For the benefit of our international readers, who have not put up with several weeks of election commercials, it is Election Day here in the United States. We dug around to try to find a relevant video, maybe something of a magician running for office or even appearing at some political convention, and come up with this 2000 PSA from Lance Burton, He is not endorsing anyone or running for anything, just telling Clark County residents how to register and pointing out the 2010 registration deadline.
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If you want to see Lance Burton, you have to keep a sharp eye out for his occasional charity performances. From Ben Stone’s Twitter feed comes this poster, advertising a benefit show for the Heaven Can Wait animal shelter in Las Vegas. The show, Variety Live, features several magicians including Kevin James, Victoria and Sos, Stan Allen, Jan Rouven, Xavier Mortimer and Lance Burton. Non magic acts include Stone, Jasmine Trias and others. As sharp eyed iTricksters will also notice that the shows is also honoring Tihany. The show is at the Orleans in Las Vegas on September 14. Even though it is only a couple of weeks away (more or less), there is little information to be found about the show. We tried the Orleans site and 
Robin Leach is reporting in the 
The World’s Greatest Magic was not the first all star magic extravaganza on television, but it was the first in a long time. More importantly, it was the right special at the right time to revitalize magic on television. The family friendly show on the night before Thanksgiving had strong ratings that beat powerhouses such as Roseanne and Beverly Hills 90210. It not only won the night but proved to be NBC’s highest rated special of the year. A live tour was announced. The network quickly ordered a second special for the next year and another special starring Lance Burton from the WGM production team. Other networks also signed deals for productions from the team. Even though there was some concern voiced by magicians over Mac King’s “teach a trick” segments, WGM was probably one of the biggest forces in the 1990s to put magic in the spotlight.
The success of World’s Greatest Magic II again led to a live tour and an order for a third installment for Thanksgiving Eve of 1996. Some magicians would again complain about Mac King’s segments, but these complaints were again brushed aside with the defense that the segments invited those interested into the world of magic using tricks easily found in beginners’ books. What could not be argued with was the successful magic programs being created by Ouellet and his team. Melinda would receive her own special produced by the team and ABC would collaborate with the group to create the Champions of Magic specials. CBS would also try its hand with Magicians’ Favorite Magicians, which was not produced by the WGM team.
The World’s Greatest Magic IV did well enough for a fifth installment to air on the night before Thanksgiving 1998. It featured Harry Anderson, Mike Caveney, Michael Ammar, James Dimarre, Goldfinger and Dove, Peter Gossamer, Hans Klok and The Majestix with Brett Daniels transporting actress Kelly Packard, then of Baywatch and later of Ripley’s Believe It or Not, across Grand Canyon as a finale. The special was not well received by magicians, at least if the club reports and letters to magic magazines of the time are to be believed. It certainly appears that by WGM5 the era of the rand illusion magic special was over and I personally think that the Masked Magician was to blame.
Joanie Spina, magic’s premier artistic advisor, has helped countless magicians over the years. Her advice has helped amateurs become successful professionals and solid acts become award winners. Now the Las Vegas magic community is helping her with the financial burden of a serious lung ailment that has left her on oxygen. David Copperfield, who hired Spina as a dancer for his live show and then used her as a choreographer on at least eight of his television specials, helped to organize a fundraiser attended by Vegas magic celebrities including Norm Nielsen, Mac King, Lance Burton and more.