David Blaine ends Las Vegas show after surviving injury from jumping 80 feet on stage
David Blaine dislocated his shoulder over the weekend during his Las Vegas residency at Resorts World Theatre, but the show must go on, and it did.
Blaine’s injury occurred when he jumped from a platform 80 feet above the audience onto a stack of cardboard boxes, the casino and Anschutz Entertainment Group said in a statement.
The stunt was part of the Brooklyn magician’s opening act. The casino said several medics in the crowd helped Blaine reposition his right arm as he “experienced extreme pain and discomfort.”
“After a short delay, Blaine was able to carry on with the show, in pain, but in good spirits,” the casino and event promoters said.
Blaine posted a short message Sunday on his Instagram commenting, “Wow, that hurts!” with a video showing the moment when the doctors put the arm back in place.
Video recorded by an audience member captured both the jump and the aftermath, as Blaine was slow to get up from the boxes. “Wait, look at the right arm,” he is heard saying as members of his emergency medical team try to help him up.
The video also showed medics massaging and pulling on Blaine’s shoulder and arm as he lay on the stage as the audience watched. The proceedings lasted about 30 minutes, according to the video, after which the crowd erupted in applause.
“Well, this has never happened before,” Blaine said, smiling.
He is no stranger to injuries that have occurred during residency, which has run for 10 performances so far.
During last night’s show, Blaine nearly passed out during an underwater breath-holding act, in which he stayed in the tank for a little over 10 minutes, according to The Las Vegas Review Journal. She said it was the closest she had come to losing consciousness on stage.
And in December, Blaine punctured the palm of his left hand after swinging his hand against a mug concealing an ice pick, the Review-Journal said.
“My Las Vegas residency is filled with many of my favorite acts that I love in magic and stunts that push me beyond my limits,” Blaine said in the casino statement. “Although I have trained for much of my life, there is an inherent danger when you strive to make the seemingly impossible possible.”
He is not expected to take any time off and plans to perform again at regularly scheduled shows. in april and until july.
Blaine is known for performing Houdini-style stunts, such as in New York in 1997, when he dove into a tank full of water while inside a small plastic coffin. before emerging seven days later.
During a stunt in 2002, he stood on a 100-foot pillar in New York’s Bryant Park. for 35 hours before jumping into a pile of boxes. She suffered a concussion in that fall.
In recent years, Blaine has been known primarily for his ABC specials, with smaller audiences and lower stakes, performing magic tricks at celebrity homes such as Will SmithBryan Craston, LeBron James and Tom Brady.
Blaine has also faced accusations of sexual assault, first from a former model. who accused him of rape in london in 2017, after several women who claimed to have been sexually assaulted in New York City in 2019. However, no charges were filed in either case, according to the Daily Beast, which published the stories. Blaine denied the accusations.