George Lopez talks about starting his career in Las Vegas

George Lopez has a soft spot for the Bonanza Gift Shop on Las Vegas Boulevard. “I’ll never forget being in my 20s in Vegas. I was tapped out and had no money… Even when you’re broke you still want that pair of fuzzy dice. You want them so bad,” he joked.

Happily, things have improved for the actor-comedian, who performed at the Mirage last week and whose TV Land series “Lopez” just began its second season.

Review-Journal: What is a typical Sunday like for you?

Lopez: I grew up in a household where sleeping in wasn’t allowed. Everyone was gone by breakfast on a Sunday. I love to get out of the house at the crack of dawn because I need to see the sun rise. Then it’s off for an early game of golf and a little bit of brunch around 8 a.m.

You spent a lot of time in Vegas when you first started your comedy career. What do you remember about those days?

Besides being broke, I remember … being broke. I also remember being young and playing blackjack in Vegas. All the people around me at the table would start to leave. Instead of thinking, ‘They’re leaving because this guy doesn’t know what he’s doing,’ I thought this was great like they were afraid of me.

What do you like to do in Vegas after you say good night to an audience?

On occasion, I still like to get that $2 ham steak. Or I’ll grab some friends and we’ll go down to Fremont Street. People will come up and say, ‘It’s not really you?’ I’ll say, ‘Nah, it really is me!’ I love all the double takes and when fans say, ‘George Lopez, what’s up?’ The night could easily end up with a shrimp cocktail and watching people walk by with a five-foot margarita.”

On April 23, you became impossibly 55 years old. Any slowdown due to age?

Bones creak. I get out of the car and go, ‘Ugggh!’ I do try to stay active and have upped the wattage of my workouts.

Tell us about the new season of “Lopez.”

The season opener is about me leaving my residency in Vegas. I do admire people who do residencies, but the monotony is sometimes hard to take. You’ve seen it in Vegas before … the tortured performer. You want it, then you don’t want it. Then you can’t live without it. Then you realize how much you need it. I think the theme is it’s a love story between creative people and their audience.

Ever think of quitting the business?

I’ve never exhausted of it. It’s so close to me. When I grew up, I didn’t have any siblings, so I spent a lot of time alone. I think that helped with a career in stand-up, which can be a very singular existence. It becomes a companion because your comedy is always with you. You can see it. You can feel it.

How did you go from lonely kid to the stage?

I can’t even imagine how I left my house when I was freshly 18 and went to the Comedy Store. I continued to go back there night after night. I worked there with no benefits except learning something I didn’t think I could learn. It was pretty overwhelming. I just said, ‘I’m not going to quit.’

Any odd jobs along the way?

I worked during the day and did comedy at night for a long time. Then I got some advice. I was told, ‘Either do both half-assed or one right.’ So I quit my job at a factory in Van Nuys, California, [building] navigation equipment for airplanes.

When I went to that personnel office, the woman asked, ‘Why are you leaving this job?’ I said, ‘To become a comedian.’ She said, ‘We could leave your job open for six months.’ I said, ‘Thanks, but no thanks because I’m never coming back.’ To which she replied, ‘Never say never.’ But I know one thing in life: Never go backwards.