The Amazing Johnathan says he didn't go out of his way -- well, except for a trip to New York -- for a Comedy Central special that fell in his lap.

The comedian filmed an hourlong special last weekend at Manhattan's historic Hudson Theater (now part of the Millennium Broadway Hotel).

"This is a huge deal. This is definitely going to bring in a new legion of fans," he says.

The cable network keeps the comedian's cruel brand of magic alive in reruns, but hasn't talked to him about a new special since he moved to Las Vegas and became a resident headliner in 2001.

"You think you're old news in Vegas," he says. "You get stuck in this little world here."

That attitude is probably compounded by the comedian having worked more than a year at the Sahara, where other show-business types describe a general air of indifference, as though the property is marking time until it's redeveloped.

What made Comedy Central pick up the phone? Johnathan believes it was iTunes, where he says he is one of the top five comedians to be downloaded from Apple's online media retailer.

"It's kind of like a shock to you when you find out you can still sell out a 5,000-seat theater (out of state)," after averaging 400 or more people in his nightly act at the Sahara, he says.

The original plan was to film the special, "Wrong On Every Level," as an early "clean" show and a second uncensored set. "I really tried to clean the language up, just as an exercise to see if I could do it," he says. Ultimately, he decided it was easier -- and funnier -- just to bleep the frequent profanity. The network may air the uncensored version late at night and release it on DVD.

The bigger challenge was, by network request, not to repeat any material seen in previous Johnathan specials. Those who have seen the Las Vegas show know it's not big on change, though Johnathan maintains the jokes evolve more within the show's fixed structure than people realize.

"People come up and say, 'I've seen your show a million times and I still laugh.' That's because you're seeing new stuff," he says.

Regardless, he had two months to come up with a new hour. About 40 minutes will remain in the Sahara show, minus man-on-the-street bits he filmed with illusionist Criss Angel and an opener in which a giant card castle assembles itself. Alas, it's too big for the Sahara stage.

Just like Johnathan himself might be if the special scores high ratings?

"I hate touring, man. Getting on that plane to go to New York was a major chore for me."

No, he's good with the Sahara if the casino is good with him.

"That's the whole Vegas trick. They don't want you to know how valuable you are," he says. "We go along with the game. We play the game." ...

Rita Rudner isn't performing on the Strip until she opens at Harrah's Las Vegas on Oct. 2, but she gets prominent billing on bookstore shelves. Her second novel, "Turning the Tables," arrived last week. It's a domestic revenge comedy set in a fictional Las Vegas casino called Heaven.

Rudner will perform about half the year in eight-week bursts, devoting the rest of her time to her new writing career. She will share the outgoing Clint Holmes' time slot with Wayne Newton, who will probably debut in the room with the Christmas show he performed last year at the Flamingo Las Vegas. ...

The "Phantom" scheduling menace: Previously announced schedule changes for "Phantom -- The Vegas Spectacular" generated media coverage suggesting disappointing attendance was causing cutbacks.

Nope. The producers are still offering 10 shows per week, but don't want as many of them at 10 p.m. And now it turns out the schedule will change twice. The first one, from Monday through Oct. 15, mostly shifts the day off from Tuesday to Wednesday.

More radical experiments come from Oct. 16 to Nov. 19. That's when Saturday shows move to 6 and 9 p.m. and Sunday shows go to 5 and 8 p.m.

Mike Weatherford's entertainment column appears Thursdays and Sundays. Contact him at 383-0288 or e-mail him at mweatherford@reviewjournal.com.