LOOKING IN ON: ENTERTAINMENT

Monday, Oct. 15, 2007 | 7:23 a.m.

Good news for Vinnie Favorito fans: the insult comic has signed on for another year at O'Sheas, the sliver of a casino that's shoehorned between the Flamingo and the Imperial Palace.

He notes all the big names and big venues that surround him - Celine Dion at Caesars Palace, George Wallace at the Flamingo, Rita Rudner at Harrah's. It's like an entertainment map of the United States, with all the big states nearby.

"O'Sheas is like Rhode Island," Favorito says. "This is our re-signing party. I call it parole denied."

He's been at O'Sheas for two years.

If you aren't familiar with the Boston native's comedy, think of him as a hawk soaring a mile above the landscape in search of prey , and when he spots a victim , he drops out of the sky with his talons flaring and rips the victim apart.

But it's all in good fun.

He can be vicious, but he's polite about it, saying please and thank you, ma'am and sir.

It's side-splitting comedy at its best. But it isn't for everyone. The thin-skinned, the overly sensitive, the ones with a chip on their shoulder probably won't have a lot of fun. Take in a Cirque du Soleil show instead.

But if you leave your political sensibilities and sensitivities at home and just roll with the punches, you'll walk out weak-kneed and with sides aching from laughing.

The audience groaned after one recent riff which involved an ethnic stereotype leveled against someone in the crowd. Favorito turned to them, aghast at their sensitivity.

"That's what the show is folks. This is the edgiest show in Las Vegas. What's wrong with you? You didn't have any problem when I went after the wetbacks or the old people."

If Favorito were paid by the laugh he'd be a rich man and he could retire, but then fans would miss out on a lot of fun.

Details: 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays and 8:30 p.m. Sundays; O'Sheas, north of the Flamingo, south of the Imperial Palace; $39.95; 697-2711.

O ktoberfest for 'The Caveman'

German actor Karsten Kaie says there are 30,000 people who speak his language in Las Vegas, not to mention the tourists.

For them he is going to do "Defending the Caveman" at the Golden Nugget in German, a one-time-only "Cavetoberfest" celebration during O ktoberfest.

The German-version will be at 3 p.m. Saturday . Kevin Burke stars in the English version at the Nugget.

"Defending the Caveman" is a humorous look at the differences between the sexes, and how those differences evolved from the days of the caveman.

Kaie has been performing the play in Germany since 2001 and recently celebrated his 1,000th show. It has become the most successful one-man-show in the Germany, where 15 perform the show on tours.

Kaie spoke to the Sun by telephone from Munich, one of several cities where he performs.

"The play is universal," he said. "It's the most successful one - man show in the world - more than 30 countries, more than 50 languages, so it must be universal. It's timeless in some ways. It always works in Westernized countries. It's the same in America and in Germany. People laugh in the same spots about hunting and gathering and stuff like that.

"But, there are cultural differences. The main difference is that in America the play is more a kind of stand-up comedy routine where the actor is explaining philosophically why men and women don't fit together - and the room where he is is not important. He's talking to the audience about this subject. While in Germany, he's been thrown out of the house by his wife - in Germany , it's a funny cultural thing that can happen. People laugh at that. So he's standing outside the house and tries to get in again but his wife won't let him."

Kaie says the German version is more theatrical, more animated.

"That's not a judgment," he said. "Burke does a brilliant job in the play. But in Europe and Germany we just do things a little more theatrically. It's a little bit different in the way of how we evolved culturally."

Details: "Defending the Caveman," in German; 3 p.m. Saturday ; Golden Nugget; $34.95; 385-7111.

Playboy anniversary

The Playboy Club with its buxom cocktail waitresses and dealers who squeeze into cinched corsets with bunny tails is a nice fit for George Maloof's hip resort, The Palms.

"The Playboy brand fits with what we're trying to do here," says Maloof. "It fits our overall philosophy."

The Palms' koan: Think young, think sexy and keep the party going.

Playboy and the Palms are celebrating the first anniversary of their marriage, as if they need another reason to celebrate. The festivities culminate Sunday with an 8 p.m. party hosted by Playboy Comedy Club's Cort McCown and Playboy Playmates.

Maloof moved mountains to get Hugh Hefner and daughter Christie, who runs Playboy Enterprises, to revive the Playboy Club, which faded out in 1991 after 30 years and clubs in almost 40 cities around the world.

"When I found out they were interested in doing something about a Playboy Club I reached out to them and it kind of went from there," Maloof said.

Maloof's mountain was a law that didn't permit gaming in a venue that charged admission. While you don't have to be a member of the Playboy Club, as you did in the old days, you do have to pay a cover charge to get in, $20 to $40. Maloof helped changed the law to allow the Playboy Club to be located in a casino.

Maloof says the relationship between Playboy and The Palms began at a party at the Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles a month before The Palms opened in Las Vegas in November 2001. When Playboy threw a 50th anniversary party in 2003, it was at The Palms.