Saturday, February 08, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Couple seek penance from casinos for Penn & Teller stunt

Al and Rita Cummins stand Friday by a statue of Our Lady of Las Vegas Catholic Church. Photo by Clint Karlsen.

Las Vegans Al and Rita Cummins are not turning the other cheek to that risque crucifixion skit by local magicians Penn & Teller.

"What they did is blaspheme the Lord," Al Cummins said. "I know there a lot of scenes in the casinos that we would not approve of. That's their business, but it became our business when they criticized our Lord."

The Summerlin couple learned of the Jan. 13 routine at a magicians' convention after reading items in Norm Clarke's Review-Journal column.

Penn & Teller have been publicly quiet about the controversy they created with the routine at the close of a private, late-night roast of comedian-magician Amazing Johnathan. They failed to return two phone messages left at their management office this week.

It began when Penn Gillette entered a Riviera convention hall dressed as a Roman centurion and was followed by a cart covered with a large sheet.

After Gillette delivered a few one liners about Johnathan, a sheet was removed from a cart, revealing Teller, who appeared to be on a cross, naked from the waist down. A diminutive man appeared to be simulating oral sex on Teller.

Many in the crowd of 400 could be heard laughing while others later said they were offended by the skit.

After learning of the episode, Al and Rita Cummins, herself an ex-nun, spoke to their priest at Our Lady of Las Vegas Catholic Church. Their priest, who declined to be interviewed for this story, advised them to take action if they were offended.

The couple circulated a petition for parishioners to sign the next Sunday and gathered about 1,200 signatures demanding apologies from the Riviera, Rio, Flamingo and Monte Carlo hotel-casinos lest they launch a boycott. Penn & Teller perform at the Rio; Jonathan at the Flamingo; and the Monte Carlo's Lance Burton also participated in the roast, although he was not a part of the skit.

"One of our basic American rights is freedom of religion," reads the petition. "That enjoins on all of us the obligation to respect one another's faith, regardless of whether or not we agree with it. This was not `performance art,' but an act of hatred against Christianity and against all religion."

"What they did was an absolutely unspeakable thing," Rita Cummins said. "They've offended every single one of us. To blaspheme Jesus Christ like that was beyond bad taste. It was an incredibly offensive thing."

Riviera President Bob Vannucci sent the couple a letter apologizing for the incident.

"I can assure you that we did not condone their behavior," Vannucci wrote. "We are very disgusted with them and can guarantee that nothing like this will ever happen again."

Vannucci failed to return a phone message seeking comment. Executives of the Rio, Monte Carlo and Flamingo have not replied to the couple.

"We're probably going to keep circulating petitions until they all apologize," said Rita Cummins.

"The whole entertainment industry is pushing the envelope. They are going further and further, beyond the bounds of acceptable behavior."

University of Nevada, Las Vegas history professor Hal Rothman has written extensively about the desert city and sees a great deal of irony in the entire episode.

"Despite selling ourselves as anything goes here, anything does not go here," Rothman said. "But Penn Gillette has made a career of pushing the envelope. I would guess that he wanted this response."