I mean, it’s dank, old, a little sketchy, and has more cigarettes going at once than a high-stakes bingo parlor. But the railroad-themed casino features $5 table games, including craps. That’s good. The cowboy bar has good service — bartender Chris was very friendly. Oh, and you can tell people you stayed at the same casino that O.J. Simpson got arrested at for that sports memorabilia robbery. It also hosts fun UFC parties. Vegas has a distinct lack of sports bars.

One thing in particular really made the Palace Station worth the trip: The Bonkerz Comedy Club. That’s where I met comedian Chris Edgerly.

Edgerly headlined a show one night, doing a routine of impersonations and funny observational bits. While his name might not be familiar yet, his work probably is. He was Nick Diamond on “Celebrity Deathmatch,” and he has voiced an unbelievable amount of video games including Alpha Protocol, G.I. Joe, Godfather II, Ninja Blade, Lord of the Rings Conquest, Mass Effect, Halo 3, Kingdom Hearts II, Final Fantasy XII, SWAT 4, Yakuza (with Eliza Dushku) and several dozen more.

He currently provides the voice talent for Peter Potamus on the Adult Swim animated series “Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law.”

Here are some questions and answers with Edgerly:

BLAST: How did you get your start in comedy? Why comedy?

Chris Edgerly: I was in college, October of ‘90. A buddy told me about a group of comedians who did stand-up once a month at this local pizza place in the basement downstairs. I met with them that night, and the next night I was onstage in front of a packed house. It was exhilarating. I had been doing some acting as a drama minor at the university (UGA) but nothing could quite match the thrill of doing your own material in front of an audience.

BLAST: You’ve done a lot of voice acting — what do you like about that side of entertainment?

CE: Two things about voice acting rule: One, you don’t have to worry about how you look or how old you are. It is egalitarian — if you can do the job (and have a good agent that believes in you), you’ll get work. Two, it’s constantly changing, so you never get bored. I audition five days a week, and the scripts are incredibly varied, from video games with aliens and zombies, to commercials involving friendly announcer-type voices, to voice-matching a-list actors for movies to animation involving just about any kind of character you could imagine. This week I’m doing ADR (automated dialogue replacement) work to provide the English voice for a character in a Japanese anime series. It’s a constant challenge to my imagination to see what I can do with a script.

Blast: Comedy or acting, which would you rather be doing?

CE: Impossible to choose. On the one hand, it’s more fulfilling to perform in front of a live audience, especially when you write the material and have ultimate creative control over how it’s delivered. On the other hand, getting to read someone else’s words and interpret them can be a treat, not to mention some of the famous people I’ve gotten to work with over the past few years. And it pays a hell of a lot better, and I can sleep in my own bed and don’t have to be on the road half the year.

Blast: How often do you come out to Vegas to perform? Any plans for an East Coast (Boston?) jaunt?

CE: Haven’t done Vegas often. I don’t like to leave L.A. if i can help it since work never stops in the voice-over world. It would have to take a very special occasion to come to the East Coast, but if things click with the Men’s Club Comedy Tour (the current project I’ve been doing with my three buddies), anything could happen.

Blast: How would you classify your comedic style? I’m sorry to ask this cliche, but who are your influences?

CE: I don’t know how I would classify my style. Above all, I try to be entertaining without insulting the intelligence of the audience. I have a few voices, some wry observations, some longer, more monologist type bits sprinkled in there as well. I like to gently subvert the audience’s expectations of where a bit will go. Above all, it is about giving the audience a good time that stays with them afterward. I’ve been inspired by so many comedians in my life: Cosby and Pryor and Carlin and Rich Little as a kid, Jim Carrey (his physical comedy more than anything), Dennis Miller’s incredible way with words, Bill Maher’s ease with commentary, even Johnny Carson’s way with an audience — the way he could take them anywhere he wanted to go, even when a joke didn’t work. How he could take them by the hand and lead them back whenever he chose. Contemporary comics — Patton Oswalt (a great wordsmith and imagist), Dave Attell (gets you to love lechery), Todd Barry (nobody does wry like him) and Chris Rock (back in ‘96, his HBO special “Bring the Pain” was the best I’d ever seen from a stand-up and still is, in my opinion.)

Blast: What does a comedian do when he’s not on stage? Are you always “on” or do you have people/friends that you can just be off/yourself around?

CE: When I’m not onstage I get up at the crack of 10 a.m., go to my agency and record my auditions, come home and surf the web for fun and ideas, get lunch, exercise, work on the act or anything creative I have on the docket for a little while, etc., spend time with my girlfriend, catch my favorite shows on TV, you name it.

Unexciting and yet highly pleasurable, because my life is my own. My schedule my own. It took years to get to that point but I’m enjoying the hell out of it. That’s probably why you wouldn’t suspect I was a comic if you met me away from a club. I’m not “on” very often . When I’m around my actor and comedian friends, sure. We’re all “on” in one way or another because we understand how we all think and the jokes come fast and furious. But otherwise I’ve been described by my “civilian” friends as laid back, philosophical and — gasp — mature. The opposite of the insecure kid that started years ago, thinking he had to make everyone laugh to prove to himself that he could do it as a career. You know, pretty textbook stuff.

