Penn & Teller Cancel Shows Due to Injury
All right, who was the jerkwad who told Penn Jillette to “break a leg”?
The longtime Las Vegas comedy-magician apparently took the adage to heart, because he broke his ankle, which is close enough to make a “break a leg” joke in our book.
Jillette’s injury has resulted in Penn and Teller canceling some shows at Rio. Not a huge deal. We’re pretty much writing this entire story to say “Thoughts and prayers to Penn Jillette,” because we know Jillette, a vocal atheist, will appreciate the sentiment.
We first heard about Jillette’s injury from TMZ. (Las Vegas has no entertainment journalism of its own.) The TMZ story references a Facebook Story from Jillette which has since expired.
In the post, Jillette said, “We are sorry to have to cancel this weekend’s shows. I broke my ankle yesterday and on doctor’s orders, I am not able to do the show. Thanks so much for understanding and we hope to see you soon.”
Jillette didn’t provide any details about how he broke his ankle, but we have narrowed it down to two possible scenarios: 1) he’s old, or 2) the wrath of God.
While we are not as old as Jillette (he is 70), we can personally attest that at a certain age, you can break a bone simply by yawning.
Come on, TMZ. Get your shit together and find out the deets.
In a post on Instagram, the official account simply said, “Penn broke his ankle today.”
From the way Penn and Teller shared news of the show cancellations (stories on Instagram expire after 24 hours, just as they do on Facebook), it’s obvious they didn’t want people to make a big deal out of it.
While their remaining shows in January have been canceled (Jan. 17, 18, 22, 23, 24 and 25, 2026). The next available tickets are for Feb. 5, 2026.
Penn and Teller, of course, are Las Vegas institutions. They just hit 25 years at Rio, and are currently on the cover of the once-relevant Las Vegas Weekly.
On August 19, 2025, Penn and Teller will celebrate 50 years in show business.
They even got a street named after them. Well, technically, it’s a court, but let’s not get bogged down by details.
The duo have managed to remain largely scandal-free, despite rumors they don’t socialize offstage and ongoing concerns Teller’s health issues may be what ultimately end the pair’s incredible run at Rio.
Teller is 77, but has proven himself a tough cookie, despite major back surgery for a ruptured disc in 2001, open-heart surgery in 2011 to repair a congenital aortic valve defect and a serious bout of COVID-19 in 2020 that required hospitalization.
Mostly, they just entertain and sell tickets and are inexorably woven into the fabric of Las Vegas like Liberace, Wayne Newton, the Rat Pack and the blog you’re reading right now, just play along with that last one.
Bank robber: "Where's the safe?"
Teller:
Bank robber: "I said where's the safe?"
Teller:
Bank robber: "WTF?"
Penn: "He always does this, but honestly, this joke isn't as effective on a Las Vegas Twitter account because the punchline is telegraphed, rendering it less impactful."— Vital Vegas (@VitalVegas) January 16, 2026
Penn & Teller’s show continues to sell at Rio, despite the resort struggling. The pair decided to stay at Rio even after Caesars Entertainment sold the off-Strip resort to Dreamscape.
It’s one of our all-time favorite Las Vegas shows and we wish Penn Jillette a quick recovery.
Update (1/19/26): Serial intellectual property thief Johnny Kleptometes of the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports Penn Jillette broke his ankle carrying laundry, which is pretty much on par with yawning on the “Causes of Broken Bones Sexiness Scale,” which isn’t a thing but should be.
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