David Copperfield’s show at the MGM Grand ends tomorrow after 25 years. By all accounts, it’s one of the most successful residencies in Strip history, capitalizing on a famous run of CBS television specials in the ‘80s and ‘90s that featured stunts like walking through the Great Wall of China and making the Statue of Liberty disappear.
Before the MGM Grand came calling, Copperfield had a Vegas presence at Caesars Palace, where he performed for 15 years inside the Circus Maximus ballroom. He also hosted a 1993 special on property that saw the magician escape a straitjacket while hanging from burning ropes in front of 10,000 people outdoors.
Much like his stunts, nothing is ever too big for David Copperfield. He bought a Summerlin megamansion in 2016 for $17.55 million, then a record for a Las Vegas home. (Based on his annual income that year, he could’ve purchased three of ‘em with change to spare.) Before that, he lived off Tomiyasu Lane in a house (that closed for a mere $5.25 million in 2023) between Sunset Park and Wayne Newton’s Casa de Shenandoah.
Off stage, Copperfield kept a low profile for a local celebrity, stepping out on occasion to represent Vegas at awards shows, on “Top Chef”, and inside PURE Nightclub for a birthday bash. He also wasn’t shy when unveiling his own slot machine.
Copperfield’s charity, the tax-exempt Project Magic Fund, claims to help those with “physical, psychological, and social disabilities,” but is almost nonexistent. The nonprofit issued just four grants, collectively worth $30,000, to three recipients over the five most recent years of data. Revenue peaked at just over $8,000 in 2020. Last year, it was zero.
Copperfield made a greater investment in founding and financing the International Museum and Library of the Conjuring Arts, a Vegas warehouse that honors magic with more than 80,000 artifacts and 50,000 books. A visit is by invitation only.
More artifacts were stored in Copperfield’s four-story New York penthouse, which was abandoned in 2024. The performer also spends time at his own tropical resort, Musha Cay, an archipelago of 11 islands in the Bahamas that welcomes private groups of up to 12 guests, beginning at $57,000 a night.
It’s another Caribbean location — Little Saint James or “Epstein Island” — that could ultimately define how we remember David Copperfield. According to federal evidence, the magician had a longstanding friendship with convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein and was infamously photographed in bathrobes with co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell. Add in allegations of sexual misconduct by at least 16 women, and you may understand why MGM Resorts is now ending its relationship with the headliner sans fanfare. (Copperfield’s lawyers have denied any wrongdoing, and denied he had any knowledge of Epstein’s crimes).
I crossed paths with David Copperfield exactly one time in Las Vegas — backstage at the MGM Grand before a show. He was very nice. I got a press discount for a front-row table that was actually too close to the stage to soak everything in. (When Copperfield addressed the audience, I could see directly up his nostrils. Not a booger or stray hair in sight. His grooming was impeccable.) The show was fine. There was no Statue of Liberty to make disappear, but his grand finale involved something with a small plane.
You can see it for yourself. Tickets remain for the final three performances tomorrow. Just don’t expect any money you spend to make its way to the Project Magic Fund.
