Crazy Benny. Sounds like a used-car dealer. And with his red fedora, he looks like a guy who hawks them on TV.
He even advertises like one, with a trailer that can haul garish paneled signs up and down the Strip. They show Benny with a crown on his head and money in his grip: “Win a Prize!” “Get crazy in Vegas!”
His 200-seat theater plays his voice on an outdoor speaker, beckoning people inside. There awaits a cozy new 200-seat venue, perfect for stand-up comedy, a hypnotist or close-up magic.
The lights are hung, the red-upholstered chairs are lined up in a row. The stage is decorated with prizes for Benny’s “Just Plain Nuts!” audience-participation show, with everything from dolls to porn DVDs.
But Benny Schapero is even lonelier than a car salesman these days. Really. His theater has stood like this, ready and waiting, for a full year now. He has been paying rent all 12 months.
