Las Vegas Weekly

July 31, 2009 · 6:27 AM

Criss Angel’s Season 5 of Mindfreak most dangerous and daring yet

By Robin Leach

Criss Angel opens his new store in Circus Circus.

Photo: Scott Harrison/Retna/www.harrisonphotos.com

Mindfreak magician Criss Angel will dice with death five times during the new Season 5 of his top-rated A&E series. Starting with the premiere Aug. 12, each show will be a one-hour special with incredible illusions, phenomenal physical feats and daring demonstrations.

But it’s the death-defying escapes that will attract the most attention, and even Criss admits that it’s the most dangerous and daring season to date. His biggest coup will be a mass levitation, where audience members will be levitated, and I’m told that they could be injured if the levitation goes wrong!

Here are the other challenges the International Magicians Society’s Magician of the Decade will face:

On the premiere titled “White Death,” he will be buried alive while shackled inside a see-through coffin, which will be sunk beneath ice and snow. He will have to battle hypothermia, suffocation and the deadly danger of an avalanche.

Photo: Robin Haldane/Motorcycle USA

Illusionist Criss Angel straddles his new everyday ride at Big Bear Choppers in California on June 16, 2009.

For “Terminal Velocity,” Criss will balance himself 250 feet above the Strip, drop an object and get to the street below in time to catch it. “That will be one continuous camera shot,” promises Criss, who will then perform another stunt for the crowd as he vanishes in mid-air and reappears just as suddenly in a very unexpected location.

In “Death Crash,” he faces yet another potential death scenario. He will lock himself inside one of five coffins. Spectators unaware of which coffin he’s selected will then send a high-speed SUV to smash the coffins to smithereens.

Vegas DeLuxe already revealed that Criss will perform “Death Field” at a military base, where he will have to use his psychic powers to cross a field of live explosives without being blown up. He’ll have less than five minutes to pull off the stunt without losing his balance or making one false move!

Photo: TVT

Criss Angel and his wax figure at Madame Tussauds.

Criss, who just returned from a Mexican vacation, also is ready for the changes to his Cirque du Soleil show Believe, in which he stars nightly at the Luxor. He said: “Each week of the TV show, we will attempt to defy the natural laws of science in new and innovative ways to challenge a way to live or die. Each show will have mind-boggling mysticisms, and we’ll be doing amazing magic right in front of people’s faces.” Keep your eyes open for my cameo in one of the episodes!

Robin Leach has been a journalist for more than 50 years and has spent the past decade giving readers the inside scoop on Las Vegas, the world’s premier platinum playground.

Follow Robin Leach on Twitter HERE.

Follow Vegas DeLuxe on Twitter HERE.

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