What would we do without comedy? Irish-born comedian Maeve Higgins conducted an experiment to see what life would be like if she stopped laughing and said it was harder than she thought it would be. It also gave her a new appreciation of the alchemy between comedians and their audiences.
For decades, scientists, philosophers, neuroscientists and authors have been fascinated by the way humor seems to help us cope with difficult issues and situations. We like this observation from Scott Weems, a cognitive neuroscientist and author, “My first thought when I think about humor is it’s a great way for us to have evolved so we don’t have to hit each other with sticks.”
There’s even a growing demand for funny online casino games and casino table games such as Family Guy, Machine Gun Unicorn, Gonzo’s Quest, Taco Brothers and Spinions online slots.
We’ve put together a list of what we consider to be the funniest comedians of the last decade. Read on to see if your favorite famous comedians are on our list and if you want more, take a look at some of the funniest professional poker moments ever.
Tina Fey
Few stars are as flat-out hilarious as Tina Fey. She started her comedy career in the Chicago-based improvisational comedy group The Second City before joining Saturday Night Live as a writer. She earned her stripes in the glare of the spotlight on one of the most popular (and demanding) English-language comedy shows, famously saying, “The show doesn’t go on because it’s ready; it goes on because it’s 11:30.” In 1999 she went on to become the first female head writer on the show and won an Emmy for best writing that year – the first for the show in its 13-year history.
Since then, she’s written the screenplay for, and co-starred in, Mean Girls, and come up with the television sitcom series 30 Rock, inspired by her Saturday Night Live experiences. Her 2011 memoir Bossypants held on to the top position of The New York Times Best Seller list for five weeks and snagged her a Grammy Award nomination. One of her latest projects is Mulligan, an animated Netflix comedy series about how humans cope with life following an alien attack.
Chris Rock
Another comedian who earned his stripes on Saturday Night Live in the 1990s, Chris went on to star in a number of hit movies, including Down to Earth, The Longest Yard, the Madagascar movie series, Grown Ups, and its sequel Grown Ups 2. He also hosted the Academy Awards in 2005 and 2016 and has four Emmy Awards and three Grammy Awards on his mantelpiece.
Rock is without a doubt one of the best stand-up comedians of the last decade; he’s side-splittingly funny in his unique and frenetic way. Comedy Central agreed, voting his the fifth-greatest stand-up comedy act ever. His latest stand-up special, Tamborine, is a quieter, more gentle offering than we’ve seen in the past. Even if his approach has changed slightly, one thing is clear: Chris keeps getting better with age!
Brad Garrett
Brad Garrett is a man of many talents – he’s not only a successful actor but also one of the best comedians of all time. Fans of live dealer games, and online poker enthusiasts in particular, will get a kick out of knowing that he’s also a professional poker player. He even entered the main event at the World Series of Poker 2005 to 2007 and 2009, and won the fifth season championship of Celebrity Poker Showdown.
Brad started his showbiz career as a stand-up comedian in the early 1980s and went on to star in dozens of movies and TV series. The funnyman of Everybody Loves Raymond has five Emmy Award nominations behind his name and won the 2002, 2003, and 2005 Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. In 2003, he received another Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie for Gleason.
His awards and accolades are too many to mention here, but you can catch Brad at his best in Brad Garrett’s Comedy Club at MGM Grand Las Vegas. It’s the best place in Las Vegas to catch the hottest names in stand-up in a specially designed theater custom-built for comedy and exceptional shows such as Cirque du Soleil.
Moving on to the casino after the show is a great way to keep the fun going. The MGM Grand Poker Room is known as the $1-$2 No Limit Capital of Las Vegas and the Strip’s number one hotspot for Texas Hold’em. Whether you want to try out the full casino table game offering which includes blackjack, roulette, poker and baccarat, or other types of casino games such as jackpot slots, this is the location for players looking for fun and excitement.
Melissa McCarthy
No list of the funniest comedians of the last decade would be complete without mentioning Melissa McCarthy. Her breakout role in the 2011 movie Bridesmaid earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress and turned her into an A-lister with hits that followed, such as The Heat, Tammy, The Boss, and Spy.
She’s since gone on to add producer, writer and fashion designer to her comedian label and in 2016, Time named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world. She also received a motion picture star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. To summarize her career in nominations and awards, she’s been nominated for 107 awards and won 31, including the NATO CinemaCon Award, Female Star of the Year, MTV Movie Awards, and Comedic Genius Award.
Melissa’s latest projects include Thunder Force with Octavia Spencer and co-hosting a six-episode home renovation series called The Great Giveback.
Seth Macfarlane
Seth Macfarlane may not be the most famous stand-up act of all time, but this guy has some serious comedy skills and much more up his sleeve. In fact, he isn’t just a funny guy; he’s a supremely talented singer, producer, actor and animator.
Macfarlane started off his career as an animator and writer for Hanna Barbera, where he worked on shows such as Johnny Bravo, Cow and Chicken and Dexter’s Laboratory. However, the show that undoubtedly made him a household name was Family Guy, which he produces, writes and voices. The show is seen as far too vulgar by some, but it’s one of the biggest adult comedy animations of all time.
He has gone on to act, produce and write for a variety of shows and movies such as American Dad, Ted and Ted 2, The Cleveland Show, and A Million Ways to Die in the West.
Smiles and fun all the way at BetMGM online casino
It was no easy task picking just a handful of the funniest comedians of the last decade – there are so many who work hard to put smiles on our faces. For plenty of other ways to kick back and relax, you can also play casino games in a format that suits your mood. From quick-fire slots to immersive live casino online poker, roulette and other table games, all you have to do to get started is register in a few easy steps.
