Las Vegas Weekly

January 23, 2009 · 2:47 PM

Bonkerz for comedy at new Palace Station club

By Allison Duck

Dean Napolitano will headline the shows at the brand new Bonkerz Comedy Club this weekend.

Sound Trax at Palace Station is no longer home to visiting musical acts or the magic of Jeff McBride. In the face of challenging economic times, Palace Station has decided that laughter really is the best medicine. The cabaret-style venue has been re-dubbed the Bonkerz Comedy Club, the first West coast location for the national comedy club chain.

Already a popular stop in cities like Milwaukee and Orlando, founder Joe Sanfelippo prides himself on drawing top-notch acts to the club. Comedians like Carrot Top and Larry the Cable Guy got their starts in Bonkerz clubs across the country, and comedy legends like Jerry Seinfeld and Sam Kinison have even made appearances in the past.

The Las Vegas Bonkerz already has acts scheduled through the end of March, including big names like local favorite Kathleen Dunbar, Big Tony Esposito and New York’s “bad boy of comedy,” Artie Fletcher. A new headliner will appear every week, and Bonkerz will feature a Thursday night show at 8 p.m. and two shows nightly on Friday and Saturday. Tickets are reasonably priced at $29.95 and locals receive a $10 discount with their IDs.

Thursday night’s show featured physical comedy master Kathleen Dunbar opening for the headliner of the evening, Dean Napolitano, a New York comedian with several television credits to his name.

Dunbar took the stage with an engaging act that highlighted her amusing sound effects and tackled the uglier side of aging. She painted some pictures of sagging breasts that will forever be in the minds of the men in the audience and may earn local plastic surgeons a few new customers.

Napolitano’s act had the crowd in stitches and as he pointed out to the older ladies in the audience, “You’re enjoying these jokes about balls way too much!”

Both of these comedians will be back at Bonkerz Friday and Saturday night.

If last night’s show is any indication of the caliber of comedy at the new venue, then Bonkerz should quickly find its footing and a following in Las Vegas.

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