“Wizard Wars” Creator / Producer Rick Lax hosts Season Premiere Viewing Party at The Sand Dollar in Las Vegas
Magicians and fans from around the country joined Wizard Wars Creator / Producer Rick Lax on Thursday, January 29, as he hosted a viewing party for the show’s Season Two Premiere at The Sand Dollar in Las Vegas (Pictured: Bizzaro Galore and Rick Lax).
David Shimshi, Jan Rouven and Rick Lax at the Sand Dollar Lounge
Most of the performers featured in season premiere were on hand and several guest magicians participated in a live Wizard Wars competition after the show’s broadcast.
Joy Jenkins, Jan Rouven, Rick Lax and Johnathan Szeles at the Sand Dollar Lounge
“Looks like 1.5 million people watched Wizard Wars last night. A new record for us,” said Lax. “And here’s the cool thing: After the show was over, here in Vegas, we took over a local blues club and I hosted a live Wizard Wars competition, just for fun. Most of the Syfy cast was in attendance, but we gave ‘em the night off and had a handful of Vegas headliners took over as judges. The contestants included some former Wizard Wars winners and some newbies. We had a Criss Angel impersonator, a snake and a taco truck.”
The Wizard Wars Season Premiere’s challengers were Chicago-based magicians Bill Cook, a three-time winner of the World Magic Seminar and David Shareef, a mentalist and sleight of hand artist who’s been dubbed “the Muhammad Ali of magic.” They faced off against magicians Greg Dow, a performer with a wild sense of humor on stage and Sean Scott, a magician with over twenty-five years of experience, for a chance at a $10,000 prize if they can survive the Wizard War. The three everyday objects both teams had to use in their first routines of the night: a tiki torch, a tennis racquet and balls, and mice.
Among the magicians, celebrities and VIP guests spotted in the standing-room only crowd were Teller, Mike Hammer, Jan Rouven, Mon Dre, Greg Dow, David Shimshi, Chris Gerhart, Chris Randall, Jason Latimer, Sean Scott, Xavier Mortimer, Johnathan Szeles, Bizzaro Galore, Johnny Katz, Joseph Réohm, Jenny Burpee, Dyno Staats, Alexandra Kaminski, AmberLynn Walker, Elly Brown, Brett Loudermilk, Darryl Davis, Yovannis Duarte Leyva, Braunni Guilarte Leyva, Daryl Williams, Ryan Bonstein, Josh Weinstein, Geechy Guy, Joy Jenkins, Brooke Alexander and Jen Kramer.
AmberLynn Walker, Elly Brown and Ryan Dubya Stock at the Sand Dollar Lounge
On the subject of magic, Lax said, “That’s one of the great things about Wizard Wars that might not be apparent from the show: We don’t just do it to make TV, we really do love creating and performing original magic. We did it before Wizard Wars hit the air, and we’ll continue to do it after. The Wizards do it, the Judges do it, the Challengers do it, I do it. We’re legit about this passion.”
Johnathan Szeles at the Sand Dollar Lounge in Las Vegas
- Watch next week as Las Vegas-based magicians Mistie and Kyle Knight compete in Wizard Wars!
Wizard Wars is a reality competition show in which magicians compete for $10,000 using everyday objects to create magic tricks. Penn & Teller are the judges. Wizard Wars airs on Syfy on Thursdays at 10/9c.
Rick Lax, Magic Consultant and Producer, started Wizard Wars in his apartment, a block off the strip. From YouTube video to prime time hit in just 2 years!
The Sand Dollar Lounge features local live music: Blues, Jazz, Rock, Funk, Pop, Covers and Originals. Sand Dollar is located at 3355 Spring Mountain Rd.