{"id":294142,"date":"2023-10-16T17:42:40","date_gmt":"2023-10-16T22:42:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=294142"},"modified":"2023-12-13T12:28:49","modified_gmt":"2023-12-13T18:28:49","slug":"dirk-arthur-last-of-the-big-cat-las-vegas-magicians-dies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/dirk-arthur-last-of-the-big-cat-las-vegas-magicians-dies\/","title":{"rendered":"Dirk Arthur, Last of the Big-Cat Las Vegas Magicians, Dies at 63"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dirk Arthur, the last magician to use wild animals in a Las Vegas magic show, has died at age 63.<\/p>\n

\"Magician
Magician Dirk Arthur performs with a snow leopard in this undated photo from his website, which is still active. (Image: dirkarthurmagic.com)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Officials at Westgate Las Vegas, where Arthur most recently worked, confirmed his death Monday to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. <\/em>No specific details of his passing were revealed. According to the R-J,<\/em> he had been pursuing a new show in Branson, Mo., as recently as last month.<\/p>\n

\u201cDirk Arthur\u2019s Wild Magic\u201d debuted in 1997 in \u201cJubilee\u201d at Bally\u2019s before subsequent incarnations leaped to the Silverton, Plaza, Tropicana, O\u2019Sheas, Harrah\u2019s in Reno and Laughlin, and the Riviera, a few months before that hotel closed in 2015.<\/p>\n

By then called \u201cDirk Arthur\u2019s Wild Illusions,\u201d it was the official last exotic cat show ever staged on the Las Vegas Strip.<\/p>\n

The ninth venue (and life) for \u201cDirk Arthur\u2019s Wild Magic\u201d occurred at the Westgate for five months in 2017 and 2018. Before opening, Arthur was forced to scratch plans to feature a snow leopard, bobcat, birds, and a duck.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Arthur blamed space limitations at the time, though he had previously performed in smaller showrooms. The animal-rights groups who protested the show claimed a victory when the cats were removed.<\/p>\n

Bizarre Timing<\/h2>\n

News of Arthur\u2019s death comes just a week after the 20th anniversary of the accident that ended the careers of Siegfried & Roy, which it turns out we weren\u2019t told everything about at the time<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n

Big-cat shows had already begun to fall out of favor because of a cultural shift toward animal welfare and conservation. But Roy Horn\u2019s infamous tiger attack greatly hastened the end of the era of caged animals performing acceptably for audience amusement in Las Vegas.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

By 2017, even the Ringling Brothers Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, a staple of children\u2019s entertainment since 1871, pulled up stakes — though the world\u2019s most famous big top returned last month without animals.<\/p>\n

Last Holdout<\/h2>\n

Until July 2022, Arthur planned to single-handedly bring performing big cats back to the Las Vegas stage. He kept at least 10 of them in a private zoo on a 1-acre habitat west of the Strip near the Silverton at an estimated cost of up to $150K per year.<\/p>\n

\n

However, Arthur\u2019s plans to stage a new show called \u201cMagic Unleashed\u201d — featuring white and orange tigers, a snow leopard, and a bobcat — were dashed when animal activists actively protested the Notoriety Live theater in Fremont Street\u2019s Neonopolis, where Arthur had hoped to perform.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Times for Arthur had apparently gotten so lean that, according to the R-J <\/em>obit, he last worked for the Westgate as an usher — presumably in the very theater where his show once headlined.<\/p>\n

Upon his death, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) issued a statement calling for any exotic cats remaining in Arthur’s possession “to be sent to accredited sanctuaries where they’ll have space to roam, opportunities to swim and climb, and freedom from stage lights and filthy cages at last.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dirk Arthur, the last magician to use wild animals in a Las Vegas magic show, has died at age 63. Officials at Westgate Las Vegas, where Arthur most recently worked, confirmed his death Monday to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. No specific details of his passing were revealed. According to the R-J, he had been pursuing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":78,"featured_media":294143,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3313,81886],"tags":[81998,85926,88381,82044,82097,88379,86183,23,88380,82519,84492,82975,83421,82376,82095,84506,88378],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nDirk Arthur, Last of the Big-Cat Las Vegas Magicians, Dies at 63 - Casino.org<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Dirk Arthur, the last magician to use wild animals in a Las Vegas magic show, has died at age 63. 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