Improv at Harrah's Las Vegas launches comedy contest

On Tuesday, November 24, 2009, in conjunction with the Blu-ray Hi-Def and DVD release of Universal Studios’ critically-acclaimed movie Funny People, Budd Friedman and Mark Lonow’s Improv at Harrah’s Las Vegas will begin its hunt to find the next funniest person in the country.

This contest will offer one aspiring comic the opportunity of a lifetime as he or she will perform on stage at the Improv at Harrah’s Las Vegas over a six-night run sometime in 2010.

“My monocle has spotted some of the brightest stars the comedy world has to offer, names like Jay Leno, Sarah Silverman and Adam Sandler,” said Improv founding partner, Budd Friedman. “This contest will allow someone a chance to prove to me and the rest of the comedy world that they have what it takes to perform under the lights at the Improv – the best place in the world to see stand-up comedy.”

In order to enter, contestants need to record at least one-minute of their funniest original material and upload that video to the dedicated area at www.ijoke.com (to ensure the video gets placed into the right location, be certain to select “Funny People” in the drop-down category selector).

All video entries need to be uploaded by Tuesday, December 8, 2009, before midnight (Pacific Time).

A panel of professional comics and otherwise hilarious people will select the top five videos that were received during the two-week period. These five videos will then be posted to ijoke.com no later than December 14, 2009, where the public will determine the winner.

Visitors to the site will have the opportunity to vote for their favorite video only one time, per computer, so friends and family are encouraged to spread the word. The voting period will end on December 20, 2009 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time).

Once the votes have been tallied, the three finalists will be notified and flown to Las Vegas where they will perform their material on stage at the Improv at Harrah’s in front of a live audience – and a panel of judges – who will determine the winner.

The top prize is the opportunity to perform over a six-night run on state at The Improv at Harrah’s Las Vegas at some point in 2010. Visit ijoke.com for official rules.