Latest: Siegfried & Roy's Previously Owned $3M Mansion in Las Vegas Sold to a New Circus Family
UPDATE: George Carden, the patriarch of the family behind the Carden International Circus, along with his son, has acquired Siegfried & Roy's previous Jungle Palace manor, as announced on March 10 by a family representative. George, who is a friend of Siegfried & Roy, was recently inducted into the Circus Ring of Fame. Sources claim the family paid the low asking price of $3 million.
EARLIER: The most renowned residential property in Las Vegas went on sale this week. The 8-acre property located at 1639 Valley Drive, listed with Redfin for $3 million and known as Jungle Palace, was the residence of Roy Horn of Siegfried & Roy until his passing due to complications from COVID-19 in May 2020.
Siegfried Fischbacher, who lived on an 80-acre estate called Little Bavaria a few miles away, passed away less than a year later from pancreatic cancer at the age of 81.
The Jungle Palace was constructed in 1954 and bought by Siegfried & Roy in 1982. According to Redfin, a private party scooped up the property a year ago for $1.87 million and hopes to sell it for a significant profit.
The palace, themed after Morocco, includes an 8,750 square-foot main house, several guest houses, and multiple water features, such as three pools, a hot tub, six electric gates, two detached studios, a bird sanctuary, and various animal enclosures (animals not included). Interestingly, the listing's main photo displays an entry gate adorned with two fake gold "SR" monograms, yet it fails to mention the property's primary appeal: Siegfried & Roy themselves.
While Fischbacher handled the illusions, Horn looked after the animals at the Jungle Palace, as per a Vanity Fair profile. All of Siegfried & Roy's cats shared his bed until they turned 1, and he swam with his cats daily in the estate's largest pool.
"My animals are the love of my life," Horn said to People magazine. "They are the first ones I talk to in the morning and the last ones I speak to at night."
S&R 101
Fischbacher and Horn crossed paths while working on a cruise ship in 1957. They made their debut in Las Vegas 10 years later, as part of the "Folies Bergere" show at the Tropicana. They then had a show at Bally's before headlining for the first time at the Frontier.
By 1990, their increasing popularity led to a $30 million show in their own theater at the Mirage. Their 13-year run was one of the most extravagant and successful in Las Vegas' history.
The pair made some public appearances following Horn's attack by his 7-year-old white tiger, Mantecore, but never resumed their full show and retired from the entertainment industry in 2010.
Horn continued to look after Mantecore until the tiger's passing in 2014. Mantecore spent his time between the Jungle Palace, Little Bavaria, Siegfried & Roy's Secret Garden, and Dolphin Habitat.
"When you see Roy's face when he is with Mantecore, it brightens," Fischbacher told the Las Vegas Weekly in 2012. "It's as if nothing happened, you know?"
Last October, the Neon Museum opened up tickets for the public to tour the Jungle Palace, even though most of the duo's personal belongings had already been auctioned off in LA last June.
Last December, Hard Rock International bought The Mirage, permanently closing the habitat. They moved three of their remaining six dolphins to Sea World San Diego and are reportedly working on relocating all of Siegfried & Roy's surviving cats.
Last August, the Las Vegas City Council voted 5-1 to demolish 12 acres of Little Bavaria to make room for a local developer to construct a four-story apartment complex on the site.