A master artist, Travalena became known throughout his field as “The Man of a Thousand Faces.” He entered Las Vegas in 1971 and has sported impressions of people from Frank Sinatra to Jack Nicholson for more than three decades.

This is yet another entertainment personality to have passed away this week. Incidentally, he made brief appearances on The Tonight Show with host Johnny Carson in the early 80s. Mr. Travalena was 66.

The younger brother of 2004 Sprint Cup champion Kurt Busch won two track championships at the “Bullring” in Legends cars before he moved up to late models in 2001. He had continued success in that class, winning 10 times that season.

But despite his talent, he never did win the facility’s biggest event.

“We had a chance to win the “Fall Classic,” it’s our big race out here,” Kyle recollected after today’s Shelby 427 at LVMS’ 1.5-mile superspeedway. “It’s called the Open Comp. I think it was 2001…It was the last race of the year and we knew were moving on and going [to the American Speed Association] next year.

“I think I qualified on the pole, led the most laps. It’s 140 laps long, I led 130 laps and got wrecked with 10 to go. I wasn’t able to win that one. I remember it quite vividly.”

Chances are he’ll remember Sunday vividly as well, but for much happier reasons.

Despite being forced to give up his pole position after changing an engine during Friday’s practice session, Busch went on a methodical march through the field. He capped it off by taking the lead with 17 laps remaining and held on through two late cautions to win the Shelby 427 at LVMS.

Busch made the race-winning pass by way of nudging Clint Bowyer up the race track in Turn 2 and going past him on the inside. As he cleared Bowyer, his spotter Jeff Dickerson muttered, “Say goodnight, Gracie,” over the radio.

Two late cautions in the final 15 laps would not stop Busch from saying “Good night” to the field; he simply sped away from the field on both restarts.

Now he’s got a better prize from Vegas than that “regular old late model win” he said was the biggest win he’d had at his home track before Sunday.

“This is pretty awesome,” he said. “It’s very special. You never know how special they can be until you can get it done…The last 25-30 laps, I was just as nervous as could be.

“I don’t know if it’s set in yet or not, but it feels pretty damn good right now.”

It was a wild race that saw a race-record 14 caution period mar the proceedings.

Multiple drivers in the top-10 of the points standings, such as Matt Kenseth and Carl Edwards, suffered engine failures. Edwards’ instance was more painful as the power plant in his No. 99 Roush Fenway Racing car blew up as he was running fourth with two laps to go.

Several other contenders also found themselves caught in wrecks. But through it all, Busch made the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing machine fly.

Despite starting at the back, he found himself in the top ten by the race’s halfway point. From there, it was all about staying in striking distance up to the time he passed Bowyer for the lead, and ultimately, the victory.

“Bowyer slipped up off the bottom just a little bit, so I had my [left-side tires] right on the white line there and got a good drive through the center of the corner because it gripped good,” said Busch.

“I got right up to him. He started coming back down a little bit. I like, ‘Oh, don’t do that,’ and then he got loose and I got by him…We were able to just have a little bit better grip than he did and pass him.”

It served as a perfect ending to what Busch’s crew chief Steve Addington called “a crazy weekend” for the entire No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing team.

“Sometimes, you just have to scratch and claw and kick and spit and fight for a win, and that’s what this race team did along with Kyle today,” he said. “I think they took advantage of an opportunity when it came.”

As a result of that, it was Kyle who took the checkered flag, did his burnouts, and made his customary post-win bow to the delight of a happy hometown crowd and members of his family, who waited for him in Victory Lane.

That contingent included proud mother Gaye and brother Kurt (who finished 23rd). After embracing Kyle, he reminded him of how they watched Las Vegas Motor Speedway created before their very eyes when they were younger.

“He said, ‘We watched this place be built and you were the first one to conquer it,’” Kyle recalled.

Now, he’s got a memory that will last him a lifetime.

The city of sin evokes imagery of pure entertainment, pleasure and extravagant indulgence, but for some, Las Vegas is a playground to practice a very serious business, one that is not so much illegal as it is frowned upon. No, the crew from Ocean’s 11, 12 and 13 aren’t on the loose knocking over casino vaults. Beware the MIT math geniuses, counting cards and living double lives in “21.”

The movie opens on an aerial shot of the sprawling Boston metropolis, neatly sliced by the glittering Charles River. The feel of a city that is truly a college town is portrayed by cyclers clad in MIT sweatshirts careening down Mass. Ave. and Memorial Drive and the dark, wooden motif of the pubs decorating the city on every corner.

The thriller-style drama stradles two very different cities: historic Boston and the glitzy, surreal Las Vegas strip. Meet Ben Campbell, played by “Across the Universe” breakout star Jim Sturgess. Sturgess nails the socially awkward yet brilliant persona of all that is an MIT senior with a 4.0 GPA who has recently been accepted at Harvard Medical School.

