David Copperfield Ending 25-Year Residency at MGM Grand as Connection to Epstein Files Emerges

^{David Copperfield’s (right) long-running residency at MGM Grand is set to end April 30 after more than 25 years on the Las Vegas Strip. (Photos: Bizuayehu Tesfaye / Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP, Barry King / Alamy)}

LAS VEGAS (Casinos.com) – Legendary magician David Copperfield will close the curtain on his residency at MGM Grand on April 30.

His show has run for more than two decades on the Las Vegas Strip, and MGM even named its theater after him in 2013.

The 69-year-old performer announced the news on his social media pages March 5. Copperfield has about 120 performances remaining over the next eight weeks. 

“I want to reflect on this moment and this milestone and thank the incredible team at the MGM and my crew that makes literally magic happen nightly, sharing wonder with over 7 million people from nearly every country on Earth,” Copperfield wrote in a statement posted to X.

End of an Era for World-Famous Illusionist

Copperfield’s residency at MGM Grand is one of the longest-running shows in Las Vegas history. He typically performs about 15 shows per week in the 740-seat David Copperfield Theater, which was officially named after him in 2013. 

“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,” said Mike Neubecker, President and COO of MGM Grand, in a press release. 

Copperfield is considered one of the most famous magicians in the world. He has won 21 Emmy Awards for his TV specials and has performed for millions of visitors over the years. His show has attracted both guests staying at the MGM Grand and visitors staying at other casino-resorts in Las Vegas.

In his announcement, Copperfield also teased a new project he plans to reveal after the residency ends.

“I’m excited to announce what’s next soon thereafter,” he wrote. “It’s the largest project I’ve ever tackled, and the most challenging, too.”

Copperfield states that he decided to end his residency on his own. Anyone who purchased tickets for shows after April 30 was automatically refunded.

Scrutiny Comes During Epstein Investigation

Copperfield’s announcement comes not long after his name resurfaced in documents tied to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who died by suicide in 2019, while awaiting trial on federal sex-trafficking charges in New York City.

Documents released by the U.S. Justice Department earlier this year revealed an email chain in which Epstein claimed that Copperfield had become engaged to his former fiancée, supermodel Claudia Schiffer, at Little St. James. The Caribbean island is now widely known as “Epstein Island.”

David Copperfield hugging Ghislaine Maxwell, one of Jeffrey Epstein’s co-conspirators and ex-girlfriend. (Photo: U.S. Department of Justice)

Copperfield has also been seen in multiple photographs with socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, a close associate of Epstein. She is currently serving a 20-year federal prison sentence for trafficking underage girls for Jeffrey Epstein. 

According to documents cited by The Guardian, FBI investigators reviewed additional evidence to examine possible connections between Copperfield and Epstein.

A 2007 FBI memo detailed that the organization had to determine whether Epstein and Copperfield shared a “predilection for minors” and whether they had referred potential victims to each other.

Investigators seized evidence from the MGM Grand Hollywood Theater, and Copperfield’s house and warehouse that showed “a number of occasions” when Epstein and his guests received complimentary tickets to the magician’s shows at the MGM Grand.

In an exchange between two FBI officials, it is said that Copperfield “trained his employees to identify young females (teens to early 20s) in the audience of his show” and them backstage. 

Though evidence was compelling, the investigation was later closed. In an internal message cited by The Guardian, an FBI official wrote that the case ultimately fell through because the U.S. Attorney’s Office handling the matter was “weak and intimidated by the financial resources of Copperfield.”

Copperfield: Allegations are ‘Totally False’

Despite the allegations referenced in the documents, Copperfield has consistently denied any meaningful relationship with Epstein.

Copperfield’s lawyers told the The Guardian in 2024 that the two men were not friends. They added that any claims describing the two as close associates were “totally false” and “a mischaracterization made by the media.”

Copperfield has been involved in additional controversies over the years.

In 2007, a woman named Lacey Carroll accused the magician of raping her after he invited her to his home in the Bahamas. The investigation lasted until 2010, but was dropped after Carroll was later arrested for falsely claiming she was assaulted by someone else. 

He addressed the “horrendous” allegations in a 2012 television interview with Oprah Winfrey.

“To be falsely accused of something that horrendous is a devastating thing for yourself, your friends, your family,” Copperfield said. “But I was the victim. Big difference.”

MGM Grand has not publicly commented on Copperfield’s connection to Epstein documents and has not indicated whether the end of the residency is related to those developments.