Taking a Look through a lens of Vintage Vegas
Vegas Scene captures the dynamic duo at the Plaza Hotel & Casino with a Vintage Vegas themed photoshoot while catching up with the couple since their wedding in 2021.
Sharing with you a day and a life with Murray and wife as they share their latest news for what's next in entertainment their charity and much more. The photoshoot was taken in late October inside the ballroom of the Plaza Hotel where the couple had their wedding celebration last fall. The unique location is one of the few iconic venues in downtown Las Vegas that you can still experience a bit of Old Vegas history on the inside and outside of the venue. By: Cindy Rodriguez VSM
The photoshoot was taken at the ballroom where the 2 were married in 2021.
A behind the scenes look with "Vintage Nights in Vegas." A photoshoot capturing the dynamic couple as they pose for the camera off stage at the iconic Plaza Hotel and Casino inside and outside the ballroom that recaptures the memories where the couple celebrate their wedding last September, and in the vintage designed with modern touches Sand Dollar Lounge. This hotel is one of the few staples left in Las Vegas that has the appeal of old Vegas with a touch of modern in some of the venues such as the lounge. Inside the Sand Dollar you can find a hidden room within the room where you'll have the chance to capture the neon bright lights of the old world Vegas tones for all your selfies.
The story of how the couple met. Murray shares with VSM that they met through the producer and owner of Crazy Girls, Norbert Aleman who took over the Planet Hollywood Sincity Theatre. Murray explains “Crazy Girls was the late show, and my show was the early show. Norbert said, you’re single and you need to meet the single girls in my show, lets do dinner at KOI!” and goes on to say, “So I agreed, which I hate, set up dinners like this, but I sat beside Dani, and we hit it off and she looked stunning. After a few weeks we hung out, I asked her out properly and went to a magazine release party at Mr. Chow’s along with Robin Leach and many other which was September 28, 2017. Since that day we have been inseparable. I asked her to marry me on September 28, 2020, in Mt. Charleston and we got married at The Plaza Hotel September 28, 2021, and celebrated our 1 year anniversary Sept. 28, 2022. We are the male and female version of each other!”
Since it has been a little over a year since the two have tied the knot, I asked Murray if they did anything special to celebrate their wedding, he said they went to Marche Baucus one of our favorite restaurants in Vegas and then we went to our dear friend’s wedding Brittany Dunn. Murray says. ”It was super cool going to someone else’s wedding on our wedding date and celebrating someone else’s love!”
I asked Murray why they chose the venue for their wedding celebration, and he said, “We chose the Plaza Hotel theatre as we are both in show business and love old theatres, especially in Las Vegas. There are only a few of the original theatres left in Las Vegas and The Plaza is one of them and we just love the hotel, staff and Jonathan Jossell the CEO is one of the classiest executives in Las Vegas and comes from the old school hotel mentality which we love!” We also have the penthouse suite and the most beautiful wedding party we could ever dream of! We had over 450 people attend, and we wanted to create the greatest party of 2021 especially after whatever had gone through the 18 months before with the world shutting down.
Murray shared with me some highlights of the wedding last by saying, the location for the celebration was the perfect hotel, the perfect wedding band Zowie Bowie, the perfect DJ - DJ JayBray, the perfect 450 guests, seeing my mother there and Dani's parents and siblings, Pauly Shore, FlavaFlav, using my Mom and Dad's old car as our wedding car, our first dance which included our 3 rescue pups, Smudge our rescue pup being the Ring Bearer for us, the perfect wedding planner Lara Kalish of The Lil Things, and our wedding cake being modeled after Elivs and Priscilla's wedding cake when they got married in Vegas, also as a surprise the Mayor Caroline Goodman surprising us with Sept. 28, 2021 as Mr. & Mrs. SawChuck Day!
Below wedding photo credit: Stardust Fallout
Murray states "My wife as her gift to me a 1 or 1 original painting by SHAG the Artist of me on stage with my signature Vanishing Bottle trick. We are both very fortune people! We have the best people in our lives!"
