right?"

Not pathetic. Just calmer than the usual Drew Carey.

Doug Elfman's column appears Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. Email him at delfman@reviewjournal.com. He blogs at reviewjournal.com/elfman.