How to Hire a Magician in Las Vegas

Type “hire a magician Las Vegas” into a search bar and you get directories, booking platforms and ticket sites for Strip shows. Plenty of names. Almost nothing on how to choose between them.

I have been performing for forty years, the last thirteen as house magician at Capo’s Speakeasy on West Sahara. I have been hired well and hired badly, and I have watched a lot of event planners learn the same lessons the hard way. This is the short version, in the order you will actually need it.

Step 1: Decide what the magician is for

This sounds obvious. It is the step most people skip, and it decides everything after it.

A magician at an event does one of two jobs. Either they help the room mix — moving between groups, breaking the ice, giving strangers something to talk about — or they are the show, the moment everyone stops and watches the same thing.

A cocktail hour, a conference mixer, a trade show booth and a wedding reception are mixing jobs. An awards dinner after dessert, a milestone birthday where everyone is seated, or a client dinner where you want one shared moment — those are show jobs. Some events want both: mixing while people arrive, then a short seated set once the plates are cleared.

Know which one you are buying before you call anyone. It changes the format, the length, the price and the performer.

Step 2: Pick the format that fits the job

There are three broad formats, and they are different products:

• Strolling (close-up) magic. The magician moves table to table or group to group, performing in people’s hands. No stage, no sound, no setup. This is the right answer for most mixing jobs.
• A seated parlor set. Everyone sits, the magician performs for the whole room for twenty to forty-five minutes. It works best for groups under about sixty, where everyone can still see what is happening in someone’s hands.
• A stage show. Illusions, a stage, lighting, sound, often assistants and a crew. This is a production, priced like one.

If you are not sure which you need, I wrote a separate guide on the different kinds of magicians and which event each one suits.

Step 3: Set a realistic budget

Most performers in this city do not publish prices, which makes budgeting harder than it needs to be. Roughly, for close-up work in Las Vegas:

The things that move the number are duration, guest count, venue and date — in that order. December and the big convention weeks are the most expensive dates in the city for any entertainer, because everyone wants them at once. I break all of this down, including my own rates, on the Las Vegas magician price guide.

Step 4: Build a shortlist from the right places

Good places to look:

• Booking platforms with verified reviews. GigSalad and similar sites only let clients who actually booked leave a review. Read the reviews for events like yours, not just the star count.
• The performer’s own website. Booking directly usually costs less, because platforms take a cut that gets priced into the quote.
• Your venue. Coordinators remember who showed up on time and who caused trouble. Ask them.
• Residencies. Someone who has held a regular spot at a restaurant or bar for years is someone a business keeps paying. That tells you more than a list of television credits.

When you watch video, watch the audience, not the hands. Edited television clips tell you very little about how someone handles a real room. Phone footage of real people reacting tells you a great deal.

Step 5: Ask these questions before you pay anything

1. Are you insured, and can you send a certificate? Most Las Vegas hotels, resorts and country clubs require a certificate of insurance from every vendor. An uninsured performer can be turned away at the door. This is the single most common preventable disaster.
2. How long have you been working, and where? Years matter less than whether people keep re-booking them.
3. What happens if you are ill? Professionals know other professionals and will find you a replacement. Hobbyists cancel.
4. What do you need from us? For strolling magic the right answer is “almost nothing.” For a seated set, a spot where everyone can see and possibly a microphone.
5. How do you adjust the material for the room? A client dinner and a holiday party after two hours of open bar are different rooms. A good performer will ask you which one it is.
6. What are the deposit terms? Some ask for half up front, some much less. Neither is wrong; just know which one you are agreeing to.

Step 6: Send an inquiry that gets a fast, accurate quote

The quickest way to a real number is to send the details a performer needs in the first message. Copy this and fill it in:

With that, any professional can tell you within a day whether they are free and what it costs. Without it, you will spend a week trading emails.

Step 7: Lock it in properly

Once you have chosen someone, get the basics in writing: date, arrival time, performance times, location, fee, deposit and cancellation terms. Send the performer’s insurance certificate to your venue coordinator early — not the week of the event. And give the performer one name and one phone number to ask for on the day.

On the day

• Do not schedule magic against the speeches. Nothing competes well with a microphone.
• Start early in the evening. Arrival and cocktail hour is when people are standing in groups and want something to do. By the third hour of an open bar, the room is louder and the attention is shorter.
• Tell the magician who matters. The guest of honor, the client you are courting, the boss who needs to have a good night. A good performer will make sure they get a moment.

The mistakes I see most often

• Booking a stage act for a cocktail hour, then watching half the room ignore it.
• Booking one hour of strolling magic for two hundred guests. A strolling magician reaches roughly a hundred to a hundred and fifty people in small groups over two hours. Book enough time for the room you have.
• Forgetting the insurance certificate until the venue asks for it on the day.
• Waiting until late November to book a December party.

If you want to hire me

I do close-up magic, mentalism and comedy for corporate events, weddings and private parties across Las Vegas, Henderson, Summerlin and Los Angeles. I carry $100,000 liability insurance, I publish my rates, and a 10% deposit holds the date. Use the form below, tell me the date, and I will tell you straight away whether I am free.