Joey Kola, Rodney Laney and The Male Half of the Staff at the Borgata
The SHECKYmagazine.com editors are in the middle of a monthlong swing back east. The above pic was snapped at the Borgata in Atlantic City, after successful completion of the week. The week prior featured The Female Half of the Staff, Eddie Clark and Joe Starr and a special guest appearance by Rich Minervini. See below for backstage pic depicting (l to r) the Male Half, the Female Half (seated) and Mr. Starr, who seems to have a halo.
The Borgata’s 900-seat Music Box venue is quite startling. That’s where the comedy happens seven nights a week. And they sell out with alarming frequency. When other venues huff and puff to fill a room a fraction of that size, the Borgata’s Music Box entertains thousands in the course of a typical week.
It was the custom of The Halves of the Staff to migrate out to the front of the house in order to greet the audience after the shows. One night, after a show during the Male Half’s week, we were conversing with three audience members (a couple and their adult daughter) who, we eventually learned, had a young, college-age male relative who was dabbling in standup. We eventually suggested that they might consider giving our book (“The Comedy Bible: The Complete Resource for Aspiring Comedians”) to the lad. In a crazy coincidence, it turns out that the aspiring comic’s mother had already purchased it as a Christmas present! And, we’re told, he loved it! (We signed a Borgata cocktail napkin and told them to tape give it to the young man so that he could tape it inside the cover. Not an autographed copy, but close enough!)