Strip Headliner Mr. Piffles Goes to Great Dog Park in the Sky

By Scott Roeben, on November 13 2024
2 min read 4 comments
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If there’s a heaven, we’re pretty sure it’s populated mainly with dogs.

A beloved Chihuahua, Mr. Piffles, featured in Flamingo’s comedy-magic “Piff the Magic Dragon” show, has died just shy of his 17th birthday. Mr. Piffles passed on Nov. 8, 2024.

In honor of the pup, Flamingo will open “Mr. Piffles’ Magical Playground,” a dog-friendly space at the Strip hotel.

Jade Simone, the former Mr. Piffles and Piff, he of magic dragon fame.

Piff (nee John van der Put) has worked with Mr. Piffles for 15 years.

This quote from van der Put from the announcement of the passing of Mr. Piffles was sweet, “For over 15 years I’ve had the privilege and the pleasure of being upstaged and outshone night after night by Mr. Piffles. He came into my life when I had nothing, and set me on the path to a career I could only dream of. In the beginning, I may have rescued him, but in the end, he rescued me.”

He meant “more than 15 years,” not “over,” but he’s grieving.


We interviewed van der Put a while back for our annual podcast, and he said, “Come for the dog, stay for the magic.”

One of our favorite Mr. Piffles moments was when Donny Osmond sang “Puppy Love” to the perpetually nonplussed pooch.

While Mr. Piffles has shaken off this mortal coil, planning for his retirement and inevitable end has been in the works for some time.

Van der Put spent $60,000 cloning Mr. Piffles, so the clone (now two years old) will take Mr. Piffle’s spot in the show at Flamingo. Van der Put calls his new partner Mr. Piffles 2.0, but also “Fortune,” because he cost so much to clone.

We are not making this up. It was on TMZ, so it has to be true.

When we spoke with van der Put, he said he had two back-up Mr. Piffles. Mark our words, in the future, there will be a cyborg Mr. Piffles.

Cyborg Mr. Piffles will be able to control matter with his mind and magic will be rendered moot.

This is one of the Mr. Piffles stunt doubles back in 2021.

Anyway, Flamingo and Piff are making the most of this tragic loss by turning it into a marketing opportunity. It’s Las Vegas, after all.

As mentioned, “The Flamingo will hold a special ceremony on Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024 at 5:00 p.m. celebrating the life and legacy of Mr. Piffles with the opening of ‘Mr. Piffles’ Magical Playground.’ In a heartfelt tribute, the resort will dedicate this dog-friendly space to the memory of Mr. Piffles on what would have been his 17th birthday.”

Here’s a sneak preview.

It’s worth noting literally all of the references to Mr. Piffles in the news release are like a pregnant girlfriend. No periods. Possibly because “Mr” was his legal first name?

It’s also worth noting Mr. Piffles was the first and only animal to have ever received the Key to the Las Vegas Strip, other than David Copperfield.

Our sincere condolences to van der Put and his wife, showgirl-slash-sidekick Jade Simone, for their loss.

In the words of Agnes Sligh Turnbull, whomever that might be, “Dogs’ lives are too short. Their only fault, really.”

Update (11/19/24): We started feeling sad about Mr. Piffles, so we wrote a song (with the help of A.I.), naturally.