Steve Wyrick has heard most of the rumors about himself, but was a bit taken aback by the latest one: The lounge in his new entertainment complex would feature a life-sized statue of the magician with laser beams shooting out from its eyes.

That's the kind of bad taste and ego that many expect from Wyrick, who taunts his critics in Las Vegas with his refusal to fail and/or simply disappear.

It looks as though he is about to disappoint them again.

Last week, Wyrick walked me through his long-delayed theater complex at Desert Passage mall.

He showed me blueprints detailing plenty of handcrafted metal, video walls, translucent cubes and shattered red stained glass -- but no statue of Steve Wyrick Inc.'s chief executive officer.

The $34 million theater and nightclub complex was still in the stage of concrete and exposed beams. Wyrick admits that amid a construction boom, everything has taken longer and cost more than he anticipated when he announced his plan 13 months ago.

But now he is confident enough to say in print that the finished club and theater complex will be turned over to him on Nov. 7.

The complex will feature a ground-floor lounge topped by a 500-seat theater hosting four shows: Ventriloquist Ronn Lucas, singer Martin Nievera, the comedy piece "Defending the Caveman" and, of course, Wyrick's magic show.

It's a far cry from the flimsy domed structure at the Lady Luck where Wyrick broke into the Las Vegas market in 1997. That was followed by an uphilll battle at the Sahara from 2000 through 2003, then an Aladdin run.

His show has been criticized by other magicians -- and by yours truly -- as a bit personality-challenged, failing to bring a defining style to familiar illusions. On the other hand, one can suspect professional jealousy of Wyrick's do-it-yourself attitude.

This new venture is just the latest version of Wyrick's thinking-big Las Vegas dream. He creates his own performing space, and his own stardom. The last two ventures were financed by a Texas businessman, B.B. Barr, but Wyrick says he and Barr are now partners in the Desert Passage venture.

I'll reserve judgment about Wyrick's showmanship for when his show reopens. But he has shown creativity with the venue's design, which uses the lounge as a staging area for ticket holders but also functions as an independent club.

Show producers have cited the nightclubs as their new competition, but no one has been able to combine them. The idea of having a ticketed show morph into a club hasn't been easy to pull off.

Wyrick showed me how his gift shop will transform into a shot bar during the night. That may be the kind of magic that finally pays off for him.

Mike Weatherford's entertainment column appears Thursdays and Sundays. Contact him at 383-0288 or e-mail him at mweatherford@reviewjournal.com.