Mac King celebrates 10 years of comedy magic at Harrah’s

Steve Spatafore

Mac King, Penn Jillette and Rita Rudner convene at King’s home.

By Robin Leach (contact)

Tuesday, May 4, 2010 | 11:20 a.m.

Steve Spatafore

Mac King and his wife, Jennifer, and cake.

Steve Spatafore

Mac King and longtime friend Lance Burton.

Comedy magician Mac King celebrates 10 years of performing The Mac King Comedy Magic Show at Harrah’s this afternoon, and our Merry Mayor of Mirth Oscar Goodman has declared it “Mac King Day.”

“Growing up in a family of magicians, magic has been my life,” Mac said. “I am truly honored to be celebrating 10 years with my show at Harrah’s Las Vegas. This is an exciting time for me, and I can’t wait to celebrate with the audience this afternoon.”

Mac compiled the ultimate list for me: In the past decade, he has performed 5,200 shows for more than 1 million people at the main showroom at Harrah’s. That translates into 2,600 days of wearing his trademark plaid suits; 15,600 feet of rope used for his rope trick; 270,400 playing cards; 15,600 magically appearing Fig Newtons; and 26,000 audience volunteers pulled up onstage.

“We are proud to share this moment with Mac as he celebrates his 10th anniversary at Harrah’s,” said Rick Mazer, casino president. “Mac has a true talent and passion for his craft, and our guests have greatly enjoyed his show over the years. We look forward to sharing his magic for years to come.”

Mac’s successful career in magic comes as no surprise. He grew up around two grandfathers who were magicians and gained an interest in magic at an early age when he checked out a book on magic in his school library. As a child, he performed magic shows for family and friends, and by age 10, he had his first paid show at a friend’s birthday party.

After graduating in 1981 with degrees in magic and anthropology from Macalester College in St. Paul, Minn., Mac took his show on the road, performing to audiences around the world. In the 1990s, he began appearing regularly on NBC’s The World’s Greatest Magic Shows.

While filming the shows at Caesars Palace, he was spotted by agents for casino showrooms and appeared in Spellbound at Harrah’s, The Great Radio City Music Hall Spectacular at Flamingo, Splash! at Riviera and with comedienne Rita Rudner at The Desert Inn. In 2000, he began his full-time one-man show at Harrah’s.

Since then, he has received numerous awards and accolades, including Funniest Act in Magic Today by Magic Magazine in 2008, Best Comedy Magician at the 2007 World Magic Awards and Magician of the Year in 2004 by the Magic Castle, Home of the Academy of Magical Arts.

Mac, who is a Louisville, Ky., native like best friend Monte Carlo magic headliner Lance Burton, served as “Grand Magician” at the 2007 Kentucky Derby. He received the Entertainer of the Year Award in our sister Las Vegas Weekly’s Reader’s Choice Awards. Mac released his latest book Mac King’s Campfire Magic in March, and his new Lunchbox-O-Magic is due out this month.

Senior Editor John Katsilometes reported the star-studded afternoon with other Strip entertainers at Mac’s home celebrating his 10 years of Strip success. Sincere congratulations from everybody at Vegas DeLuxe to Mac, one of the nicest entertainers on the Strip who really deserves all of his success -- and more!

Follow Robin Leach on Twitter at Twitter.com/Robin_Leach.