When I first came to Las Vegas in 1982, I drove a yellow Plymouth Duster with some birds and magic tricks and now my “Master Magician” show includes some 60-plus doves, geese, ducks and a parakeet named Elvis.

When I was 12, I grew up in a middle class section of Louisville, where residents scratched out their livings by being factory workers, waitresses and truck drivers among other jobs. I first became interested in Las Vegas after watching Siegfried & Roy on “The Merv Griffin Show.” They inspired me to pursue a career in magic. Siegfried & Roy opened the doors for magic in Las Vegas.

It all began on my sixth birthday when my mother Hilma took me to a Christmas party, where the featured performer was magician Harry Collins who later became my mentor. A neighbor gave me a book “Magic Made Easy.” I learned the tricks and performed a show for the neighborhood children for five cents admission. I produced and hosted a DVD called “Lance Burton’s Magic Made Easy!” It’s available for sale in The Lance Burton Magic Shop at the Monte Carlo.

My mother and Harry Collins met where they worked at the Frito-Lay potato chip factory in Louisville. Harry pulled a silver dollar out from behind my ear and I was mystified and elated. That was just the most wonderful revelation in the world. An important portion of my education was spent in perfecting the art of misdirection. The mastery of the art earned me the title among my peers as “A Magician’s Magician.”

In 1980 at age 20, I won the Gold Medal award for excellence from the International Brotherhood of Magicians. In 1982, at 22, I was the youngest person and the first American to bring home the Grand Prix award as “World Champion Magician” from the Fédération International Société de
Magie in Lausanne, Switzerland .

The larger rewards quickly followed and led to a 1981 booking on the annual “It’s Magic” show in Los Angeles. “I drove out west in a broken down car with a leaky radiator - just me, my tuxedo, and seven doves.” Within a week, I had landed an appearance on “The Tonight Show.” Johnny Carson, an amateur magician turned comedian, watched me in rehearsal from the wings of the stage and let me do an unprecedented 12-minute act on the “The Tonight Show.”

There are city people and there are country people. I like living in the country. If it hadn’t been for that Christmas party 43 years ago, I’d probably be driving a tractor.

Lance Burton performs his “Master Magician” show Tuesday thru Saturday at 7 PM and 10 PM on Tuesday and Saturday. For tickets or information go to montecarlo.com or call 702-730-7160 or stop by the box-office.