The 4th World Series of Comedy is One for the Record Books

After hundreds of submissions and dozens of performances, It came down to the final 3. And the winner of the 2013 World Series of Comedy is... Thai Rivera.

Rivera is well known in comedy circles. He's opened for many A List headliners including Gabriel Inglesias and Jo Koy. His TV credits include "Live at Gotham", "One Night Stand", and "Stand Up Revolution".

"Thank you everyone for your support. I'm so happy I won," Rivera said via Facebook to his many adoring fans.

The World Series of Comedy is the brainchild of longtime comic- Joe Lowers "I was hanging out with some young comics before my show," Lowers said. "The one thing every stand up comic is looking for is work. We are all worried about our next gig. And in our business, there are always comedy contests."

So Lowers started calling comedy clubs, to gauge their interest in a contest that gives away weeks of work. "I was overwhelmed by the positive response", he said. "Everyone really liked the format and the prizes".

The World Series of Comedy with the grand prize being up to 50 weeks of work. As an added bonus, The winner gets a CD recording deal with Uproar Entertainment, with a $1000 advance. The contest is formatted similar to a poker tournament. All the participants must submit a 5 minute video of their stand up routine. The videos are judged and ranked by booking agents from an assortment of comedy clubs.

Then there were 6 satellite contests ("Flappers" in Burbank, "Loonees" in Colorado Springs, "Comedy Caravan" in Louisville, KY, "Zanies" in Chicago, "Rumors" in Winnipeg, "Goodnights" in Raleigh) with the winners getting guaranteed spots in the Main Event. The rest of The Main Event spots go to the top video submissions as well as winners from 3 wild card rounds.

The comics perform their sets live, in front of a judging panel of bookers and managers. Voting ballots are passed around the crowd, as they get a vote as well. All of the shows at every venue are packed with passionate comedy fans.

The World Series of Comedy Main Event took place at the Tuscany Hotel and Casino September 23rd through 28th. "I like to think of it as a full fledged comedy festival," commented Lowers. "We have workshops during the day, and fun events after the shows like midnight bowling, and a poker tournament. " Lowers and his staff are hard at work planning 2014's World Series. "A new website is being built. This is getting bigger every year," he said. "I'm getting calls from comedians, bookers, agents and managers about the dates for next year. As soon as the contracts are signed, the dates will be posted on the new website."

It was a full week at the Tuscany, where Lowers performs his residency "The Joe Show" on Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm. The Main Event had 11 full showcase shows and the finale, where the top 3 performed. Last year's winner, Landry stopped by to make a special appearance.

Rivera, a Phoenix, Arizona native had an incredible 15 minute set in the finale to notch the title. He bested runner up Trixx, from Toronto. In 3rd place was Matt McClowry from Michigan.

For more information on The World Series of Comedy, check out the website http://www.theworldseriesofcomedy.com or contact Joe Lowers at joe@theworldseriesofcomedy.com