ML - Vegas Magazine

2012 - Issue 6 - October

Vegas Magazine - Niche Media - There is a place beyond the crowds, beyond the ropes, where dreams are realized and success is celebrated. You are invited.

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PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF LAS VEGAS SUN ARCHIVES F ront Runners small beginnings THE BIRTH OF NEVADA'S FIRST WHITE TIGER CUBS MARKS THE BEGINNING OF ONE OF VEGAS'S MOST BELOVED MAGICAL LEGACIES. BY CHELSEA STONE D 12 VEGASMAGAZINE.COM ynamic duo Siegfried & Roy have been enmeshed in Las Vegas lore since their first appearance here in 1967. From the start, the German magicians were bigger than their mesmerizing stage performances—because they take their work (and their costars) home with them, to their massive estate, Jungle Palace, near the Las Vegas Golf Course. In October 1986, two of their most impressive creatures, Neva and the pure-white female Sitarra, became parents of the first Nevada-born white tigers, who made their adorable debut that month in a promotional appearance (PICTURED HERE). All of Siegfried & Roy's felines are raised at the duo's over-the-top compound and "coun- try" estate, Little Bavaria, a 100-acre oasis near Mt. Charleston where majestic white tigers, white lions, and other exotic jungle cats roam freely around the lush grounds. The birth of Sitarra and Neva's offspring was a milestone in an incredible piece of Vegas history that started when Siegfried Fischbacher and Roy Horn met in 1957 while working on a cruise ship. After assembling their act with Chico, a cheetah, the duo performed all over Europe and the US before settling at The Mirage Hotel & Casino for a permanent stay in 1990. Ten years later the showstoppers were dubbed the Magicians of the Century, yet their days as Vegas headliners were numbered. The show tragically came to an end in October 2003 when Roy was severely injured by one of his tigers during a performance. But Siegfried & Roy's Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat at The Mirage remains a family favorite to this day and is proof that they never lost sight of their passions: a love for wowing the crowd and a strong devotion to their beloved animals. V

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