Mike E. Winfield wins 2013 Gilda’s LaughFest competition

Mike E. Winfield enjoyed a productive and fruitful comedy festival over the weekend, earning $10,000 as winner of the 2013 Gilda’s LaughFest Stand-Up Competition in Grand Rapids, Mich.

Winfield beat out nine other finalists after an eight-performance competition. You may have seen him previously on TV via Late Show with David Letterman, Showtime’s Comics Without Borders, NBC’s The Office and Comedy Central’s Live at Gotham. Other finalists competing in Grand Rapids for LaughFest were James Adomian, Cy Amundson, Al Jackson, Jamie Lee, Julian McCullough, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Andrew Schulz and Brendon Walsh.

Winfield joked upon accepting his prize: “I’m grateful, man, that now I’ll be able to get that car seat.”

Before the final night of competition, though, Winfield actually offered even more comments to comedian Stu McCallister about the LaughFest contest, and stand-up comedy competitions in general. Including Winfield’s own prediction of what he’d do upon winning…

“A lot of people are partial to (competitions) and don’t believe in them. I love them!” Winfield said on Friday. “I love a competition, man. You know. It’s not for everybody. But for me, I’m a person that likes to compete. I like to have the audience a part of saying who they think — everyone’s going to think someone’s different or funnier, ’cause that’s comedy. It’s subjective. You know? But there’s going to be someone who wins the masses.” On Saturday night, that someone was Mike E. Winfield. Congrats!

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Sean L. McCarthy

Editor and publisher since 2007, when he was named New York's Funniest Reporter. Former newspaper reporter at the New York Daily News, Boston Herald and smaller dailies and community papers across America. Loves comedy so much he founded this site.

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