Friday, April 9, 2004 | 8:41 a.m.
Jeff Hobson is a one-man riot a laugh riot.
If the Paul Lynde-inspired entertainer doesn't have you laughing from the minute he prances onstage in his sparkling smoking jacket, you just don't have a sense of humor.
"I call this my Liberace starter kit," he chuckles with an innocent charm that permeates his nightly performance in Merlin's Theatre at The Excalibur.
Hobson and veteran producer Dick Foster (whose long list of credits includes "Spellbound" at Harrah's and "Imagine" at Luxor) have teamed up to create a delightful, lightweight show filled with comedy and magic with the emphasis on the comedy.
The hook for "Jeff Hobson's Money and Madness Show," which lasts slightly longer than an hour, is money, hence the title.
Twice during the production, once near the beginning and once near the end, Hobson sashays around the 400-seat showroom with a basket full of dollar bills. He gleefully tosses the cash into the air, spreading the wealth randomly among the fans who are eagerly grabbing for the fluttering moola.
As he capers among the tables emptying his basket, ABBA's "Money, Money, Money" plays in the background.
"I've got more money than I need for the rest of my life," Hobson says, "providing I die by next Tuesday."
In between treating cash like confetti, in the style of Rip Taylor, Hobson freely gives money away to volunteers who help assist in his routines.
"We've got more where this came from," he says.
Hobson gives, but not till it hurts. His giving is painless and fun.
At one recent midweek performance only about half the seats were occupied, but the fans' laughter sounded like a full house.
"We had standing room only last week," Hobson said when he saw the sparse crowd. "We took out all the seats."
Hobson opens the show with a fire-eating routine and then begins pacing from one side of the stage to the other, chatting with the audience, asking them where they're from.
"Montana?" he said. "Then this is all new for you -- electricity, carpeting, indoor plumbing."
"Arizona? So you came here to get out of the heat."
"Florida? God's waiting room. I love that place."
Hobson immediately attempts to establish a strong rapport with the audience.
"Don't be afraid to laugh," he says. "Eat a bran muffin. Let it go. You've got to let go and have fun."
The bond between Hobson and the fans is an important element of the show. If members of the audience are offended by gay-laced humor, they will feel uncomfortable throughout Hobson's performance.
But by the end of the show, Hobson has men kissing him on the cheek and laughing about it.
"I'm from a family of three children," he said. "One of each."
He models his glitzy jacket.
"I really shouldn't wear this," Hobson said. "People look at me and think I might be a little bit, you know (gay). But I'm not. I'm not. I was, but I'm not anymore."
He ogles a man sitting next to the stage and adds, "But I could be again, sir."
"Everybody knows one," Hobson says, referring to homosexuals. "So, if you don't know one, you're it."
Hobson's magic at times seems to be an addendum to his nonstop humor.
But that doesn't mean Hobson isn't a top-flight magician, especially sleight of hand.
At the end of the program he returns several watches he has slipped off fans' wrists during the performance.
He cuts through a lemon to find an egg, opens the egg and finds a walnut and cracks the walnut to find a missing $5 bill.
A volunteer writes his name on a playing card and returns it to the deck. When the card isn't found in the deck, Hobson coughs up a folded card bearing the volunteer's name.
Hobson has been in demand since arriving in Las Vegas in 1987, when he joined the cast of "Catch a Rising Star" at Bally's.
He was the host of "V -- The Ultimate Variety Show" at The Venetian from its premiere in 2002 until he joined the Sahara's "World's Greatest Magic Show" in October.
After barely three months at the Sahara, Hobson opted for his one-man show at the Excalibur.
If the show can hold on long enough to establish itself, "Money and Madness" could be Hobson's cash cow.
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