Oz Pearlman is prepared, mentally, to move on. That means he’s premiering on the Strip, as scheduled, at Encore Theater at the Wynn on Saturday night.
“The one thing I want to put out there is that my show has no politics,” the great mentalist said in a phone chat Tuesday. “My show is all about wholesome fun, enjoyment, honestly, the opposite of politics, which is leaving your problems, your concerns, your stresses — all of us can leave them behind.”
Pearlman is part of “all of us” in this instance.
Just days ago, the 43-year-old performer was preparing for the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, followed by his appearance at the Wynn.
The coveted mentalist had been performing a close-up routine for Donald Trump, first lady Melania Trump and White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt when the incident disrupted the event.
Pearlman hit the floor, face-to-face with the president, who had been “tackled” by Secret Service agents. Pearlman was holding a card that said VIVIAN (the name Leavitt, who is pregnant, plans to give her daughter), and was fearing for his life.
“It was just a crazy night. I’ve been just reflecting on it ever since,” Pearlman said. “I’m just so thankful for the Secret Service, the SWAT teams, the police, because it could be just such a different conversation.”
Pearlman subsequently called off his scheduled Monday night appearance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” Pearlman declined to comment on that decision. “Lovett or Leave It” and “Pod Save America” host Jon Lovett filled in.
The podcaster and former Barack Obama speech-writer mocked the mentalist during his segment, uttering a bleeped-out comment (synonymous with “sissy”) on the air.
Pearlman noted the Correspondents’ Dinner is traditionally bipartisan, or was at least set up to be. Contrary to reports that Trump had enlisted him to perform, it was Weijia Jiang, senior White House correspondent for CBS News and president of the White House Correspondents’ Association, who booked his appearance.
Jiang had caught Pearlman’s act during a “60 Minutes” segment and contacted him for this year’s dinner.
“The event has been going on for 100 years, and it’s actually not political. The point of it is that you’re celebrating the First Amendment, journalism, freedom of the press,” Pearlman said. “I am not political. My show has never been about politics, and never even mentions it.”
By appealing to the great mean, Pearlman has grown as one of the most sought-after corporate entertainers in the country. Along with Keith Urban and The Weeknd, he was the headliner at the 2025 Robin Hood Foundation Gala in New York, supporting the foundation’s poverty-fighting initiatives.
In Las Vegas, Pearlman wowed the crowd of dignitaries at the 2025 Raiders Foundation Gala at Allegiant Stadium.
“You’re there with some of the most powerful and successful people; they’ve seen it all, they’ve heard it all,” Pearlman said. “To impress them is usually a very tall measure, and to even keep their attention is quite a struggle. The Robin Hood charity in New York, which is the largest single-night charity fundraiser, I believe in the world, we raised upwards of $70 million for charity.”
In July, Pearlman is filming his first Netflix special. This is another portal to a higher strata of fame.
“What is the largest billboard in the world? Is it in Times Square, is it in Las Vegas? No,” Pearlman said. “It’s on every TV and phone screen, on Netflix. If you are in the Netflix top 10, that is the largest, most valuable piece of real estate in the world. People in 180 countries get a chance to see you. So if you want to tour, you will have thousands, if not millions, of people lined up to buy tickets.”
Pearlman began performing magic at age 13, card tricks, rope tricks and coin tricks, which are known as “impromptu” tricks. He roamed restaurants, table-to-table, group-to-group, building a fan base one person at a time.
By his teens, Pearlman developed an act that played small stages and kids’ parties. He broke from entertainment to work as a project manager in Global Technology Services at Merrill Lynch. He worked in IT and technology-related roles on Wall Street for about 2 1/2 years, having earned an engineering degree from the University of Michigan.
But Pearlman missed his magic.
“I quit my job and went back to being a close-up, strolling magician, for the most part,” Pearlman said. “I started doing more shows.”
Pearlman’s career took off in 2015, when he took third place on “America’s Got Talent.” It was the season in which ventriloquial standout Paul Zerdin, who wound up headlining at Planet Hollywood and Jimmy Kimmel’s Comedy Club, won the championship. Current Linq Hotel resident headliner Mat Franco claimed the title a year earlier.
Pearlman had won over “AGT’s” judges when he correctly predicted a random number under 100 selected by Heidi Klum. He also appeared to read Mel B’s mind about a vacation, and recited the name of a friend who accompanied her on that trip.
“Most people would tell you that’s really where I went from being a local, hyper-localized act in the Tri-State area of New York, to getting more national awareness and national recognition and becoming more of a national-class act,” Pearlman said.
The new Las Vegas headliner says he can continue to make a fine living as a corporate star — he has performed 10 corporate gigs in the city over the past year, but none open to the general public. Now, Las Vegas offers an enticing opportunity and unique challenges for a ticketed show.
“I’m just getting familiar with the logistics of selling tickets. What’s very fascinating is that we put up two shows for sale in my hometown, in Brooklyn, and those shows are not until July, and they sold out near instantly,” Pearlman said. “But in Las Vegas, you’re mostly selling tickets to people that are not going to be there until that weekend. I’m learning this lesson.”
The fans who buy tickets will experience a radically expanded version of Pearlman’s act available in quick clips on social media. At Encore Theater, he feels he can build a career as a recurring showman for the paying public, beginning this weekend.
“There demand is there, there is a hunger for what I do, hundreds and hundreds of people writing every day, ‘When can I see you?’” said Pearlman, who counts hundreds of millions, “potentially over a billion,” media impressions since the Correspondents’ Dinner.
“You want to satisfy those fans,” Pearlman continued. “You want those people to see your show. It’s been, if they don’t work for a company that can hire me, they’re not getting that chance.”
The stage performer says he makes no claims to possess otherworldly gifts. He’s here to put on a show.
“What I do is to just go out there and do a great perception of our craft, and give very clear ethical guidelines that I’m not psychic, I’m not supernatural, I am not selling you anything of the sort,” Pearlman said. “I’m selling you entertainment. It’s a version of magic. I call them tricks. My job is to deceive and entertain.”
The @OzTheMentalist appearance on @cnn. Harrowing episode days before he is to perform @WynnLasVegas … @neonlasvegas pic.twitter.com/Jfjy2U68BZ
— John Katsilometes (@johnnykats) April 26, 2026
John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. Contact him at [email protected]. Follow @johnnykats on X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.
What: Oz “The Mentalist” Pearlman Live!
When: 7:3o p.m. Saturday.
Where: Encore Theater at Wynn Las Vegas.
Tickets: $72.88,-$188.80; $412.95 (intimate performance/meet-and-greet).
Information: Ticketmaster.com.