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Thursday, Sept. 25, 2014 | 1:33 p.m.
Taylor Williamson is one quirky individual. He’s even quirky on the phone. You wonder, “Is this quirkiness an act?” and the answer would be, “I feel it is not.”
Williamson is the comic star of Season 8 of “America’s Got Talent,” the championship of which was captured by performance artist Kenichi Ebina.
Williamson also was a semifinalist on “Last Comic Standing” in 2010 and at age 27 has already notched 11 years as a professional comic. He is in the lineup Friday and Saturday nights in the “America’s Got Talent Live” stage show at Axis at Planet Hollywood.
“Even though I’ve been doing standup for 11 years now, my grandmother — and this is every time I see her — asks me, ‘Are you doing the comedy thing still?’ Like it’s a phase. ‘Yes, Grandma, this is how I pay my bills.’ ”
Before his lengthy run on “AGT,” Williamson was just barely paying those bills.
“A year before the show, I was rejected by everything a comedian could ever want to do. I was making negative money. I had nothing on my resume to get a job to earn a living. I started thinking, ‘Can being on ‘Last Comic Standing’ get you a job at Starbucks?’ ”
That changed when Williamson made his series of appearances on “AGT” on NBC, including a unique experience for any standup — appearing at Radio City Music Hall.
“That is the hardest venue ever for a comic. It’s scary enough in that environment, really a high-pressure scenario with four different judges watching you do what you do,” Williamson says. “But you have 5,000 people watching, and trying to get these people who are there to watch what is really a variety show to laugh is very challenging.
“And, you also have millions of people at home watching you, and you want them to like you, too.”
How does he unwind?
“I’m thinking of getting some T-shirts made for my fans,” he says. “You know, The Taylords. I really need to get that going. It’d help with my self-esteem, I think.
“Otherwise, I just try to keep thinking of funny things to say.”
Catering to the young and modern crowd, Planet Hollywood is a one-stop shop for entertainment with its massive shopping mall, slew of restaurants, spacious casino and clubs.
The ambiance of the casino is retro-chic meets high-tech with black granite floors throughout and colorful LED lights throughout the space. The theme carries into the 100,000 square-foot casino with 250 flat screens topping off slot machines. The casino is also home to 87 tables, a sports book and a poker room.
There's also the Miracle Mile Shops, one Vegas' largest malls, with 140 stores including BCBG Max Azaria, bebe, Urban Outfitters and The Discovery Channel Store.
Following an afternoon of shopping, guests can satisfy their appetites at one of the gourmet restaurants in Planet Hollywood, like the non-traditional approach to steakhouses at Strip House or check out the exotic Far East motif at KOI restaurant and lounge. And if guests are still looking for more, they can spend the after hours at Privé, Triq or Krave nightclubs.
Perhaps one of the resorts biggest attractions came in March with the addition of "Peepshow." The naughty twist on the story of Little Bo Peep is modern-day spin on the run-of-the-mill Vegas topless review. The "Peepshow" stage has seen visiting celebs like Scary Spice Mel B, "Dancing with the Stars" Kelly Monaco and Playboy's Holly Madison.
Follow John Katsilometes on Twitter at Twitter.com/JohnnyKats. Also, follow “Kats With the Dish” at Twitter.com/KatsWiththeDish.
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