Originally from Vancouver, British Columbia – Canada, Murray is now and has been for years a Vegas native and icon on the strip.
I asked the musician what led him to his talent, and he shared with me that at 7 years old with a Siegfried and Roy Magic Kit from my parents when they came back from Reno, Nevada after that it was a bigger magic kit when I was 13 from my uncle and aunt (Bill and Olga Sawchuk), then I was hooked after that. The one-of-a-kind performer has amassed over 1.8 million people, with his witty sense of humor combined with magic, who is still going strong.
We catch up with the renowned showman who recently celebrated his one- year wedding anniversary at the Plaza Hotel and Casino where he was married in September of last year. Murray has always had a dream and desire to perform in Vegas and has done just that by celebrating his residency in Las Vegas for over 20 years.
Other questions we had for Murray - Scene: Tell us your history with Las Vegas. What is your opinion on the changes you have seen with the city in the last 20 years?
Murray: “I came to Las Vegas on January 26, 2002 and opened my show at the Frontier Hotel from there I guest starred in The Crazy Horse from Paris, opened for The Amazing Jonathan and then landed my residency at the Tropicana Las Vegas thanks to Harry Basil my producer at the Laugh Factory. Dani started in Las Vegas performing in Jubilee till the close of the show, then moving over to host Crazy Girls at Planet Hollywood. She has also hosted Murray’s Misfits produced by Bonkerz Comedy Club, Dragon Dolls by Nevada Nichols and is now the host of A Touch of Burlesque across from the Virgin Hotel and the lead dancer / choreographer for ZZTOP. “
Scene: Any future plans to work with Dani again on stage?
Murray: “Yes we will always work together on stage whether it will be for Television like on Masters of Illusion on the CW or charity shows, that’s the cool thing when you both live together you can come together on various projects easier because you are a bed sheet away from each other.”
Scene: What are some of your favorite things to do behind the scenes in Las Vegas?
Murray: “I love rescuing dogs it’s a huge passion of mine along with various charities I am try and support in the community. I think it’s important to give back when you can especially when you are in the public eye and can create publicity for a charity or cause that might need the extra attention. I love working on my old cars and landscaping. Dani and I started our landscaping company Dirt 2 Dreams Landscaping in 2020 during Covid and it’s going strong as ever.”
Scene: Can you share with me the story of your first moment when you realized you wanted to entertain and do magic tricks?
Murray: “I started in Dance at the age of 5, then played the accordion so being on stage was very natural to me. I did my first trick to my uncle and aunt, Uncle Don Stalman and he looked so shocked at what I did. The trick was called The Professors Nightmare a classic of magic and from that reaction I realized this is something I felt right at home with and enjoyed.”
Scene: Pawn Stars what's next for you in the show?
Murray: “I have been with Pawn Stars as their Magic Expert for 16 seasons. We just shot their new series airing this month called Pawn Stars Does America, where they travel around the States and going to the people instead of them coming to them here in Las Vegas.”
Scene: Share with me more about your latest book and your rescue mission on your pets?
Murray: ”I just wrote and released my children’s book called, At Nightime We Are All The Same Size, a deal I made with Amazon and Kindle. It is based on my rescue puppy Bailey that is scared of people, but when you lie down, she will walk right up to you and curl up by your head and look you straight in the eyes. So when this happen I used to say, “At Nighttime We Are All The Same Size” as it happened every time we would go to bed to sleep. So, I based the book on all sort of animals and this Murray look-a-like character that interacts with various animals large and small as a metaphor of to not judge people by the way the look or sound but to see them directly ‘eye to eye’ so you can understand them better.”
Scene: Please share with me your latest project on the Misfits.
Murray: “My dear friend Joe Sanfelipo the owner and creator of Bonkerz Comedy club who had booked me at his various venues asked me over the last few months if I had any show ideas, I haven’t done yet and I said YES. It’s a show called ‘Murray’s Misfits’ the funniest and wildest acts in Vegas, so we premiered it at The Pass Casino in Henderson, Nevada with great success, so it is something we are hoping to tour in 2023. Also, we are excited that my first comedy special will be airing Nov. 21st, 2022 on Tubi. We filmed it with 650 people in attendance at the Plaza Hotel early this year, so we are excited to have that air real soon!”
