You can argue all you want about which Las Vegas showroom stands at the top of the entertainment ladder, but everyone knew the bottom rung: The Bourbon Street Casino.

Local juggler Will Roya had the dubious honor of staging "Spotlight," the last show ever presented in a smoky, decrepit little lounge that was separated by only a curtain from a rundown casino. The show closed last June, ahead of what turned out to be the hotel's demise on Oct. 17.

The new owner, Harrah's Entertainment, planned to let the Bourbon Street stay open through Monday, but a water main break pulled the plug. Some of Roya's less-fond memories include "prostitutes in the bathroom, homeless guys taking baths in there" and drunks knocking over that precious dividing curtain.

"Sometimes people would want their money back without even seeing the show," Roya says.

"Spotlight" shared the room with hypnotist Terry Stokes, whose assistant visibly shuffled CDs in front of a boom box to find the music cues. But the lounge also hosted a couple of decent shows. Both "Shock" and "The Fielding West Show: Comedy, Tricks & Naked Chicks" even managed to pull off choreographed dance numbers and lighting effects.

West says he "never went back in the building again" after his show closed in 2002. Management lambasted him for sharing the news that ticket wholesalers didn't like sending customers there. Talk about killing the messenger.

Modest as it was, Roya's claim to having "a Las Vegas show" gave him credibility with those who book cruise ships. "People in the industry appreciated ('Spotlight') for what it was," Roya says.

The Bourbon Street is not the only low-rent entertainment space to bite the dust. The Lady Luck and San Remo have closed their venues. The entire Westward Ho closes Nov. 17. The Tuscany turned its lounge into a poker room. The Riviera reclaimed its Le Bistro cabaret, once a revolving door for any act with enough money to step up and spin the wheel.

That begs the question of what now is that bottom rung?

We have to look downtown, where a glorified lounge at Fitzgeralds is slightly more upscale than the winner.

The Comedy Zone is upstairs at the Plaza. It is next to a bingo room and is accessed through a hallway miraculously untouched by time since the Plaza opened in 1971. You could swear you just saw the little boy from "The Shining" ride his tricycle down the hall.

The room is currently shared by a comedy club, a magician and a solo comedian, Benny Baker.

But folks, we've got to face the music. Thanks to skyrocketing real estate prices, they're tearing down all our dumps.

One day, we may wake up to the shocking fact that you actually have to be somebody to put on a show in Las Vegas.

Mike Weatherford's entertainment column appears Thursdays and Sundays. Contact him at 383-0288.