What’s your go-to move to lock a mixed crowd in a 9 PM lounge set when half the seats are comped and the roulette pit is pulling eyes? I’ve been opening with a tight 20-second call-and-response and a slow spotlight sweep across the back rail, but it fell flat in the Blue Room last Friday and I’m hunting for solid training vids or workshops on casino-specific stage presence or banter that are worth the time.
But i’d swap the call-and-response for a 30-second hook medley — three 8-bar choruses everyone knows at about 105 BPM — while you step off the riser and tag the back rail; recognition beats participation this early, like drink tickets beating a pep talk. Small caveat: keep your first lyric line under the sweep so they hear “oh, that one” before they have to look. For training, The Show Creators Studios in Vegas runs casino-stage presence labs with video feedback: https://showcreators.com — want me to DM a contact?