For his 21st birthday, notice the recurring theme of the 21 goal in blackjack, Ben’s mother and two closest friends (one an eyeglass-wearing, joke-cracking, overweight sidekick, the other a shy pal) share beers and a cake with the Fibonacci sequence on it. Only a lover of math would appreciate such a gesture. Or someone obsessed with “The Da Vinci Code” phenomena.

Focused, bright, and painfully shy, Ben comes from a working class background and is diligent toward achieving the Robinson Scholarship, a full ride to an otherwise unaffordable education at Harvard Med. The worries of money and the pressure he puts on himself don’t weaken his mind or spirit. He answers thoughtfully and intelligently in his classes, where other students admire him and professors take notice.

Ben is approached by Jimmy Fisher, played by Jacob Pitts. Pitts is probably best known for his spot-on timing and unforgettable one-liners in “Eurotrip.” In an empty classroom on the MIT campus late one night, Ben learns about a “club” of students led by Professor Mickey Rosa (Kevin Spacey) who practice counting cards in blackjack. They put their efforts into practice during weekend trips to Vegas. The students play big with Rosa’s money, and win even bigger using a system of “watchers” to spot hot tables and signal the “high-rollers” to come in and clean up.

Ben’s moral fiber shines through, as he first refuses to be a part of the team, then falters for a moment as he considers what would happen if he was not granted the scholarship to Harvard. He just plain wouldn’t be able to afford to attend the prestigious graduate school, and so he makes a deal with the devil, and his teammates. He repeatedly says that he will only participate until the Harvard Med goal of $300,000 is reached. Little did he realize he would be sucked up into a lifestyle of acting, drinking, shopping and just plain galavanting.

Kevin Spacey aptly plays the mysterious and somewhat dangerous Professor Mickey Rosa, a former high-roller card counter turned MIT math educator. His character spreads the allure of leading a double-life, being “whoever you want to be” in Las Vegas. And so the adventure begins.

“Words become numbers and numbers are words. Magazine, 17, Sweet, 16,” and so on. The codes and signals and keeping the count itself are interesting. Nightly practices, jokes and a little romance follow.

Ben and his buds back home were drooling over the elusive and spritely and annoyingly adorable Jill Taylor, (Kate Bosworth) who plays the role of watcher on the team. Now Ben gets to not only meet the “hot rocket scientist,” but he starts to persue her as well.

With logic only MIT students who are on a card-counting “team” could have, the two refrain from any kind of personal relationship at first, concluding that they are business partners. But Las Vegas trips aside, they find that they have much in common and develop a friendship that gives way to more else despite scheming and blackmail in the background of their dangerous game.

In the casinos, the team catches the eye of a dying breed of old-school, thug-style casino security expert named Cole Williams (Laurence Fishbourne). Here the suspense begins — will they get caught? What will happen? Williams’ frustration by losing business to newer computer-based security systems is intertwined with his own unwillingness to retire and to find closure in his life and career.

Based on the book “Bringing Down the House,” by Benjamin Mezrich, this two-hour feature is a mixture of creative cinematography, suspense and a turn of events that’ll have the most cynical audience member gasp out loud.

The premise is statistics, variable change, something described in the movie as “simple math.” Whether you are into gambling, Las Vegas or MIT math geniuses or not, this move is entertaining through and through with added, thought-provoking, movie elements.

3.5 out of 5 stars

“This decision was made by best friends with a huge amount of love and respect for one another. While the marriage is over, their friendship has never been stronger,” Michele Schweitzer, the pop singer’s publicist, told the magazine.

Pink, whose real name is Alecia Moore, married Hart in Costa Rica on January 7, 2006.

The 28-year-old singer proposed to Hart while he was mid-race in Mammoth Lakes, Calif. the previous June, according to the Associated Press. The couple had met at the 2001 X Games.

In recent months, Moore and Hart, 32, each denied their marriage was on the rocks. Saturday, TMZ reported seeing Hart with another woman at the Tabu Ultra Lounge at MGM in Las Vegas.

Diverging career paths may have caused the split, according to TMZ, which also reported that Hart will open a nightclub called Wasted Space at the Hard Rock Café in Vegas.

Meanwhile, one-time Grammy winner Pink is back in the studio, solo.

Firefighters could be seen battling the blaze from the roof of the hotel, with flames coming from the southern section on the top floors.

Las Vegas ABC affiliate KTNV reported the fire was nearly knocked down within two hours with the west wing contained and the south wing fire nearly contained.

When all was said and done, 17 people were taken to area hospitals with minor injuries, and none of the 120 firefighters involved in putting out the blaze were injured.

Welders were working in the general vicinity of where the blaze broke out, but so far fire officials are not commenting on a possible cause.

The 3,000 room hotel staffed by more than 3,000 employees was built in 1996 for $344 million and is owned by MGM Mirage.

There was no mention of the fire on the website for the AAA Four Diamond-rated hotel and casino.

A 1980 fire at the old MGM Grand (now Ballys) killed 84 and injured 700. It was the deadliest fire in Las Vegas history. Since then strict fire code regulations have been enforced in one of the top tourist destinations in the country.