Las Vegas Weekly

March 3, 2010 · 3:31 PM

World Magic Seminar w/Criss Angel, Siegfried & Roy; Nathan Burton’s statue

By Robin Leach

The 1st birthday of Siegfried & Roy's tiger cubs at The Mirage.

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

Siegfried & Roy still reign as Masters of the Impossible even though they have officially retired from the world of wizardry. Their last one-night-only reunion performance was at the 2009 Keep Memory Alive gala here, but this afternoon, the beloved and respected counts of conjuring were honored with a tribute at the 33rd Annual World Magic Seminar at The Orleans.

Criss Angel, who revealed that he’s going ahead with a Season 6 of Mindfreak on A&E, was the emcee for the event that drew Las Vegas-based magicians to pay tribute to the German-born illusionists. They included Lance Burton, Jeff McBride, Mac King, Johnny Thompson and Eugene Berger, along with other princes of prestidigitation from all over the world -- some as far away as Europe and Japan.

Meantime, Flamingo headliner Nathan Burton has been shuttling nonstop to and from Atlantic City doing a mid-week magic show there in addition to his Strip shows here. He’s sent all of his Las Vegas illusions to the New Jersey gaming zone and added six illusions here. His show-stopping microwave trick also has been shipped to Atlantic City, but he’s replaced it here with the dangerous BBQ of Death.

However, it’s his new God and Goddess statue illusion that has everybody talking. It cost Nathan more than $100,000 to build and took him a year to create. It is not performed by anyone else in the world. He uses the 20-foot-high Roman marble statue as a spectacular new finale at Donny & Marie Osmond’s Flamingo showroom.

Nathan told me: “The audiences just leap to their feet. It’s got them all totally amazed. I am thrilled to present it, especially after it took so much time and money to develop and build. The first time we rehearsed it, even I was amazed how incredible it turned out.”

He says he will keep up the twice-weekly Atlantic City flight schedule and his Flamingo shows through summer. “It’s an insane and grueling schedule dividing the week on two different coasts, but I’m honestly having lots of fun being in both places. Nobody else is doing it -- and probably doesn’t want to! So far, I’ve missed all the bad weather each time, and that’s been a magic trick in itself!”

We’ll have the report and photos from the Siegfried & Roy tribute here at Vegas DeLuxe tomorrow.

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.

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

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