If you are looking to see Murray Sawchuck on the big screen, You may recognize him on television with his ongoing guest appearances in the hit Vegas show "Pawn Stars". Murray has also made guest appearances on 20 other reality TV shows, including CW's "Masters of Illusion," "Penn & teller: Fool Us," SYFY's "Wizard Wars," VH1's "Celebracadabra," TLC's "4 Houses," "Top Gear" and "Master Chef.
Having seen the show myself, I am happy to say that the show is fantastic, fun, and a great way to spend the later part of your day with anyone of all ages, a great time for family and has been voted as one of Vegas Scene’s feature five listings for a day and life for families in our listings section of the magazine. "If you are looking for a fresh perspective to magic, then be prepared to be amazed if you see his show in Las Vegas," Cindy Vegas Scene magazine. As a skilled magician, prankster, illusionist, and comedian, Murray has performed for audiences across the globe and has become YouTube's most popular Magician, with his first viral video hitting over 40 million views.
Murray can show you some illusions over Zoom and share the remarkable journey that led him to become a television sensation and the world's leading master illusionist. Murray still holds his residency at the Tropicana at the Laugh Factory, performing five nights a week on the Las Vegas Strip with the resident show at The Tropicana Hotel in the Laugh Factory. He is excited to celebrate over 20 years of performing in Las Vegas this year and has recently married his wife who works alongside him in performances. This top-notch Magician has inspired me by sharing his journey to stardom and success.
I still remember what he said over a year ago when talking to him mentioning as a young child, he remembers admiring illusionist David Copperfield and admiring his father, a musician at age seven, and his longtime desire to perform on stage and entertain people from an early age. As a child, he remembered getting a gift with a magic kit and beginning a passion for magic and entertainment on stage. As a child entertaining at birthday parties, this led to the beginning of what is now a huge success.
On “America’s Got Talent”, he was on the fifth season where he performed four illusions designed for television that were larger and bigger tricks never done before, unique and staged for television.
As a semifinalist of the show America’s Got Talent, Murray performed a one-of-a-kind illusion never seen before with a custom-designed steam train inspired by the original design from the 1900s. In this unique trick, Murray takes the train to disappear. This unique and breathtaking trick is still one of his biggest success stories talked about today. As a Las Vegas native performing for over 20 years in the entertainment capital of the world, Murray appreciates and enjoys having a residency in Las Vegas. He refers to the desert as home and says, "I appreciate living in this sandbox full of the bright lights and excitement of Las Vegas!"
When he's not on stage, this fun filled performer loves to play tourist behind the scenes and enjoy the iconic historical places he refers to as "old Vegas", some of which he mentioned were: Neon Museum where you can find historical monuments and signs from the earlier days of Vegas, and he loves to eat at some of Las Vegas hidden gems classic steakhouses that offer a vintage vibe, history and have been around for years. Some of his favorite tricks are ones he has designed himself that include both comedy and magic, but to see them, you may have to experience them firsthand at the show.
If you want to have a few laughs and enjoy magic, then I say, take a night off with family and friends to see a fantastic performer and enjoy the taste of magic, surprise along with a witty sense of humor, flair, and style to his magic tricks. Murray continues to entertain at the Tropicana and plants to continue to work alongside his wife whether it will be for Television like on Masters of Illusion on the CW or charity shows. He says “that’s the cool thing when you both live together you can come together on various projects easier because you are a bed sheet away from each other.” Dani shared with us she her new venture with the exciting Burlesque show at Centerfolds. This dynamic duo is just getting started and I predict there will be a lot more to see on the Vegas Strip as they continue to stand strong and entertain for years to come.
Promotional photos courtesy of Murray Sawchuck
Courtesy Location of photoshoot:
Plaza Hotel & Casino Sand Dollar Lounge, and Showroom. Photos inside Plaza Hotel & Casino Murray SawChuck & Dani Elizabeth Sawchuck by: Photographer Paul Rodriguez