The magician brings his passion for story-telling to his multimillion-dollar properties, incorporating arcade games, a collection of artists’ mannequins and an under-construction ‘secret jungle village’

CRASH. One minute I’m sitting in a chair, and the next I’m on the floor, staring up at the soaring ceiling of David Copperfield’s Manhattan penthouse. The magician has pulled a hidden string to topple the 100-year-old “surprise chair” I was sitting in.

“And what’s missing is you put a bullet there so it pops, and BAM! You get a big bang,” said the 60-year-old gleefully. Perched atop a 57-story Manhattan high-rise, the sprawling four-level apartment Mr. Copperfield shares with his fiancée, Chloe Gosselin, is brimming with vintage curiosities he has collected and restored.

Additional pieces from his collection are on display, he said, at his 11-island Bahamas retreat and his new home in Las Vegas, which Mr. Copperfield bought for $17.55 million in June, setting a local price record. Mr. Copperfield, who is currently in residence at the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino David Copperfield Theater in Las Vegas, declined to discuss his earnings, but his net worth is estimated by Forbes to be around $800 million.

At all of his homes, Mr. Copperfield said he aims not just to decorate, but to create immersive experiences. It is the same principle behind his magic….

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