For most visitors, Penn & Teller at the Rio is the Las Vegas magic show to book. For a big-production night it's Criss Angel MINDFREAK at Planet Hollywood, and for kids or an afternoon slot it's Mac King at Excalibur. Same art, three different nights. They run below from the cleverest to the loudest to the friendliest.
Penn & Teller at the Rio: the magic show that shows its work
Penn & Teller have headlined the Rio since 2001, and the show still does the thing nobody else does: it explains the trick and fools you anyway. The cups-and-balls routine is performed with clear plastic cups, so you can see every move, and the balls still appear where they can't. Penn talks the whole time. Teller doesn't speak on stage. That split keeps 90 minutes moving, and it's the show you'll still be arguing about at breakfast.
Where: Penn & Teller Theater, Rio, just west of the Strip. Length: 90 minutes. Ages: 5 and up. Best for: skeptics and couples who like to talk it over afterward.
Criss Angel MINDFREAK at Planet Hollywood: magic as a production
Criss Angel MINDFREAK opened in January 2019 in the renamed Criss Angel Theater, and it runs like a rock show: lighting rigs, video, sound that hits on the reveal, and illusions fans know from his TV series done live with no camera cut. The finale is a levitation he spent 15 years developing. It moves fast. The show carries mature content, which is why its age line sits higher than the other two.
Where: Criss Angel Theater, Planet Hollywood, center Strip. Length: 75 minutes. Ages: 10 and up. Best for: groups who want the night to feel like an event.
Check Criss Angel MINDFREAK tickets
Mac King at Excalibur: the afternoon show that fools the adults too
Mac King has played Las Vegas since 2000, first at Harrah's and at Excalibur since 2021. His act looks homemade on purpose: a goldfish, a packet of Fig Newtons, and a yellow raincoat he swears is a cloak of invisibility. Volunteers from the crowd do half the work, so no two shows play the same. It's the friendliest hour of magic on the Strip, and the kids aren't the only ones who gasp.
Where: Thunderland, Excalibur, south Strip. Length: 70 minutes. Ages: 5 and up. Best for: families and anyone keeping the evening free.
Which magic show should you book?
Date night that wants to talk about it afterward: Penn & Teller. A group that wants a show to feel like an event: MINDFREAK. Kids along, or the evening already booked: Mac King. Mac King's afternoon slot also pairs with another show the same day, and our list of the best family shows in Las Vegas has five more that welcome kids. If the room matters more than the name, our small-room Vegas magic shows guide puts you a few feet from the cards.
