Being the Magician at a Vegas Resort

There she is. If you squint real hard maybe you can see me through the lobby windows.

Up till now I kept a blog on my site for SEO. I had AI generate something filled with buzzwords, added a few links and pics, and scheduled a couple posts a week. It took maybe five minutes to put together a post, but it didn’t engage my brain at all. I didn’t like the idea of clients going to this page and seeing a fat stack of bot speak.

So instead I’m over here like an idiot spending an hour on a real post, and putting one up maybe once a month. A stupid business decision, but way more fun.

I guess what I’ve done is create something more like a newsletter. The Jeff McBrides* and Paul Drapers** of the world filling up my inbox must have dug into my subconscious.

(*Renowned creative/magician. Among many many other things, he is the creator of Wonderground- a long-running magic show in Vegas that gives everyone from the amateurs to the pros a place to try out new acts or polish old ones.)

(**This guy!!! He’s an ex-university professor turned magician who travels the country doing cool stuff and entertaining the masses. Click either name to see their site and sign up for the newsletters.)

I ripped all the old posts down. The point still being to increase traffic when I can, so don’t judge when you catch a subtly inserted popular search term. Female mentalist Las Vegas for hire.

We’re gonna start off talking about the project that I’ve been spending most of my creative time on right now.

The shades are what got me hired.

In between private gigs, I’ve started performing at the Marriott Grand Chateau. It’s an enormous resort right off Las Vegas blvd- close enough that I can say ‘on the strip’ without being a liar***. Every Saturday I do my 45 minute set on stage, and every Thursday I do 90 minutes of close-up magic/mentalism in the lobby. Strolling magic has been my main style forever. My previous residency was at a tiki bar where I would table hop exclusively. (If we’re not mentioning my year long stint at Capo’s Speakeasy.) I’ll be talking about that gig- and strolling magic- in another post. My Saturday stage set is what I want to dive into now.

(***A lie.)

What even is a Resort Show?

I've found myself getting this question from not just normies, but a variety of fellow performers.

I would say there are three categories of resort shows. In Vegas, on the largest scale, you’ve got your Copperfields and your Penn and Tellers and your Shin Lims performing at the big, mega resort-casinos on the strip. Technically, those have got to fall under the umbrella.

In another category, some performers rent out space in a hotel to put on their act- or do a ticket-split with their venue. When asking about other’s experiences in this line of work, Frank Jimmy Rook reached out and mentioned that he sometimes performs at a resort that tickets at the door and gives the magician the proceeds, and sometimes works a resort through an agent who funds his appearance. My case is similar. The Marriott brings me out as one of the complimentary activities for their guests. They pay me directly so the audience doesn’t have to.

I also occasionally cover a show at the Wyndham, which has a movie theater that they repurpose as a magic theater on the days they bring their performers in. Some resorts have dedicated stages. My Marriott erects a stage right off of the lobby every week. The resort puts up signage, adds me to the calendar of events that’s displayed around the property, and readies my room. I show up about an hour before the show, set up my tricks, check the sound and maybe make a few announcements when we approach showtime- and then I try to be amazing.

As I said earlier, close-up magic has been my specialty for years. Before the Marriott, I’d only really done stage at private events- some big corporate stuff, some smaller personal parties- and the occasional in-town recurring magic shows like Wonderground (That thing that that McBride guy started!) and Stacey Stardust's Secret Circus. Now I have a weekly place where I can really hammer out a set. It’s been amazing for improving my show. I think I’ve changed something almost every week I’ve been on. I started off with a fine set- but I’ve been able to slowly replace generic routines or chip away at them to turn them into something more my own. This week I’ve been working on improving one of my mentalism routines, and an appearing popcorn trick. In the former, I read a word out of a random spectator’s mind. In the latter, I pour a few unpopped kernels into an empty bag, give it a shake, and ~magically~ turn it into popped corn. That one’s been playing especially well when there are kids in the audience. Speaking of.

My audience is different every week. I’ve had crowds that are 1/3 kids, and I’ve had weeks where the entire audience looks like they used to do their homework by candlelight. There’s been weeks where every seat is filled with a drunk tourist. When the rodeo’s in town I’ll get a ton of cowboys. When Consumer Electronics is in I’ll get the tech nerds. Resort work keeps you on your toes, and it’s an amazing place to practice. If I can get applause out of every audience here, I can get it anywhere.

So how does one find themselves with a resort show, some of you may ask? (I know some of you are asking, because I get that question after every show and close-up set I do.)

Well, in my case, the Grand Chateau actually had a resident magician years prior to me- a certain Jenn Kramer****. As is customary, I had to defeat her in hand to hand combat to earn my place. I train every day to prepare for any challengers that wish to lay claim to my territory.

(****This magician performs at the Westgate now! What a big shot.) (She might have let me win in the aforementioned hand-to-hand combat.)

In summation- I’m not allowed to pick-pocket the guests for profit- but other than that, resort work has been a sweet gig. I’m loving the growth all of my routines are achieving, and I’ve been able to submit a few to some very exciting things that I’ll have to keep secret for now.

If you made it this far, leave a comment! They’ll keep me from getting bored.

Also, subscribe to get updated when I drop a new post. Future topics will include stories from doing magic tableside at the Golden Tiki, working at eight different magic shops, and the most embarrassing thing that’s ever happened to me while performing.

Anyway here’s the gross text-

Krystal has been a professional magician and mentalist since 2015. She is based out of Las Vegas, and travels the country. If you’re looking to hire a Las Vegas female magician or Las Vegas female mentalist, contact her here - https://www.magickrystal.com/contact-5

Or to keep up to date, follow her on Instagram -

https://www.instagram.com/magiciankrystal