Brother, Can You Spare A Ticket?

The economic downturn is not funny. People who lose their homes, their savings and their jobs are not amusing. Even overly ambitious multinational corporations having trouble making multimillion-dollar debt payments on massive construction projects they should've thought twice about commencing isn't really the stuff of humor.

But. I got this one press release today that cracked me UP. In fact, I'm just bummed I didn't read it before we recorded tonight's episode of "The Strip." Then again, maybe "bummed" isn't such a good word here.

The subject line was "Mac King Passes Entertainment Stimulus Plan." Really, I wonder. How so?

Turns out, comic-magician Mac King is giving away free tickets to "local families that have fallen on rough economic times. ... During the month of May, any Las Vegas resident experiencing financial hardship can present their Nevada ID to the Harrah’s box office to receive complimentary admission for two to the Mac King Comedy Magic Show."

Now I love Mac King. His show is awesome. His cartoons in the Sunday papers are always fun. He gave a great interview on "The Strip," too, in October 2007. He even triumphed in a Stripper Poll one time about the funniest regular act in Vegas. I encourage everyone to go see his show. By far, it's the best daytime show in Vegas.

That said, I'm trying to figure out how this works. Do you go to the Harrah's box office and say, "Hi, I'm poor, gimme some tickets"?

Maybe you need to show up in garb like this:


I mean, the star's in a plaid suit, so they might just think you're a Mac King groupie or something. Would they let the guy below in?


And what happens if the family picks up their freebies and then sells 'em? Do they get in trouble? I mean, these are tough times.