I was on the road performing at various corporate events for five weeks straight! I'll make a future post covering those. However, I wanted to share my experience at The Ahern Hotel in Las Vegas.
The Lucky Dragon
I love Las Vegas. The first time I went there was for The Society of American Magicians National Convention in 1991. It's one of my happiest memories. The very first show I saw there was Melinda's. She was known as the First Lady of Magic. I also saw Lance Burton, Siegfried and Roy, and a ton of other shows. It was magic overload!
I follow what's going on in Vegas, almost as I live there (I practically do). When I hear about a new casino opening, I always like to check it out.
The Lucky Dragon opened in 2016 and was designed to cater to the Asian market. It offered an authentic Asian lifestyle experience. For example, there was no number four to be found in the place (the Asian equivalent to 13), and the people working there were fluent in Mandarin, Cantonese, and other Asian dialects. Even the signage was in Chinese.
However, The Lucky Dragon struggled to draw big crowds, and ended up filing for bankruptcy in 2018. I never got the chance to explore it.
Exit the Dragon, Enter the Ahern
The Lucky Dragon went up for auction, and in 2019 was purchased by Don Ahern. It is now a boutique hotel and convention center called The Ahern.
They do not have a casino, but they do have lots of great restaurants, convention space, and one of the friendliest staffs in Las Vegas.
Although the location was a problem for The Lucky Dragon, I actually think it's kind of a cool spot. It's on the North end of Las Vegas Boulevard (the strip), right next to legendary steakhouse, The Golden Steer. When staying there, you're close to The Strat and downtown Vegas in one direction, or you can head south down the strip.
The property is managed by Ryan Ahern, a world class pianist. I watched him work tirelessly from early in the day to late at night to make sure everything was perfect.
Zach Waldman and Ryan Ahern
My Performance at The Ahern
Lorenzo Clark, Murray Langston, and Zach Waldman
The Ahern has a great showroom. My friend Lorenzo Clark, whom I've known for over 20 years, is the entertainment director. We first met at The Magic Castle. Lorenzo is a fantastic magician and a great guy. Just like Ryan, Lorenzo works constantly managing all of the entertainment to make sure it's top-notch.
Also in this photo is Murray Langston, best known as The Unknown Comic. He watched the show, and I was thrilled to get to meet him. He's as hilarious as always, and couldn't have been nicer.
I performed comedy and magic in the showroom three nights, along with my good friend, comedian Bob Golub.
Murray Langston, Zach Waldman, Ryan Ahern, Bob Golub, Lorenzo Clark, and friends!
One of the coolest things about performing in Las Vegas is getting to see yourself super-sized on the marquees.
Thanks for reading! If you're looking to make your next private party or corporate event unique and fun, give me a call at 310-935-3684. I perform comedy, close-up magic, stage magic, and mentalism. You can also fill out my booking form here.