MAN ON A MISSION

MINDFREAK LIVE! at The Luxor headliner magician Criss Angel is praying for another miracle just 24 hours before the curtain goes up on his ambitious pediatric cancer fundraiser Heal Every Life Possible at The Luxor on Monday night.

He’s already rounded up a staggering Night of a 100 Stars (99 to be exact) for the once-in-a-lifetime concert inspired by his 2-year-old son Johnny Crisstopher’s battle against acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Although now in remission, Johnny still faces another three years of continuing chemotherapy, steroid injections and blood treatments.

“I want him to outlive me,” Criss told me. “He is such a bundle of love, the truest form of magic.” But Criss admits that he’s “incredibly frustrated.”

He’s beyond thrilled with the outpouring of support from showbiz pals who have donated auction items and their time to perform. He’s happy about getting “extraordinary media recognition” around the world for seeking a cure for kids cancer and the “We’re Not Gonna Take It” music video he directed with Twisted Sister singer Dee Snider.

But box office sales for HELP and individual donations for the cause have been disappointing. Criss points out that a child is diagnosed with cancer every three minutes, and pediatric research receives only 4 percent of federal funding for cancer.

Going into the weekend, he fears that he won’t reach his $1 million goal despite the fact that he’s picked up the entire cost of the project. “If everybody who has seen the video donated just 50 cents, we’d be triple the target amount I set,” he told me.

Here are highlights of our one-on-one conversation about what he believes will be one of the biggest, starstudded events in Strip history.

“The reception, not only in Las Vegas but also globally, has been unbelievable. The 6 million views for the Dee Snider video, the amount of attention in the media, everybody’s covering it. The frustrating thing for me is that it’s not converting into donations. It’s not converting into ticket sales at the rate we should be at right now.

“We’re really below our goal. We’re below what we set out to accomplish so far. We targeted $1 million, and we’re far, far, far below that. It’s incredibly frustrating and baffling to me because the awareness is everywhere. In hindsight, I should have asked everybody who saw the video to donate 50 cents or $1. If I had received 50 cents from the 6 million people who watched that video, I’d be three times over my goal.

“I would have reached the target I set and then some. So, for me now, it’s become all about getting educated and how to engage people for the future. Not only for the moment, but to commit to donating $1, donating $5, buying a $50 ticket to see a show that will never happen again. This show is really historic if you think about the people who we’re going to have onstage.”

The lineup of stars, with Tony Orlando hosting, includes Jerry Lewis, Wayne Newton, Siegfried & Roy, Gary Oldman, Vince Neil, Richie Sambora, Gene Simmons, Mike Tyson, Floyd Mayweather Jr. and his Luxor pals Carrot Top and Blue Man Group.

Criss continued: “I am frustrated because people are not following through with buying a ticket or making a donation or bidding on an incredible auction item. We’re just not able to convert all of ...