Las Vegas Weekly

September 11, 2008 · 3:10 PM

Strip Scribbles: Happy birthday wishes, new restaurant opening

By Robin Leach

*Happy birthday to innovative magician Jeff McBride, who will celebrate it with the audience at his Wonderground interactive club after his Magic At the Edge shows tomorrow and Saturday at the Sound Trax showroom in the Palace Station. Jeff’s special guests will be international comedy magic man Scott Hitchcock, mind-reader Paul Draper and some of Jeff’s own Mystery School magicians. Incidentally, so many people who have been baffled and bewildered by Jeff’s amazing magic feats in the show that he is hosting a $695 master class all weekend long from 1 p.m. each day starting tomorrow for students and fans of the art of prestidigitation. Faculty members Eugene Burger and Tobias Beckwith will provide the personal education, along with Jeff, and the most successful students will get to perform at Wonderground.

Photo: Yourmagic.com

Jeff McBride.

*My longtime TV chef friend, Martin Yan, host of PBS television’s Yan Can Cook will open his first restaurant in Nevada. Martin Yan’s 9 Dragons will showcase all eight traditional styles of Chinese cooking up in the new Tivoli Village under construction at Queensridge in Summerlin. Martin, who hails from San Francisco, was the food and culture commentator for NBC’s coverage of the summer Olympics in Beijing. The restaurant’s name originates from the lucky significance of Chinese lore. Incidentally, two other Bay-area restaurants will join him at Tivoli Village: a wine and tapas bar Townsend and the Tres Agaves Mexican Kitchen and Tequila Lounge.

*It was back in 1963 -- the year I landed in America -- that Budd Friedman opened his first Improv theater on West 44th Street in New York City. They’re both going strong after 45 years. Budd made a special appearance at his Harrah’s club here on the Strip with comics Frazier Smith Scott Kennedy and James Stephens III. Celebrity photographer Erik Kabik, who is chronicling the comics during their yearlong anniversary celebration, was there for the unique shots of Budd back on stage.

Photo: Erik Kabik

Budd Friedman

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