A lot of people these days know Wayne Brady from his Fox television karaoke show “Don’t Forget the Lyrics” but while there is audience participation it doesn’t involve them singing. Instead, the focus here is on the kind of improv that Brady did every week on the Drew Carey hosted “Who’s Line Is It Anyway?” that ran on ABC for years (and still plays on ABC Family in endless repeats).

With a crack band, back-up singers and dancers, and fellow improv comic Jonathan Magnum, Brady keeps the laughs rolling with a series of made up on the spot sketches, games, and songs many of which involve dragging unsuspecting audience members into the spotlight.

For example, he brought one woman up on stage and asked her what she did for a living and to give an example of a situation from her work life. Turns out she was a Federal Agent and told Brady about the guy she busted who was trying to smuggle ecstasy into the US in his adult diapers. He quickly turned that into not only a sketch but an entire musical number and proved that he is funnier and faster on his feet than you and I will ever be.

Brady uses many classic improvisation games like “Human Props,” where audience members are asked to be the inanimate objects in a scene (doors, cars, seat belts, etc.) and “Sound Effects” where they have to make all the noises (opening a bottle, jumping in water, grilling meat). The fact that most of them can’t keep up is where most of the humor comes from and he merely steps back and lets them make big fools of themselves, in a good-natured kind of way.

But it’s the songs that are the most impressive pieces of the show. Get two middle-aged men on stage – an accountant and a financial advisor – and he immediately creates a rap battle between the two, complete with rhymes and choreography. Audience suggestions of a singer and a made up song title inspire instant full-fledged numbers out of thin air, all of which are laugh-out-loud funny.

Of special note here is the band and his back-up singers who somehow manage to keep up with every spur of every moment at break neck pace.

Brady is also an inspired mimic. His Prince was spot-on and the show closer – a series of real songs from the likes of Sam Cooke, James Brown, and Sammy Davis Jr. – were a delightful blend of impression and homage.

Making It Up is, in many ways, a throwback to classic Vegas variety shows, with singing, dancing, lots of laughs, and a general sense of genial fun. The fact that it’ll be different every time you see it means it’s a show you could go to over and over again.

Vegas4Visitors Grade: A

Wayne Brady: Making It Up
The Venetian
3355 Las Vegas Blvd. S
866-641-7469
website
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In Las Vegas there are probably no two hotels that are more closely matched than Bellagio and Wynn Las Vegas. In addition to competing for the same upscale crowd they were even designed and shepherded into existence by the same person, casino magnate Steve Wynn.

Now that Bellagio is owned by corporate giant MGM Mirage while Wynn, appropriately enough, owns Wynn the two have become competitors for the moneyed, luxury crowd. So which one does a better job? Read on.

Parking and Access
The parking structures at Bellagio and Wynn are very similar, simple 4-story structures located directly adjacent to the building. Getting in and out is relatively simple for both once you get off the actual street but Bellagio faces a challenge because of its location. The busy Center Strip spot means lots of additional traffic (both vehicle and pedestrian) than Wynn's slightly less busy North Strip location so access is just a little easier at Wynn.

Once you park your vehicle, getting into the hotel is a breeze at both places but Bellagio gets some bonus points here. Its garage puts you right into the Conservatory area, just a few feet away from the lobby and very close to the casino whereas the Wynn garage puts you into a relatively narrow hallway by the poker room that requires a long trek to the check in desk.

Although the traffic thing is daunting, I have to tip this one to Bellagio just for ease of use once you get inside.

Checking In
Both hotels have the multi-line check-in that I absolutely despise, where each agent has their own line and you have to try to figure out which one is going to move faster. If you're like me and you always choose the line at the grocery store with the person ahead of you that has a coupon for every single item, you'll know what I mean when I say this can be a frustrating experience.

Since both hotels fail in that regard and the staff at both is top notch, we have to compare the experience and surroundings.

