In the Community

When they weren’t performing, Siegfried & Roy were active in Las Vegas not just as philanthropists, but as friends, neighbors, and as stewards of their adopted home and community.

The duo regularly hosted school groups at their lavish Jungle Palace estate, beginning in April 1980 with a class of first graders from Gene Ward Elementary who, alongside their teacher Mrs. Meinke, got to see their wild animals up close. Siegfried & Roy also regularly donated books to local schools, many of which were even autographed by the duo. In 2004, in recognition of their civic and charitable contributions to public education in Las Vegas, Siegfried & Roy were honored by the Clark County Public Education Foundation at the annual Education Hero Awards.

In 1988, Siegfried & Roy treated 9-year-old Cassandra James to an evening at Beyond Belief, which included a limo ride to the show and backstage access for James and her family. This was the result of a partnership between Siegfried & Roy and the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Nevada, who granted James’ wish to see the duo perform as she awaited a triple transplant operation. Reportedly, James enjoyed her evening with the stars and repeatedly asked them if they could make her younger step-brother disappear. Additionally, Siegfried & Roy raised money for Child Haven, St. Jude’s Ranch for Children, the Retinitis Pigmentosa Foundation, and to the Nathan Adelson Hospice. Service, particularly to children, was a priority for the duo on and off stage throughout the entirety of their careers.

Today, a road on the Las Vegas Strip still bears the duo’s name, just outside of the former site of the Mirage Hotel & Casino, their onetime headquarters and primary venue. This street is not far from the former site of Siegfried & Roy Plaza, dedicated in October 1993, where a large fiberglass sculpture of the duo once stood.