My Trip to Vegas: November 2008

Near the end of 2008, I had the opportunity to go to Las Vegas and hang out with some of the great names in magic. I thought it would be nice to share this experience with you, both as a way of bringing you into the experience AND to share a little personal information with you guys!

First off, I am scared to death of flying. No, really. I'm that guy you see with both hands gripping the seat handles, shaking profusely, and freaking out with every bump or sound that comes from the airplane.

Fortunately, Southwest Airlines was able to let me board first and get a seat near the front.....which I guess is supposed to make me feel better, but in reality, I'm thinking, "Great....if we nose dive, I'll be one of the first to die right after the pilot!"

But I digress.......

DAY ONE

I actually make it to Vegas just fine.....and shortly after touching down, I head to Monte Carlo to visit Lance Burton. His show was awesome and I got to experience with a bunch of other magic buddies:

First, I took a photo with Lance by myself.


Then a group shot:


In this photo above, that's me on the left, followed by Lance, Andy Amyx, Dan Sperry, and David Leon.

You can see Lance performing in the video I posted yesterday (McBride on Cardini).

Andy Amyx is one of the world's most popular dove performers (and a respected stage performer in his own right). Not to mention, he's one of my best buddies. Check out his products right here: Andy Amyx Magic

Dan Sperry (who lives in Vegas and performs all over the country) has a few effects out: most notably is the Crimson Deck which we helped produce and it's our most popular item in the store right now: Crimson Deck by Dan Sperry

David Leon of course has come out with a few effects, like the Grillz and the best selling Intuition which continues to move off the shelves!

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After the show, we went to hang out with Jeff McBride and his Magic Wunderground show:


Here I am posing with the man himself. It was an honor to hang out with him, and the following day, he had me over to his house to do a photo shoot with Andy Amyx.

Andy is an accomplished photographer in addition to a performing magician, so guys....if you need some head shots or some commercial photo work, let me know and I can get you two in touch.

Jeff McBride was great to hang out with. A true legend in the industry, and being able to sit in his house and watch him perform a couple of tricks privately was amazing. I even used his bathroom which was a personal boyhood dream of mine. :)

And yes, he stocks his bathroom with soft, 2-ply toilet paper.




Also at the show was Bizzaro, who was really as crazy in person as he is on stage! Just look at his expression....the last time I was able to get my eyes that wide was when my wife told me she was pregnant!

Anyway, you will want to check out some of Bizzaro's products RIGHT HERE.

Also watch him perform in this You Tube promo clip:



When I was watching the show, I noticed a familiar face near the front of the stage: Losander! Of course, I had to get a picture with him as well.

We were always excited to carry his famous Excalibur Floating Table, but he also has a wide variety of items on the market which are worth checking out.

Losander Products at MJM Magic








DAY TWO

The next day was just as exciting. After crashing at Dan Sperry's house. we first ran over to the Luxor to drop off an effect for Criss Angel. If memory serves, we were giving him The Gecko to check out and possibly perform in one of the upcoming Mindfreak episodes.

While Criss was busy in a meeting for his Believe show, we got a quick photo-op with Doug Malloy, one of Criss's long time collaborators:

That's right.....I'm representing with the "World's Greatest Daddy" t-shirt!

Later that day, we ended up hanging out with Keith Barry and Andrew Gerard over at Planet Hollywood.

Here's Andrew and I, looking all G.Q. for the ladies. And by ladies, well, I mean all the other men that were hanging around backstage after the Keith Barry show:


And of course, the great Keith Barry who has entertained celebrities and big wigs across the entire world:

I know, he's pointing at my nipple.....but I can assure you that my "other hand" is on his back and not grabbing his ass.

And that's about it for the Vegas trip. Overall, it was fun........and I had the opportunity to meet and spend time with some of the best magicians and friends a guy could hope for.