Bellagio's lobby is huge and stunning, with the big colorful blown glass chandelier, art work, floral arrangements, mosaic tile, and more. The only downside to this is that the area is as much an attraction as the fountains out front with hordes of tourists snapping pictures. After being on a long flight or car ride, I don't really fancy being in Aunt Edna's photos that she's showing back home to the neighbors. Wynn's lobby, by comparison, is much more sedate in good and bad ways. There are works of art and flowers but the room is smaller and less awe-inspiring that Bellagio's. But that does mean fewer people photographing you with airplane hair.

Part of the Vegas experience is "going big" and having a lobby like the one at Bellagio definitely qualifies so I'm giving the nod to that hotel in this category.

Getting To Your Room
Once again both hotels face similar demerits in this category because both require you to walk through the casino to get to your room. As we all know, fighting the crowds while loaded down with luggage - or stumbling back to find your bed at 5am after a night of partying - just isn't fun.

It's actually further from the front desk, front door, and parking garage to the elevators at Wynn Las Vegas but the good news here is that you can skirt the edges of the casino as opposed to having to walk directly through it. At Bellagio it's still quite a long journey from the entry points and you have to walk through the heart of the gambling action.

The winner here is Wynn Las Vegas.

Rooms
This is where personal taste makes a big impression on the decision making.

The rooms at the two hotels are elegant, luxurious, and loaded with the finest in-room amenities in town. In fact if you compare the two solely on what you get while you're in there, they are almost perfectly matched.

The differences come in play with the decor and overall feeling of the spaces. Bellagio's rooms are more classical in design, with furnishings, drapes, fabrics, and art that while modern, evoke a more old-world style. Wynn Las Vegas, meanwhile, is all about modernity, with sleek lines, bold colors, and high-tech everything.

The standard rooms at Wynn Las Vegas are also only a little bigger in terms of square-footage but they just feel bigger - more open, airy, and brightly lit.

My taste runs to the modern, so I'm giving this category to Wynn Las Vegas.

Casino
Another personal taste and past experience category surrounds the gambling experience.

To be honest, neither casino is among my favorites for places to play. Bellagio feels a little too stuffy for my tastes and Wynn, while more comfortable aesthetically, doesn't have very good spacing between the tables and machines.

So for me it has to come down to where I have won the most money. I know that's not very fair and is all luck of the draw (hence the whole "gambling" thing) but when two casinos are fairly evenly matched in all other considerations then I have to find some way to tip it in one direction or another.

I've won more money at Wynn, so Wynn wins.

Service and Amenities
The staff at both hotels is professionally courteous and efficient but I've always felt a little bit more "warmth" at Wynn. That isn't the exact word I want but I can't come up with a better one so we'll just go with it. There's nothing wrong with the service at Bellagio but it can sometimes come off as a bit brusque.

In terms of things to do inside the building, there are winners on both sides. Wynn Las Vegas has more entertainment (two show rooms instead of one), more shopping, more interesting restaurants, the better buffet, a bigger pool, and an onsite golf course. Bellagio, on the other hand, has the iconic fountains out front and conservatory and art gallery inside, things Wynn just can't match.

I went back and forth on this one for quite awhile. In the end though, the service difference and the "more" aspect tips this one to Wynn, but only by the slimmest margin. There may be a hanging chad involved so a recount is possible.

Cost
Both hotels are almost painfully expensive, so we're measuring the winner in this category by degrees of how outraged you'll be when you get the bill.

At Bellagio you can sometimes get a room during the week for less than $200 a night and occasionally a room on the weekend for less than $300. It's rare but it can happen. At Wynn Las Vegas those prices are also possible but are even more difficult to find.

This is a sweeping generalization but the rates at Wynn Las Vegas are usually more expensive than at Bellagio. Not always and not always by a lot, but usually.

Now, granted, as discussed you get more at Wynn - more stuff in the hotel, a bigger room, and the like. But it's still going to cost you more so Bellagio takes this category.

The Decision
What we have here in terms of categories is, essentially, a tie. Wynn got 4 out of 7 but the Service and Amenities category was basically a split decision and there's that whole hanging chad thing so it's more like 3.5 to 3.5.

But Wynn Las Vegas won the more important categories such as rooms and casino, while Bellagio took things like best parking (and even then it wasn't a knockout punch).

So the winner of this edition of Casino Cage Match is Wynn Las Vegas.

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