Business was so good, his contract got extended into next month.

"People are hungry for this kind of a show," Piscopo says of his variety-style nightclub act. "This is the show business I remember, and it's gradually been going away. But I'm doing everything I can to keep it going."

Just as important as the contract extension is the fact that he doesn't have to barnstorm the country for gigs. The casino dates allow Piscopo, a recently single dad, to spend more time at his northern New Jersey home with his three youngest children, ages 8, 4 and 2. (His oldest child, Joe Jr., is a 28-year-old actor living and working in New York.)

"I'm the Anthony Quinn of New Jersey -- a kid at every exit," he says with a laugh. "What can I say, I'm the world's biggest dork dad. I'd rather be with my kids than working in [nightclubs] or doing movies or TV shows. I'm totally committed to them."

So committed, he says, that when he played an extended gig at the Las Vegas Hilton last winter, he commuted back and forth from Nevada to New Jersey each week.

Although he gained fame as a sketch player and impressionist on NBC's "Saturday Night Live" during the early 1980s, Piscopo's act will surprise audiences expecting comedy and impressions. Comedy doesn't dominate the show as it did when he first began performing in clubs 25 years ago.

"Back then, I was coming out of television and that's what the people wanted to see," he says during a dressing room chat at Resorts Atlantic City. "So most of the show then was comedy. When I did sing, it was usually to do the [Frank] Sinatra impression, and for that I did the full wig and makeup."

Studied the masters

As he developed his live stage act over the years, he studied the artists he considers the masters of the nightclub craft, like Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr. and Wayne Newton.

"I was in awe of them," Piscopo, 56, says. "Besides, I'm an Italian guy from Jersey. How could I not love Sinatra? He was my idol. He still is."

Although he covers a lot of territory during his 75-minute show, Piscopo holds a special place in his act for Sinatra's music. Backed by a six-piece band, he easily knocks off standards like "Fly Me to the Moon," "I've Got You Under My Skin," "Night and Day" and "At Long Last Love."

When he isn't working in clubs or exploring acting opportunities, Piscopo devotes his energies to the Positive Impact Foundation, a non-profit group he founded a decade ago to help create positive media images for at-risk kids in New Jersey.

"We go into neighborhoods and try to increase support for existing programs that benefit kids who are considered at risk because of the circumstances in their lives," he says. "There are kids whose lives are on the verge of being destroyed, not necessarily because they're on drugs or getting into trouble but because their parents and the people who are supposed to be their role models are."

A 'discipline problem'

Piscopo is constantly looking for ways to raise money to support these programs, and his dream is to develop a regular television show that puts the spotlight on the foundation's success stories.

"I wasn't an angel when I was a kid," he says. "My mother called me a 'discipline problem,' but I got myself straightened out before it was too late. That's what I'm hoping the foundation can do. Help kids before it's too late."

Joe Piscopo performs at Resorts Atlantic City at 7 p.m. Sunday and Monday and 9 p.m. Tuesday; as well as Aug. 8-11, 19, 20, 22 and 23. Tickets are $30, available through Ticketmaster.