May '06 Food Critic—Kid Cary Column

SO MUCH CHANGES, and so fast in Las Vegas that new stuff pops up everywhere. Last night I was downtown on 3rd and Ogden, at the "Celebrity Club." This is a new theatre; converted from the old Trolley Stop Casino, across the street from the Lady Luck. Most of Third Street has changed, with many new bars and restaurants. There is even an upscale biker bar, no kidding.

The Lady Luck is closed for the next 18 months for upgrades. Can the Lady Luck go upscale? I liked it better as a dump; cheap hot dogs and pizza, and every time it rained, they had buckets on the blackjack tables collecting water, because the roof leaked.

I saw Benny Baker at the Celebrity Club. I like Benny Baker; he is a throw back to better days. He bills himself as a mix between Lenny Bruce, Sam Kinison, and George Carlin. Unfortunately, unless you're a comic junkie, over the age of 50, you probably don't know these three guys. Lenny Bruce, Sam Kinison, are dead, and George Carlin looks dead, no need to compare him to a couple of corpses and Methuselah, Benny Baker in an original.

I like Benny Baker; he's loud, nasty, smokes menthol cigarettes and drinks tequila on stage. You hear a screaming gruff voice, coming from a big cloud of smoke around his head. He is so nasty, and so politically incorrect I loved it. If you are offended by the "F" word, or you don't want to hear foul remarks about body parts, this may not be for you, I loved it. Most of his stuff is from the front page of the newspaper, and he doesn't pull any punches. In fact, he jabs and kicks you into submission, I loved it.

In the sanitary world of entertainment today, with so many choices, the expense of promotion, and a very capricious public, it's difficult to get your head above the crowd. I hope this story helps get the word out, Benny Baker's humor is not just nasty; it's very funny, I loved it.

Hellbent-4-Humor, starring Benny Baker
At the Celebrity Club
201 N. Third Street (3rd and Ogden)
For tickets: 702-384-CLUB (2582)