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INTERNATIONAL COMEDY STAR RETURNS TO RIVIERA HOTEL AND CASINO

23/02/2001

February 23, 2001
International comedy sensation Emo Philips will bring his zany, off-the-wall act back to the award-winning Riviera Comedy Club, beginning Monday, March 26, for seven hilarious, fun-filled evenings. Donning a completely new look, Philips fans will be in for quite a surprise.

In a biography by Hank Gallo, Emo recalls, "When I was a child, I couldn't wait for the first snow fall. I would run to the door and yell, "Let me in! Let me in!" He went on, "Once I was going out and my mom didn't like the pants I was wearing. She kept telling me, 'Pull on your grandfather's pants. Put on your grandfather's good pants.' I finally decided that she was right, so I got out the shovel…" And so it goes, you never really know where Emo Philips is coming from at any given time.

Born in Downers Grove, Illinois, he received his first big break on the David Letterman show in 1984, and has been back many times since. His legion of fans will recall for you his many film credits, which include his portrayal of a butter-fingered table saw operator in "Weird Al' Yankovic's hit comedy "UHF." He played a crooked game show contestant on "Miami Vice" and his many specials air on Cinemax and HBO.

Philips has two hit comedy albums under his belt. The first E=MO2, won the New Music Award for Best Comedy Album of 1985.

The lanky 6'2", 140 pound wonder is just as big in Britain, Canada, and Europe as he is in America. He was the hit of the Edinburgh Festival and he has enjoyed a successful run at the Playhouse Theater in London's West End. Each city in his Britain tour was a sell-out.

Dividing his time between Britain and North America, writing jokes, screenplays, performing in clubs, colleges, and concert halls, Jay Leno has called Emo Philips the best joke writer in America.

Philips, always quite animated, was "cartoonified" in 1996 for the "Dr. Katz" series on Comedy Central. He performed twenty minutes of his routines in front of the animators so that they would be able to draw him perfectly. The resulting two episodes went wonderfully well and may now be ordered on Amazon.com. In 1999, Philips received one of the highest honors in his career. Men's magazine GQ judged three of his jokes to be among the best 75 jokes of ALL TIME! Only one other comedian had as many as three jokes named, and that was Steven Wright.

Appearing with Emo are Karen Rontowski and Rob Sherwood.

Karen Rontowski's clean observational humor brings to light life's everyday problems, such as visits to the Laundromat or the trouble with having an alligator in you apartment. Karen's quick wit lures playful audience participation and puts a new spin on the typical view of life. Her mix of sarcasm and silliness makes her act appealing to a wide variety of audiences.

Rontowski has played in clubs from California to Minnesota with various stops between. She was the opening act one year on "Bob Hope's Young Comedians Special" and has been seen on Comedy Central, HBO, and other cable networks and specials.

Born in New York, raised in Florida, and now a Las Vegas resident, Rob Sherwood is a comedy veteran, having been in show business since the late '70s. Working backstage for many years looking at comics, studying their work and observing their skills, he came to the conclusion, "Hey, I can do that!" Thus, started the stand-up career of a star "on the horizon."

Sherwood's many credits include performances at Catch A Rising Star, The Comedy Stop, and the now defunct Aladdin's "Comedy Underground." Las Vegans may have caught his work at Nana's Cantina, Heritage Lounge, Green Valley Inn Zone, Joe Behar's Comedy Corner, or the Brass Rail.

Show times for the Riviera Comedy Club Emo Philips shows are 8 and 10 p.m., nightly, plus 11:45 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Tickets are #16.95 plus tax and fee. VIP seating is available. For show-dinner combination packages, add $7 (plus gratuity) for the World's Fare Buffet and $9.95 for Kady's Dinner Specials.

For more information, call the Riviera Box Office at (702) 794-9433.

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