Las Vegas Weekly

June 8, 2009 · 6:16 PM

A sight of real Vegas amidst the Hangover credits raunch

By Sarah Feldberg

Pick your favorite Bubbles job description: Rao's mascot, front-door fixture, movie star, full-sized slice of real Vegas amid all the Hangover hullabaloo.

Photo: Beverly Poppe

Much ado has been made about the end credits of Vegas-based comedy The Hangover, which feature photos supposedly from one of the character’s digital cameras. As you might expect – assuming you’ve heard anything about the movie, which chronicles the after affects of a Las Vegas bachelor party gone oh so wrong – the pictures aren’t exactly PG-rated. In fact (SPOILER WARNING), they’re really the raunchiest part of the entire flick.

But the totally clear images of Zach Galifianakis getting a blowjob from an older woman who looks like a high school principal weren’t actually the part of the credits that caught my attention. Rather, it was the back-to-back shots featuring Rao’s front door fixture Robert “Bubbles” Ubriaco that had me laughing and pointing at the screen at 2 a.m. in a San Diego movie theater. The highly identifiable figure – if you’ve ever been into the famed Italian restaurant inside Caesars Palace, he probably escorted you to your table – is pictured alongside a fellow local legend, none other than Mr. Las Vegas himself, Wayne Newton.

So, after watching Vegas reduced to a lineup of, I’ll admit it, amusing clichés, folks in the know will spot a little bit of real Vegas complete in dark suit and over-sized smile. Most of the people in the audience will be ogling Galifianakis’ dick, of course, but that’s OK. Just like off-Strip restaurant gems and your favorite corner dive bar, it’s more fun if we just keep this between you and me.

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