Funny times at South Point

By Becky Bosshart (contact)

Thursday, Jan. 8, 2009 | 12:01 a.m.

Courtesy photo

Ralphie May, who was runner-up on the first season of “Last Comic Standing,” will bring his stand-up comedy act to the South Point Showroom Jan. 9 and 10 at 7:30 p.m.

Comedian Ralphie May is a doting father of his new baby girl April June May, but he's not going to become a baby comic.

"If you can't do it better than (Bill) Cosby, why even try to do it?" said the comic.

May enjoys his routine, and it has taken him to the best comedy clubs in the country. Fans can find him at the South Point Showroom Jan. 9 and 10. He's not saying there won't be any baby and married-life humor, but it's tough to top the famous Cosby shtick. And May is likely to be a little more urban.

"I'm politically incorrect, racially insensitive and culturally controversial," he said.

The 36-year-old comic, who splits his time between Los Angeles, Calif., and Nashville, Tenn., has three Comedy Central specials to his name. His CDs and DVDs go platinum. May has material for another Comedy Central show, which he said might be filmed this summer at the South Point, May's favorite Las Vegas casino venue. The South Point isn't a crazy Strip casino, which is what he likes about it.

"It's like the party before 11 p.m., when everybody is reasonable and nobody is doing blow," he said. "At Strip hotels the party is after midnight and there's already been two fights over a chick. Everyone is hammered and doing blow. I much prefer the South Point because it has a local feel, a real audience. People who are there want to be away from the drama and the mayhem of the Strip. That's my audience, so it's a perfect fit."

May said he speaks to regular people, the working poor who struggle to get by.

"That's how I was growing up," he said. "When you've done that and walked that road you have a shared empathy with people who are down trodden."

He isn't in the party scene anymore. After 19 years in stand-up, May said he'd rather be at home.

"The measure of a man is not a bank account, which we've seen can be quickly depleted," he said. "I think I'm a success because I have a beautiful wife and a beautiful baby and another on the way. That's the measure of a man's success. And that's how we roll."

His second baby is due in mid-June. May favors the name Julius August.

May was on the first season of the reality television series "Last Comic Standing," in which stand-up comedians compete for a television contract. He finished as first runner-up.

The 7:30 p.m. show is restricted to those over the age of 21. Purchase tickets online at www.SouthPointCasino.com or call the box office at 797-8055.

Becky Bosshart can be reached at 990-7748 or becky.bosshart@hbcpub.com.