Dana Carvey is open for new jokes in ‘Reunited’ series

Jon Lovitz has landed a great opening act in his first headlining run on the Strip.

The guy’s name is Dana Carvey, and he’s very good.

“I am learning new respect for opening acts,” says Carvey, who appears onstage first in “Reunited” at the Foundry at SLS. “Sometimes, there are 100 or 150 people being seated when I’m doing my act. I’m thinking, ‘Oh, OK. This is what it’s like being an opening act.’ It can be a rough time. No wonder headliners like to shove them out there first.”

Carvey, who is actually Lovitz’ co-star, works the crowd when the stragglers file into the room. “I ask, ‘Where are you staying? The Mirage? That place is a (crap) hole, ‘“ Carvey says. That always gets a laugh. Whatever the answer — Paris, wherever — the place is a (crap) hole.”

Carvey and Lovitz, two former “Saturday Night Live” cast members who gained national fame in the mid-1980s, are back onstage at 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday. The show opened in January as the first comedy headlining series at the Foundry. Carvey and Lovitz perform a half-dozen more shows at SLS through November.

Carvey says he and Lovitz are not planning to perform together in Las Vegas beyond this year.

“This whole thing was like an experiment to me,” he says. “We’ve had the experiment, and it was fun. I might do something like it again with Jon, or in a lineup with Kevin Nealon and Dennis Miller.”

Regardless, Carvey does plan to return to town as a headliner.

“I like playing Vegas. I like the conversations I’ve had with Jay Leno, who does like 150 or 200 dates a year and is extremely pragmatic about show business,” Carvey says. “He says, ‘You’re playing Vegas? The lighting and sound is great there. The food’s great, too. Lots of places to eat.’ “

Leno plays The Mirage, incidentally, and it’s a really nice place.

Chappelle, Hart flush with cash

Money is a funny thing, we are reminded again this weekend. Two of the wealthiest comics in the country, Kevin Hart and Dave Chappelle, are onstage in Hart’s fourth annual HartBeat Weekend at the Chelsea at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. Characteristically stacked with top-line talent, the event opens with Usher on Friday night, followed by Hart and a lineup of stand-ups performing two shows Saturday, and Chappelle’s show Sunday.

Chappelle has flourished in a full-scale comeback the past two years, signing an eight-figure deal with Netflix for three concert specials, two of which were released during a sold-out U.S. tour (Chappelle filled Mandalay Bay Events Center in May). According to Forbes’ annual list of the world’s highest-paid comedians, Chappelle ranks No. 4 after with estimated earnings of $47 million this year. His two specials were the most-watched stand-up shows ever on Netflix, according to the streaming company.

The Forbes list tracks comics’ pre-tax income from June 2016 through this June.

Hart ranks No. 6 with $32.5 million. He held the No. 1 spot on last year’s list, earning $87.5 million. Since then, he has performed only a dozen live performances — not including his Cosmopolitan appearance. Instead, Hart has taken on larger projects, such as the movie “Jumanji 2” and the comedy streaming platform Laugh Out Loud.

Jerry Seinfeld, a recurring headliner at Caesars Palace, tops the Forbes list at $69 million, followed by Chris Rock (who played two shows at The Park Theater in June) at $57 million, and Louis C.K. at $52 million. Terry Fator, headliner at The Mirage since 2008, is at No. 8 with $18 million, the top resident Las Vegas headliner on the list(and a subject of an upcoming column, so look out for that).

Holmes, Moreno close out GN

A terrific summer of live entertainment ended this week at the Showroom at the Golden Nugget as Clint Holmes closed his residency Wednesday and Frankie Moreno finished his run Thursday. Both headliners ran their respective series as scheduled. The only booked entertainment in the Showroom is the 52 Fridays concert series, which continues through December. This week it’s Tommy James and The Shondells; Sept. 8 it’s Mitch Ryder and The Detroit Wheels. Otherwise, the room where Frank Sinatra headlined in the mid-1980s (and from where he recorded a live album in 1986), and Don Rickles, Willie Nelson, Tony Bennett and a host of other stars have performed, is dark.

The $80 million question

Floyd Mayweather said the paid attendance at his 10th-round TKO over Conor McGregor at T-Mobile Arena on Sunday would reach a record-setting $80 million, but those familiar with the fight’s live gate doubt that figure. Some tickets exceeded $10,000, but the event fell far short of selling out the 20,000-capacity venue, with an announced attendance of 14,623.

The total is expected to top out at $73 million, still the highest gate ever for a live bout, eclipsing the $72 million at the 2015 Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao fight.

John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on Twitter, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.