The Greatest Show Las Vegas Ever Saw
Siegfried Fischbacher and Roy Horn were an unlikely pair. Siegfried, a German magician, met Roy, a German-born animal trainer, on a cruise ship in the 1960s. Roy smuggled a pet cheetah named Chico aboard the ship. When Siegfried saw what Roy could do with big cats, he knew they had something the world had never seen. They spent two decades building their act in Las Vegas showrooms before Steve Wynn gave them the stage that made them legends.
When The Mirage opened in 1989, Wynn built a custom 1,500-seat theater specifically for Siegfried and Roy. The show was unlike anything Las Vegas had ever produced — white tigers and white lions appeared and vanished on stage, an elephant materialized from thin air, and Roy walked among predators that could kill him with a single swipe. The production cost $10 million to stage and generated over $45 million in annual revenue. Over 10 million people saw the show during its 14-year run, making it the most profitable single entertainment act in Las Vegas history.
October 3, 2003
It was Roy Horn's 59th birthday. The 7:30 show at The Mirage was sold out, as it almost always was. During the performance, a 7-year-old white tiger named Montecore was brought on stage. Accounts of what happened next vary, but what the audience saw was terrifying: Montecore lunged at Roy, grabbed him by the neck, and dragged him offstage as blood pooled on the white stage floor. Roy suffered a crushed windpipe, massive blood loss, and a stroke that left him partially paralyzed.
Roy survived, but the show was finished. He spent years in rehabilitation, regaining some ability to walk with assistance. He never performed again. To his dying day, Roy insisted that Montecore was not attacking him — he believed the tiger sensed something was wrong (Roy may have been having a small stroke) and was trying to carry him to safety, the way a mother tiger carries a cub by the scruff of the neck. Whether that is true will never be known. What is certain is that October 3, 2003, ended an era in Las Vegas entertainment that will never be replicated.
Key Facts
$45 Million a Year
The Siegfried and Roy show generated over $45 million annually for The Mirage, making it the single most profitable entertainment act in Las Vegas history. No show before or since has matched that figure.
Over 5,750 Shows
From 1989 to 2003, Siegfried and Roy performed over 5,750 shows at The Mirage. More than 10 million people saw them perform live, making them the most-attended act in Las Vegas history.
The Secret Garden
Siegfried and Roy maintained the Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat at The Mirage, where they housed their white tigers, white lions, and other exotic animals. The attraction was open to the public for decades before closing.
What's There Now
The Mirage — Now Hard Rock Las Vegas
Address: 3400 Las Vegas Blvd S, Las Vegas, NV 89109
Status: The Mirage has been transformed into the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Las Vegas. The Siegfried and Roy show ended in 2003 and never reopened.
What to See: The Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat where Siegfried and Roy kept their animals has closed. The custom-built 1,500-seat theater that hosted the show has been repurposed. A bronze statue of the duo with a white tiger was installed outside The Mirage as a memorial.
Legacy: Roy Horn died on May 8, 2020, from COVID-19 complications at age 75. Siegfried Fischbacher died on January 13, 2021, from pancreatic cancer at age 81. Montecore, the tiger, lived until 2014.
Explore on Interactive Map →