LAS VEGAS, Nevada, USA, September 21, 2026 — Illusion builder Bill Smith and magic historian Lance Rich will speak back to back on Friday, October 23, at Duck Duck Shed, the Neon Museum’s annual event on Las Vegas architecture, design, and culture.
Smith goes first at 3:30 p.m. with a conversation about building stage illusions. His workshop, Bill Smith’s Magic Ventures, has built custom illusions since 1979, and its client list includes famed magicians like David Copperfield, Lance Burton, Hans Klok, and the late Harry Blackstone Jr.
Rich follows at 5 p.m. with “Neon Dreams: The Story of Las Vegas Magic,” a multimedia presentation on how the city became synonymous with magical spectacle. It moves from early nightclub acts through Parisian-style revues to headliner extravaganzas. The multimedia presentation incorporates rare photographs and video to tell the story of forgotten names and mega-famous magicians. Organizers say Rich also shares a discovery he made along the way that changed the accepted history of the city.
The talk shares its title with his 2023 book, Neon Dreams: The Story of Las Vegas Magic. The Vanishing Inc. hardcover runs nearly 400 pages, includes more than 370 photographs, and carries a foreword by David Copperfield. Among its revelations is the identification of Gloria Dea as the first magician to perform on the Las Vegas Strip. Rich will sell copies at the event and sign them immediately after his talk.
Rich is also building a museum of his own. He and magician David Sandy are constructing a magic museum and performance venue at 101 Magic Lane, just north of St. Joseph, Missouri, and hope to open next summer, according to News-Press NOW. The two met at the International Brotherhood of Magicians Gold Medal Stage Competition in 2009.
Both talks are in the Pikake Room on the second floor of the California Hotel & Casino, 12 East Ogden Avenue. Tickets are $29 each and on sale now at duckduckshed.com. Parking is available in the hotel garage, with complimentary validation at Duck Duck Shed registration.
Duck Duck Shed is the Neon Museum’s annual cultural experience centered on Las Vegas architecture, design, and the evolution of the city’s environment with tours, panels, and talks running October 23 through 26. The 2026 event marks the fourth your for the conference. The name nods to Learning from Las Vegas, the 1972 architecture book by Robert Venturi, Denise Scott Brown, and Steven Izenour, which described buildings as either “ducks,” whose shapes express what they are, or “decorated sheds,” plain structures given meaning by signs and ornament. The event moves across the city instead of staying in one venue. “Las Vegas is a living cultural artifact,” Aaron Berger, executive director and CEO of the Neon Museum, said in a news release.
Magic fans can also visit the museum’s restored Siegfried & Roy sculpture from The Mirage, which joined the Neon Boneyard in April. The bronze-painted fiberglass piece stands more than 15 feet tall and weighs about 3,600 pounds. The unveiling included an illuminating panel on the history of magic in Las Vegas.
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