Lance Burton Celebrates Ten Years Already?
Lance Burton is not only The Man, he is The Man with three
years left on his 13 year contract with the beautiful Monte Carlo Hotel and
Casino in Las Vegas.
Our simple math suggests that means he's been working at the
Monte Carlo for
ten years.
That's a long time for anyone to hold a job much less
someone who is holding a job plus decks of cards in preparation for flawless
Split-Fans.
The Las Vegas Review Journal's Mike Weatherford believes Mr.
Burton "seems more and more the classic magician."
Mr. Burton's new act shows he's not waning or wilting but
growing in depth and quality. The new
opening includes an "homage to past greats."
The master magician's mom was in town to share in the celebration
of her son's decade of wonderful magic at the Monte Carlo.
"He never changed his
mind" about being a magician, she says. The tuxedo looks just right on him
now, after wearing one since childhood. "I'm one of the old guys
now," says 46-year-old magician Lance Burton.
"He always, even as a kid,
was pretty set in his ways," says Mac King, a Harrah's Las
Vegas comedy-magician and Burton's
friend since they were teens in Louisville,
Ky.
It often has been told that Burton first decided to
become a magician at age 5, when he attended a party at the Frito-Lay plant
where his mom worked and a magician pulled a coin from behind his ear.
"He never changed his mind
since he was 5 years old," his mother, Hilma, confirms. "Most kids,
one week they want to do something, another week they want to do something
else. But he never changed his mind."
The party also celebrated Harry Collins' considerable
influence on the young Mr. Burton. Mac
King told reporters it was Mr. Collins "who taught Burton, 'If you're going to be a magician,
you should look like a magician. Lance really wanted to be the classical
magician, with the iconic look.'"
Mr. Burton's image contrasted with Criss Angel's "black
T-shirt Motley Crewe hair and tilted ball
cap" as worn while the younger magician worked the after-party.
Mr. Angel told reporters, "He represents the
traditional magician better than anybody does. I represent more the magician of
today. Both are relevant approaches. Because he comes from different worlds, we
work well together."
Read the entire article in the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Mr. Weatherford did a great job giving a feel
for the humble, quiet nature of this incredible man and magician.
Congratulations to Mr. Burton! We have seen his show many times and walk
away inspired and entranced. There are
few able to keep us coming back to see a show that still excites as much as our
first time.
