David Copperfield to End MGM Grand Residency Amid Epstein Scandal

By Scott Roeben, on March 06 2026
4 min read 1 comment
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David Copperfield is ending his MGM Grand residency after 25 years, and while nobody involved is saying it’s Jeffrey Epstein scandal-related, of course it is.

Copperfield’s final show at MGM Grand is April 30, 2026. MGM Resorts and Copperfield’s camp have been mum about whether his contract was terminated early, or just not extended, but either way, MGM Resorts is finally giving Copperfield the boot.

The closure is a long-awaited end to a residency by a man who has successfully dodged and ignored a slew of sexual misconduct allegations for years, culminating in a tsunami of unanswered questions about his ties to Jeffrey Epstein, convicted sex offender and accused operator of a sex-trafficking ring, in case you’ve been living under a rock. Epstein’s cause of death: You’re kidding, right? That must be a really big rock.

It’s been our personal crusade to end the insanity of anyone generating millions at a Strip casino after being accused by so many people of so many disturbing acts, and that was before the Epstein scandal. Copperfield’s connection to Epstein was the last straw. His time in Las Vegas had to end, and that’s happening, at long last.

A little ass-covering to make sure our lawyer, the world’s best First Amendment attorney, Marc Randazza, can sleep soundly tonight: David Copperfield has never been criminally convicted of any sexual offense and denies all wrongdoing. We do not possess any inside information or sources saying Copperfield’s contract was terminated, or that he was “fired,” per se. We are drawing informed conclusions from the available facts. If we hear additional details about the circumstances surrounding the end of Copperfield’s residency, we’ll pass it along.

Why would the residency end now? Copperfield provided this statement.

This kind of public relations pablum hasn’t worked since 1975.

Basically, Copperfield blathers on about his “journey” and his show is closing and he’s excited to announce what’s next, the largest and most challenging project he’s ever tackled and how he’s going to do 120 shows in eight weeks to squeeze every last dollar out of his last gasp in America because his next project will definitely be overseas where everyone pays in cash which is definitely on the up-and-up.

Anyway, everyone’s playing nice.

MGM Resorts provided a simple statement: “MGM Grand announced today the conclusion of David Copperfield’s residency at the hotel following the illusionist’s April 30 show. ‘We thank David and his exceptional team for the incredible energy they’ve consistently delivered with this larger-than-life production,’ said Mike Neubecker, President & COO of MGM Grand. ‘David has fascinated audiences at MGM Grand for more than 25 years, and we wish him every success as he embarks on the next chapter of his journey.”

Glossing over the awkward is a time-honored tradition in Las Vegas casino public relations.

There’s been a lot of speculation about why MGM Resorts didn’t kick Copperfield out sooner. They’ve definitely gotten some heat, mostly from us. We’ve been told MGM Resorts was well aware of our ongoing bashing of Copperfield and MGM Resorts and the Nevada Gaming Control Board for taking no action to rid itself of this tread mark in the manties of the Nevada gaming industry.

The mandate of regulators is to protect the image of casinos, including removal of those whose behavior casts a bad light on the industry. Casinos are responsible for anything that happens under their roof. In the past, casinos have ousted folks for controversial behavior. Todd English, Mario Batali, Eddie Griffin, Vinnie Favorito, Jan Rouven and others have come up against guidelines about ethics. Restaurants and shows close, because it’s the right thing to do.

But Copperfield’s run continued unfazed, month after month and year after year. With each new revelation, we shared “Copperfield is done.”

Some have suggested Copperfield had an iron-clad contract where it would cost MGM Resorts a fortune if they ended his contract unless there was an arrest or conviction.

The reality is Copperfield sold tickets and employs a lot of people, despite reviews being universally negative. His reputation for “phoning it in” is even worse than Mariah Carey’s, and that’s really saying something.

Signs were there Copperfield’s time at MGM Grand was coming to an end back in January when we shared an image of his face being removed from the side of the hotel.

Here’s another Tweet we feel didn’t get the traction it so richly deserved.

MGM Resorts couldn’t ignore the elephant in the room any longer.

In February, there were reports the FBI didn’t pursue allegations against Copperfield because they were “intimidated” by his financial resources. The mind reels.

Copperfield and his team have taken the “ignore it and it will go away” strategy in responding to the string of allegations against him. It has basically worked.

But now, he’s out.

Our sources say Copperfield will give bonuses to his team, known as the “magi,” if they stay the course through the closing of the show.

One of the more shameful elements of this whole saga is the lack of news coverage or questioning of Copperfield’s alleged behavior by Las Vegas media. As with the Steve Wynn scandal, only outlets outside the Las Vegas market have reported on Copperfield’s transgressions. Shout-out to Hoodline.com for its one story about the scandal. Otherwise, nothing. Local news outlets are either clueless, useless or terrified of losing access (and ad revenue). In some cases, it’s all those things.

The more the story was ignored, the more we hammered away.

We may live in a time of selective accountability, but not in our town and not on our watch.

David Copperfield has been accused of drugging women before sex, groping female volunteers during stage acts, promises of career help or “modeling opportunities” to gain sexual favors and sexual encounters with teenage fans.

Was David Copperfield arrested or convicted of crimes? No. But that’s not the bar. The bar is “believe the victims.”

Being a creep may not be reason enough to fire someone, but photos don’t lie. Well, these days, many do, but we aren’t talking about those, we’re talking about these featuring David Copperfield cozying up to Ghislaine Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein’s sex-trafficking accomplice.

Try to make this vanish, asshat.

David Copperfield is so rich, he doesn’t care about his legacy.

He just needs to know it’s not what he thinks it is.

Not in our town, not on our watch.

Good riddance.