Dave Attell, the gravel-voiced comic who spent decades perfecting late-night raunch, takes the stage at Riverwind Casino's Showplace Theatre on Friday for a single stand-up performance. The show is scheduled to run from 8 p.m. to 9:45 p.m., with tickets starting at $42 and up. It's a rare chance for Oklahoma comedy fans to catch the veteran comic in a mid-size room just outside Norman.
The event is set for the Showplace Theatre inside Riverwind Casino at 1544 State Highway 9 in Norman, according to KGOU. The venue itself is no small room — the theater spans 14,040 square feet and seats up to 1,500 people across three terraced tiers, flanked by big screens and bar areas, according to Riverwind Casino. Attendees should note the theater enforces a strict 21-and-over policy, with valid photo identification required for entry, per Event Tickets Center.
Fans buying tickets at the door should come prepared with plastic rather than cash, since the box office runs on a cashless system accepting Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover. Those with questions about the event can reach Riverwind at 405-322-6000, while the Showplace Theatre's venue line is 405-322-6464, per the same KGOU listing.
A Career Built From Letterman to Late-Night Cult Status
Attell's path to Friday's stage stretches back nearly four decades. He graduated from New York University in 1987 with a communications degree before ditching food service jobs to grind through Manhattan's open-mic circuit, according to Acme Comedy Co. His big break came in 1993 with a debut on the Late Show with David Letterman, a performance strong enough that Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels hired him as a writer and performer for the show's 1993–1994 season, the site notes.
Entertainment Weekly later named Attell one of the “25 Funniest People in America,” citing his rapid-fire delivery and adult comedy style, per Stereogum. He went on to host Comedy Central's Insomniac with Dave Attell and create the network's Dave Attell's Comedy Underground, according to the KGOU listing, cementing a late-night persona built around dive bars and after-hours crowds.
Recent Specials and Screen Credits Keep Him Busy
Attell's stand-up output hasn't slowed. He released the special Road Work, now streaming on Paramount+, and followed it with the Netflix special Hot Cross Buns, which premiered in 2024, per KGOU. He also created the Showtime series Dave's Old Porn and has popped up on Netflix's Bumping Mics with Jeff Ross.
On the acting side, Attell has appeared in HBO's Crashing with Pete Holmes and Hulu's Life & Beth alongside Amy Schumer, Michael Rapaport, and Michael Cera, according to KGOU. He's also been cast in the upcoming film Is This Thing On?, starring Will Arnett and directed by Bradley Cooper, per the Chevalier Theatre. Attell previously co-headlined the NY Laughs Festival alongside Jeff Ross, as Hoodline reported in its piece on the block party belly laughs event.
Inside the Chickasaw Nation's Entertainment Complex
Riverwind Casino opened on July 17, 2006, as a 219,000-square-foot gaming and entertainment complex owned and operated by the Chickasaw Nation, according to Wikipedia. The Chickasaw Nation now operates more than 15 gaming facilities across Oklahoma, all regulated by the tribe's Office of the Gaming Commissioner, which was created under tribal ordinance in 1994, per Gaming America.
To handle traveling visitors, the casino added an adjoining 100-room hotel connected to the main building by a skybridge back in February 2009. For out-of-town comedy fans making the drive to Norman for Friday's show, that on-site lodging remains one of the property's steadiest draws nearly two decades after the casino first opened its doors.
