Sebastian Maniscalco shocks fans by crashing his own lookalike contest in NJ

Did you hear the one about the guy who crashed his own impersonation contest?

Sebastian Maniscalco is a comic beloved in New Jersey partly because he leans in so heavily on his upbringing in an Italian family.

When 17% of the state’s population is of Italian descent, and you’re hysterically funny and at the top of your standup game, you’ll have many fans among those 1.5 million paisans.

He’s had at least five comedy specials, performed on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee,” and appeared in films like “The Irishman” and “Green Brook.”

Maniscalco’s “It Ain’t Right” tour rocks Ocean Casino Resort

He’s in the middle of a two-week stand at Ocean Casino Resort as part of his “It Ain’t Right” tour. So last Friday night, Nola’s Bar and Lounge at Ocean decided to hold a “Sebastian Maniscalco Impression Contest.”

The contest was going great, with half a dozen contestants mimicking Maniscalco as best they could; mannerisms, facial expressions, etc..

Surprise! Sebastian crashes his own impersonation contest

Well, guess who crashed the party?

Maniscalco himself showed up to the shock of the contestants. I mean, to show up unannounced like that?

What is wrong with people?!

He even ended up announcing the winner, who was Mark Maggi. Sebastian said looking at Maggi was like looking into a mirror.

Italian food, Manhattans, and merch: Ocean goes all-in on Sebastian

It’s been quite the celebration for the comic’s two-week run. There’s a pop-up store selling his merch. Ocean Steak & Linguini by the Sea has been serving some of Maniscalco’s favorites like spicy rigatoni. Ocean Casino Resort has even been offering a special drink called the It Ain’t Right Manhattan.

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If you want to try to catch Sebastian Maniscalco, there may be tickets left here if you hurry.