We have been playing the Pacific Showroom at the Skagit Casino every year since 2002; it it always sold out way in advance, and the hospitality is exemplary. Even stars that say "Seattle Comedy Competition" on the dressing room doors.
Former champ Ron Osborne was a great host, the audience was hot from the start, hung in all night - show ran well over 2 1/2 hours with the intermission.
For the second night in a row, the comic who went up first finished first, don't think that's ever happened (Travis Simmons on Thurs, Jose Sarduy tonight). Comic who went last (Steve Monroe) came in 2nd. Crazy.
Paul Hooper crushed the audience, as he has every night, but this time the judges agreed.
1. Jose Sarduy 2. Steve Monroe 3. Paul Hooper 4. Sean Kent 5. Travis Simmons
Interesting scoring note: 9 of the 10 semi-finalists have "placed" or finished in the top 5 at least once this week. The only one who hasn't is Seattle's Rodger Lizaola. Oddly enough Rodger is now in 4th place overall, as his scores have been remarkably consistent.
Less than 1 1/2 point spread between 4th and 10th, which means that going into night 5 every single semi-finalist could still make the finals.
It's a horse race, ladies and gentlemen!