• Rio’s Penn and Teller Get Some Pumped Up Kicks
    Posted by at July 16th
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    You know you’ve hit the apex of cool when you get your own athletic shoes, and Rio Las Vegas headliners (and professional rabble-rousers) Penn and Teller have done just that. Sort of.

    Penn Teller custom Converse

    It would be virtually impossible for us to like these shoes more.

    Penn’s wife Emily Jillette was kind enough to Tweet about artist Ayin Gurling’s one-of-kind homage to the comedy-magicians, so we had to share his handiwork and find out more.

    Gurling describes his shoes as “wearable fan art,” and indeed made this customer pair of “kicks” based on a special request by an avid Penn & Teller fan.

    The shoe artist’s work has been featured in People magazine, but ultimately, isn’t the true measure of success appearing in the Pulse of Vegas blog? Yes, we thought so.

    Penn Teller Converse

    Proof positive you can lace up awesome.

    Gurling says he starts his process by doing sketches on paper, then paints directly on the shoes with textile and acrylic paint, whatever those might actually be.

    He finishes the work off with a sealant, so the Converse shoes are weatherproof and can be washed. (Hint: Don’t you dare, avid Penn & Teller fan.)

    The average price for a pair of custom-painted shoes is about $135.

    Penn Teller Converse

    It’s possible this Penn looks more like Penn than the actual Penn.

    You can find Ayin Gurling online here, and find the actual Penn & Teller at Rio Las Vegas.


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    Bio: The Pulse of Vegas blog includes references to “we” often. But it’s actually written by one (incredibly modest) individual, Scott Roeben, a humorist, photographer, author and longtime Las Vegas resident. “We should probably interview ourselves sometime. We find us fascinating,” he says. The Pulse of Vegas blog is the official Las Vegas blog of Caesars Entertainment, the folks who run a bevy of Las Vegas hotels. It received the inaugural “Most Valuable Las Vegas Blogger” award by CBS Local/KXNT News Radio.


    Website: http://lasvegasblog.harrahs.com