Lucas and locals know how not to train a dragon

There may come a day next year when all three famous Texas ventriloquists perform in Las Vegas the same night.

But not this weekend. Ronn Lucas has the market for smart-aleck puppets cornered with Saturday and Sunday shows at the Suncoast.

Jeff Dunham’s moving to Las Vegas and preparing to launch a year-round show at Planet Hollywood Resort on Nov. 28. But Lucas had an continuing showcase at the Rio for nearly six years even before Terry Fator won “America’s Got Talent” in 2007.

Fator and Dunham are both from the Dallas area, while Lucas grew up in El Paso with the same fascination for Edgar Bergen. Lucas broke out before the other two in the 1980s, performing for President Reagan and appearing on “Night Court” and other TV shows.

Now based in Los Angeles, Lucas revisits Las Vegas to reacquaint locals with his robotic dragon Scorch and Muppetlike cowboy Billy. But his signature finale involves just a sock puppet, then no sock at all. Hey, that phrase “Talk to the hand” had to come from somewhere.

Contact reporter Mike Weatherford at mweatherford@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0288.