Now You See It: Issaquah Venue Aims To Make Magic

Mike Dobias always had trouble finding a place to take his five children for an entertaining evening. So he decided to make his own.

The former Microsoft manager has created Illusionz, a high-end entertainment center with a magic theme set to open tomorrow in Issaquah.

The 45,000-square-foot center, with its lime green, purple and yellow hues, is a high-tech spot where Las Vegas magic shows meet Disney. Illusionz's centerpiece is a 200-seat theater with the live magic show, "Mysterian," performed each Friday through Sunday, with a ticket price of $20 a person.

The show, created by magician Steffan Soule, tells the story of magic's influence over evil. The tale centers on the villain Hasnamar, who in 2049 has eliminated fun, play and the arts. The sage Tovori helps restore humanity through magic, using elaborate props and illusions.

Keeping with the center's theme, optical illusions are dispersed throughout the complex, including a rotating spiral disc and water that flows upward. Smaller crowds can attend a "close-up magic" theater, where magicians perform card and coin tricks you can't see from a stage.

Dobias, a Western Washington University graduate, was director of developer support for Microsoft when he left the software company a year ago to start his own business.

Dobias, who dabbles in magic, decided to create an entertainment center using magic as a theme in the party rooms. After he met Soule, a magician who has created custom magic shows for corporate clients, he decided to make magic his overall theme.

Dobias and his wife, Leslie, have five children, three of whom were adopted from India. As such, the center caters to parental concerns. For instance, the games operate on a card system. The video games are rated for content, including categories like "mild animated violence" and "strong lifelike violence." A parent can request a card that rejects games in specific categories. The venue is also smoke- and alcohol-free.

As a manager, Dobias said he found it hard to find good places to hold corporate events. The center's 200-seat theater doubles as an auditorium. The five private-party areas double as meeting rooms.

Other features of the center include a roller-coaster simulator, interactive climbing walls, outside covered batting cages, computerized 18-hole miniature-golf course, multilevel laser-tag arena, full-service restaurant and banquet facilities.

Illusionz expects to have about 100 part- and full-time workers.

There is no admission charge. Illusionz has packages ranging from $10.95 to $25.95 that entitles individuals to take part in different activities. The magic show is extra.