NFL player turned Magician Jon Dorenbos comes to the Beau

An NFL player turned magician will perform at the Beau Rivage in Biloxi Saturday night.

He’s formerly a long snapper in the NFL – and he’s currently an ace hand at magic and storytelling.

Jon Dorenbos got his start in magic as a kid in the foster system after his father murdered his mother and was locked away. “For me the cards were just, it was the only time the world quieted. I would hear the cards riffle the world would quiet, and I was just a kid. Magic taught me that if I stick with something, no matter how hard it is, if I stick with it, I could achieve it, right?”

He tells us this discipline carried him through 11 seasons in the National Football League. “When I got to the NFL and I became a long snapper, it was that. It was doing the same thing over and over in search of the perfect rep, which is what I really enjoyed about magic and learning that skill.”

Dorenbos is outgoing, easy to talk to and even humble. He told us how his career in the NFL helped him through things like being a finalist on America’s Got Talent. “I think what really carries over is the discipline, overcoming adversity, how to deal with pressure. I’m most thankful to the NFL for teaching me how to deal with pressure.”

You can catch his show, appropriately named Life is Magic, 8 p.m. at the Beau tomorrow night.