LAS VEGAS - With his fate still in limbo on Monday, hundreds
paid tribute to illusionist Roy Horn by leaving flowers, balloons
and stuffed white tigers at the foot of the bronze statue of
him and partner Siegfried Fischbacher on the Las Vegas Strip.
Three days after the horrifying onstage mauling by one of the tigers that are signatures of the Siegfried & Roy show, Horn remained in critical condition on life support at University Medical Center. Mirage Resorts CEO Bobby Baldwin buoyed the gloomy mood of a Sunday night candlelight vigil by announcing that Horn had been able to move both sides of his body and give a thumbs-up sign upon doctors' command, but no further progress was reported Monday.
Why the tiger bit into Horn's neck and dragged him off stage remains unclear, although witnesses said Horn lost his grip on the tiger's chain and then bopped the tiger on the nose with a microphone when it wouldn't obey a command. The 7-year-old white tiger named Montecore has been quarantined for 10 days to ensure it doesn't have rabies.
"The irony is that the person who knows the most about these tigers and could explain it best is the one who was attacked," said spokesman Alan Feldman of MGM Mirage, the Mirage's parent company.
Meanwhile, this city of fantasy faced the disturbing reality that whatever Horn's physical fate, it is possible that Siegfried & Roy, the highest-grossing show in Strip history and a staple at the Mirage since 1990, may never return.
The 260 members of the show's cast and crew were advised to look for other work. MGM Mirage spokesman Alan Feldman said the company suggested that Cirque du Soleil, which is opening a $100 million production at the company's MGM Grand hotel next year, would consider hiring some of the staff. Also, former Mirage Resorts CEO Steve Wynn has offered them first crack at applying for positions in a show at his next hotel, Wynn Las Vegas, which opens in 2005, Feldman said.
If the show doesn't return, it would end an era. The ubiquitous billboards for the duo, who met in 1959 and have been performing in Las Vegas for 30 years, attest to their status as local de facto monarchs.
They had performed the Mirage show more than 5,700 times. The magic show regularly sold out the 1,500-seat theater despite its $110 ticket price.
The duo took on the role of welcome wagon to other productions, attending most premieres and offering effusive praise about them to reporters. Theirs was the first congratulations letter to appear on the bulletin board behind stage at Zumanity, the new Cirque show that opened in August.
"You'd be out at a party with them and then a few days later, you'd get a photo in the mail of you with them," said singer Clint Holmes, who headlines at Harrah's hotel.
The show's loss isn't a major blow to the tourist destination as a whole because several new, bigger productions have eclipsed it in recent years. It was no longer the top draw in town, and its $44 million annual ticket gross is a pittance of the Mirage's gambling take, said analyst Robin Farley of UBS Investment Research. The closure will reduce earnings by less than 2 to 3 cents a share, she says. MGM Mirage (NYSE:MGG) stock fell 35 cents to close at $36.48 Monday.
Even if they no longer were the biggest draw in town, they hold a hallowed spot in Vegas lore.
"It was the show that coincided with the emergence of the 'new Las Vegas,' " says Anthony Curtis, editor of Las Vegas Advisor newsletter, referring to the explosion of glitzy casinos and over-the-top shows that began with Steve Wynn's Mirage in 1990. "Part of the new Las Vegas was raising the bar for spectacle, which is what this show did. (It was) one of the key factors leading to the amazing Las Vegas of today."
At the duo's statue, visitors left wishes on large pads, and Mirage staffers kept bringing flower arrangements sent to the hotel for Horn.
"They're very brave people," said Dorothy Parola, 80, of Oglesby, Ill., who
has seen the show twice. "We sure hope he's OK."
