Las Vegas Weekly

August 11, 2010 · 10:10 AM

Criss Angel walks up the side of the Luxor on tonight’s Mindfreak

By Robin Leach

Criss Angel celebrates the season six premiere of his A&E show Mindfreak at the Luxor on Aug. 4, 2010.

Photo: Tom Donoghue/www.donoghuephotography.com

Mindfreak magician Criss Angel really dices with death in an attempt to defy the laws of gravity on tonight’s second of six new Season 6 episodes of Mindfreak on A&E. Criss is trying a never-before-attempted stunt by walking up the entire 650-foot Luxor, where he appears nightly in Cirque du Soleil’s Believe.

The walk takes place in front of thousands of spectators, and if and when Criss reaches the top of the pyramid, he will vanish into the incinerating spotlight at the peak. That light is so hot, it burns to death instantly anything that comes into contact with it. It is so bright that astronauts have reported seeing it during spaceflights.

UFC champion Georges St-Pierre makes a guest appearance in another illusion that Criss performs. Viewers will get another look at Serenity, Criss’s new estate here that we first featured exclusively last month in a tour by Criss himself.

Last week’s Season 6 debut, which featured the Grand Canyon Death Jump in a tribute to Evil Knievel, attracted nearly 2 million viewers before any of the cumulative re-runs. Mindfreak is one of A&E’s top-rated shows and is seen by more than 100 million viewers in more than 90 countries.

After his two Believe shows tonight, Criss will host another screening party at Liquidity in the Luxor. Last week’s premiere party attracted swarms of fans, aka Loyals.

Criss appeared on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! this week and has been added to the Home Shopping Network’s schedule from Planet Hollywood this Saturday and Sunday. We’ll have a full rundown of HSN stars and shows right here at Vegas DeLuxe on Friday.

Criss will debut his extraordinary magic kits that go on sale this month during the HSN visit and meet-and-greet sessions. Next Wednesday, Mindfreak is titled “Cement Shoes,” an homage to Harry Houdini’s most dangerous escape.

Vegas DeLuxe posted exclusive coverage when Criss was chained and shackled in more than 100 feet of metal links and more than 20 locks and lowered 90 feet from the side of the London Bridge at Lake Havasu, Ariz., in front of 12,000 spectators. To make the escape even more impossible and the risk of drowning an almost certainty, Criss had his feet embedded in a barrel of cement before being dropped deep into the lake.

As he told me at last week’s screening at Liquidity: “It’s the best season yet. We’re doing things nobody would ever dream of doing. It really is a mindfreak!”

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 at Twitter.com/Robin_Leach.

Follow Vegas DeLuxe on Twitter at Twitter.com/vegasdeluxe.

Follow VDLX Editor Don Chareunsy on Twitter at Twitter.com/VDLXEditorDon.

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