BY BOB HOLT

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

A number of players at the Taj Mahal in Atlantic City took the gamble of taking in warlock Charlie Sheen's "Violent Torpedo of Truth" tour Saturday night.

Two weeks after launching his tour in Detroit, Sheen retooled his show, eliminating the need for an opening act, a moderator, and a montage of his infamous interviews.

Sheen showed up 45 minutes late to his show, keeping with his usual pattern. When he finally took the stage (to the "Jaws" theme and clips from "Apocalypse Now"), the crowd seemed willing to forgive him.

"Sorry, I'm (expletive) late," Sheen said. "That's how I roll."

After playing around with various jerseys — Sheen tried on a 76ers shirt, then settled for a Phillies jersey — he settled down to start the show. And he went right after his hit series, "Two and a Half Men".

"Let's face it. I was f--kin' hammered on that show for eight years," he said, though he repeated his earlier claims that he and his team were "making progress" toward getting him back on the show, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

Amusing at first, Sheen was soon rambling wildly from "seven-gram rock" exploits to rumors of his ex-wife Brooke Mueller's alleged relapse and tenuous custody of their twin sons.

"What are we doing, tonight?" Sheen asked the audience. "We're (expletive) winning, aren't we?"

Sheen already had their money but this time he gave some of it back. After being heckled by one man, Sheen called him onstage and gave the guy a $100 bill.

Next came comic Jeffrey Ross, who appeared onstage in a hazmat suit to defuse the situation.

"I heard there was a bomb scare," said Ross while lowering his mask. "I came here as fast as I could."

Ross roasted Sheen for 10 minutes and then the audience, redubbing the tour "Apparently the Novelty Hasn't Worn Off."

After Ross finished, he sat down with Sheen to ask him a few questions, ultimately about his sexual and drug-fueled experiences. And later, the Courier Post reported about half a dozen members of the audience were called up on stage to ask Sheen a question.

But one hour into the show, the crowd had had their fill of drug jokes and catch phrases. Out of material, Sheen called up a member of the crowd who could play the harmonica to join him on stage.

People began walking out. The Press of Atlantic City reports the show ended a little after 10 p.m. with barely a wave and a "Thanks for coming" from Sheen.

On Friday in Toronto, Sheen invited his Twitter followers to join him in a "Bipolar Awareness Walk," a mile-long trip from his luxury hotel to the theater.

"A thousand people showed up," Sheen said Saturday of his event. "But because they were bipolar, it was like 2,000 people were there."