January 19, 2019
Penn Jillette and Raymond Teller have been performing illusions with a touch of comedy since the 1970s. They were introduced to each other by Weir Chrisemer and performed their first show together at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival on August 19, 1975. They started as a trio but they parted ways in 1982. (Wikipedia)
Penn & Teller is the longest running headlining act in Las Vegas history. They’ve been featured in television shows Penn & Teller: Fool Us and Penn & Teller: Bullshit! where they try to catch and reveal other magicians’ tricks.
I see their gigantic billboard every single time I pass by the Rio Hotel. One can’t miss it it’s so large.
I wanted to watch it with Edmund but he didn’t like. He would fall asleep daw. I asked my son to accompany me.
Rio was a short drive, like 15 minutes leisurely drive from where we stayed. Las Vegas is a small city and the places are compressed.
We parked on the 4th floor and the open deck parking could be a nice spot to watch the New Year’s Eve fireworks display.
There was a Global Winterland at the ground parking of the hotel. No wonder there were lots of families with little children walking at the parking area.
The sprawling Rio Hotel & Casino is one of the oldest in Las Vegas. I’ve stayed in this hotel by myself for 10 days in November 2016 after my sister and I attended the SEMA show.
Rio is also the residence of the Chippendales. I watched it last year, by myself. A bit shocking but very entertaining.
We bought our tickets online, but we still had to have the confirmation on our phone scanned at the entrance.
Their shows start at 9 pm which admittedly is a bit late for Edmund. There’s really a 100% chance he would fall asleep by then. My son gladly went with me.
We were half-hour early. They were encouraging the audience to come to the stage and inspect the two boxes. There were dozens who had photos while inside the boxes. I was looking at this lady in reddish pink velvet dress. I thought she was waiting for her turn to go inside the acrylic box.
I was observing and wondering how she would fit in the box.
She probably changed her mind.
I felt relieved that she didn’t do it. I was worried she could get stuck.
Penn serves as the act’s orator and raconteur.
He did the talking in the whole 90-minute show. He was the one explaining what the act was about and also told stories about other magics and illusions. Hearing him talk for more than an hour was too much for me. I hoped for more magic than talk.
He looked taller than 6’7 with the diminutive me.
There were only two acts my son and I liked the most. First was when Teller dipped his hands into the aquarium and dozens of goldfish instantly appeared. This made the crowd gushing. The second one was when Teller broke the glass and then the broken pieces became one whole piece again.
During the entire show, Teller did not speak a word while performing. He only communicated through mime and nonverbal motions. When he took my camera he asked me if I were the only one.
He was the one who shot our selfie together.
