Steven Spielberg's SARMOTI Tradition

Siegfried & Roy build and renew our love for nature and our belief in magic. Our eyes are as open as our hearts after one of their performances.

— Steven Spielberg, March 9, 2002

Siegfried & Roy and Steven Spielberg share a tradition…whenever one of the renowned producer/director’s children reach age 10, their birthday celebration is in Las Vegas with the Magicians of the Century.

“I can’t think of a more rewarding experience than to introduce my children and their friends to the world of Siegfried & Roy,” said Spielberg, celebrating his son Sawyer’s 10th birthday at The Mirage. “It’s truly an once-in-a-lifetime happening that you can’t do anywhere else in the world. And, though I have seen the show numerous times during the years, each visit always brings something new.”

Spielberg, Sawyer and mom, actress Kate Capshaw, couldn’t believe their eyes when Siegfried & Roy brought Montacore, a 600-pound White Bengal Tiger, into the room to meet them. “This only happens happen in movies,” smiled Capshaw. “Coming face-to-face with such a magnificent animal…well, it’s a rush. It’s hard to believe that it’s happening in Las Vegas.”

Las Vegas is known throughout the world for setting trends. But never did anyone expect “Sin City” to be a trendsetter to save and insure protection of two of wildlife’s rarest of endangered species: the Magical White Lion and the Royal White Tiger.

Chairmen of the quest to preserve the magic of these noble beasts are Siegfried & Roy. The city’s icons have 23 White Lions and 58 White Tigers in their care.

These two incredible men have indeed show true magic – the magic of making nature’s creatures not disappear, but reappear.

“Our goal is simple,” explains Roy. “We know that both species are extinct in the wild, but we want them to have a place in the new millennium. It has begun as a century where man and beast can live in harmony in a new era with white magic for us all.

When not appearing on stage, Siegfried & Roy’s animal family live in their Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat at The Mirage.

“Our Secret Garden is a haven for rare and exotic animals,” says Siegfried. “It represented what is possible when humans and animals work, play, live and share their lives. Through the Secret Garden, and on stage, we seek to increase public awareness of the plight of endangered animal and to foster and enhance dialogue about the world’s most rare species.”