Tiger-free magician still offers charisma

Dirk Arthur is promoting that he’s the last magician in Las Vegas to use exotic animals. But that doesn’t mean you still can’t see the second-to-last one, Rick Thomas, work with humans.

The Las Vegas-based Thomas mostly performs out of town now. But he has a lot of local fans — he’s also the most successful Mormon magician around — and brings his family-friendly show to the South Point from Friday through Sunday for post-Christmas fun.

Last year, Thomas gave up his tigers and retired them to what he called “a better life” at the Keepers of the Wild sanctuary in Valentine, Ariz.

“I spent a lifetime working with them, raising them, spending my life taking care of them,” Thomas said last year. But “tigers are a challenge. They are an exotic animal. They are trained, never tamed.”

Lucky for Thomas, his human stage presence improved over the years from 1997, as he shared the stage with big critters in several Las Vegas venues.

By the time he closed down the Sahara, Thomas seemed more at ease than ever in his own personality, using his 6-foot-4 authority and square chin to urge us to adopt homeless pets and “say better things about people.”

Contact reporter Mike Weatherford at mweatherford@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0288.