5 remain in Last Laugh

   
After the nine competitors had taken the stage at The KatHouse Lounge's Last Laugh comedy competition, five remained and one emerged as a fan favorite and a frontrunner for the top prize.

   
Last Laugh is a last-man-standing style elimination competition.
   
Aspiring comedians perform each week, and a panel of judges pick their favorites to move on to the next round, until a winner is crowned.

   
Luke Hansen, a junior in marketing, earned the biggest laughs of the night, and seemed like the audience's favorite comedian.

   
Natalie Grossenbacher was in the audience Wednesday and said she thinks Hansen, who is known on stage as "The Colonel," has the best chance to win.

   
"The Colonel is my favorite," she said. "He relates really well to all the students, because he is the ultimate Kansas boy."

   
Most of Hansen's jokes related to being from a small Kansas town, and seemed to hit home with the audience.

   
"It seems like a lot of people can really understand his perspective on things," said Karie Albert, a senior in advertising.

   
She said she thought Hansen had the best fan support and the best chance of winning.

   
"He's got a lot of friends here, but there are also a lot of other people here that think he is really funny," Albert said.       
   
While the audience gave him a vote of confidence, Hansen said he thought he bombed at first.

   
"I didn't get the laughs I got before," he said. "In the end, I guess I thought I did OK."

   
Last Laugh is the first time Hansen has performed stand-up comedy. He said he hopes to win but is just glad to get the opportunity to perform.

   
"I think I have as good of a chance as anyone else," he said. "It's hard to say, because everyone up there was pretty good."

   
The fourth and final round of the competition will be at 9 p.m. Wednesday at KatHouse. The winner will receive $1,000, and the opportunity to be the regular host of KatHouse's comedy night on Thursdays.

   
The competition, which is sponsored by KatHouse, 101.5 K-Rock, Z96.3, Miller Lite and The Library Discount Liquor, started with a field of 17 competitors Oct. 30.

Comedians Moving On
Luke Hansen
Mary Renee
Shelby Muha
Paul Nyakatura
Cody Detrick

Comedians Eliminated
A.O.

Bret Crandel
Daniel Kelly
Adam Rigdon