Wynn Says Video Shows Tiger Was Not Attacking Roy

A video recording of the Oct. 3 incident involving a white tiger and Roy Horn at the Siegfried & Roy show at The Mirage shows the injuries sustained by the illusionist were the result of the big cat's confusion, not of an attack or mauling, Strip developer Steve Wynn said Friday.

In an interview in his Wynn Resorts offices at the Desert Inn, Wynn said he saw a video replay of the incident the day after it happened.

In the video, the tiger Montecore acted out of confusion and was not attacking Horn, Wynn said.

MGM Mirage spokesman Alan Feldman said The Mirage has video of the incident, but has no plans to release it to the news media.

"The tape's under lock," Feldman said. "Under no circumstances will we release the tape."

Feldman said he hasn't seen the tape, but said MGM Mirage executives who have seen it believe Siegfried Fischbacher has the best understanding of what happened, and they defer to the expertise of Horn's partner.

"The people who've viewed it and discussed it (agree) with Siegfried, who believes the animal was trying to move Roy," Feldman said. "If that animal intended to harm Roy, it would have lasted two seconds, and there would have been no need for a hospital."

Wynn said he was making himself available to the news media to clarify what happened during last week's incident. "Roy can't speak, and we decided things have become a little too muffled," Wynn said. "The original story was that a tiger attacked and mauled Roy Horn, and I wanted to (correct the record).

He disputed published news reports citing animal experts who said the incident was an attack, and that the animal used a killing bite to grasp Horn's neck when he hauled him off the stage.

"This is a situation where an animal got confused, but Montecore wasn't eating Roy, he wasn't biting him. Montecore obeyed his blocking as he left (the stage)," Wynn said in a 90-minute interview between short stints on national cable news outlets CNN, Fox News and MSNBC. "Besides, those people haven't seen the tape, and they haven't seen Roy. There's not a mark on his neck except for the two puncture wounds."

Wynn declined to say who showed him the tape of the incident, but said he understands why MGM Mirage executives wouldn't want to release it.

"If Roy wants to release it, that's one thing, but I don't think you'd want it being sensationalized on those (wild animal shows)," Wynn said.

Wynn said it's far too premature to speculate on whether he'd like to sign Siegfried & Roy to perform at Wynn Las Vegas when the $2 billion project opens in April 2005.

Wynn said he didn't know the status of the duo's contract with The Mirage, but he believes MGM Mirage executives understand that if Horn is able to recover enough from the tiger incident and his subsequent stroke, that the show would be an even more powerful attraction.