Mind Games

From the Pocono record....

Ross Wasielke is a mentalist. Mentalism, he explains, is the art and skill of using extrasensory perception, thought projection, precognition, clairvoyance and mind reading to entertain through audience participation.

"I don't pretend that I have powers," Wasielke said. "It's skill."

Wasielke began developing that skill in high school after his father had taken him to a magic show. He began reading books about magic and joined a magic club. Then he joined a traveling talent troupe at Valley Stream Central High School in New York. The troupe included a comedian, a juggler, dancers, singers and Ross, the magician/mentalist.

"A mentalist is a magician that specializes in magic of the mind," the 44-year-old Bartonsville resident said. "I can make it appear that I can read people's minds. People laugh at their amazement."

Read more HERE

Going to Vegas?

Going to Vegas? Here's an interesting article by Larry Bleiberg of the Dallas Morning News titled "A poor man's guide to making the most of Vegas Tips and tricks on how to get a lot for a little in the casinos."

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I have no cash, just a driver's license. But that's enough.

I hand it to a clerk at the Golden Nugget Casino. A moment later, she returns my license and a plastic card. I take it to a video poker machine and slide it in.

The computer chirps hello. Credit: $10.

My Vegas adventure has started.

Forty-eight hours later, after a whirl of casinos, card games, betting machines - and a losing wager on the San Francisco 49ers - I tally my haul: $75, free and clear.

This clearly isn't a story of high-rolling. But it's an only-in-Vegas tale. Starting with nothing but the ability to pass a driver's test, I can finance a gambling run.

Read More HERE

Derren Brown & Jillette Penn

Apparently Derren Brown has more in common with Jillette Penn and James Randi than most of us realize.. This article courtesy of the UK's Times Online..
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He also used his growing powers to get back at charismatic cults. “Through learning suggestion, magic and charlatanism, I realised how the New Age thing works,” he says. “I began to challenge my Christian belief. I grew out of it. It was only in 2001 that I told someone I didn’t believe in God any more.” In his television special The Messiah, this convert to atheism visited authority figures in various belief systems: UFO experts, a spirit medium, a New Age group and evangelical Christianity. “The challenge was to see if, by using tricks, I could convince them I had special powers. I ‘mind-scanned’ a UFO believer and convinced a medium I could tell what she was drawing in another room. They all bought it rather easily, though the evangelist pastor, to his credit, wanted to see more..
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Read the entire article HERE

Be warned that the latest issue of Magic Roadshow is being read by over one thousand subscribers, and if you aren't a subscriber, others are going to read all the good stuff before you do - and you will have to settle for sloppy seconds.

NEVER be content with being last- especially when it comes to your magic..

You can go to http://streetmagic.info to sign up painlessly. You can also unsubscribe at ANY time you want, and I do not share my list with anyone... period.

You can read the latest issue here..
http://streetmagic.info/eMagic43.html

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In This Issue:

(01) Answers to Last Issues Questions - five pro's offer you their solutions

(02) Auction Sites Trafficking Stolen Goods - How to protect your material from being illegally sold

(03) More Cyril Magic - How about 60 video's from magic's newest star?

(04) Open Call Audition - Simon Cowell wants YOU

(05) Xtreme Beginner - How to perform flourishes like a world-class pro

(06) IdeaVirus Free Download - The #1 ebook in internet history is now free for my readers.

(07) Brainwave for Dummies - Fool-proof effect from Magic Roadshow

Magic Moments in a Cynical Age

This in-depth article courtesy of Canada. com ....

"Now in his 50th year, he's been performing professionally since he was 12. One of the world's highest-paid entertainers, he has grossed more than $1 billion over the past decade. He's walked through the Great Wall of China, plunged over Niagara Falls, levitated across the Grand Canyon and "vanished" various enormous objects, most famously the Statue of Liberty.

But while Copperfield may have no peers as a stage magician, he's hardly the only person whose prestidigitation attracts a crowd. The International Brotherhood of Magicians now boasts nearly 15,000 members in more than 73 countries.

Along with Copperfield, magicians such as Penn and Teller and David Blaine earn handsome livings doing the seemingly impossible. Others toil anonymously but profitably at corporate gatherings and events. And still others conjure for tips in restaurants and other public spaces.

After languishing on the margins of popular entertainment for much of the 20th century, magic has settled firmly in the mainstream since the 1970s, when Canadian Doug Henning almost single-handedly revived the art.

The mystery is why? Why, in a cynical age, when we are bombarded by the real-world wonders that science and technology routinely churn out, do we pony up major coin to watch someone deceive us, albeit with panache?

The Amazing Kreskin, the celebrated mentalist, has an answer..."

Read it HERE..

One computer - $159 bucks

This from Inside PC Magazine Online ...

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Real-World Testing: Your Next PC Will Cost $159

At this very moment, you could own a PC that's better than
what you're running now-and it will only cost you $159! It's
called the GQ system, and it contains an AMD Sempron 2400+
chip, which runs at 1.67 GHz; a 40GB hard drive; and a 52X
CD-ROM drive. That said, can a PC that sells for $159 really
be viable? We took the plunge and bought one, just to find
out.

http://ct.enews.pcmag.com/rd/cts?d=184-2602-1-53-449029-315785-0-0-0-1

It's a Beautiful Day... gag..

I love it when everything runs so smooth there's not even a hint of trouble. That's usually the case, until you're ready to publish a newsletter, then everything under the sun will go wrong.

I sent out a new issue of Magic Roadshow about six hours ago, and I have spent the last four hours trying to figure out why readers from Las Vegas, Australia, India, and points between are writing me telling me that they can't see my website.

I can see it just fine..

Even my buddy David Breth called from outside Baltimore with the bad news..

And I call my web host and I'm confronted with a gentleman who can only tell me that he can't understand me. The feelings mutual..

Argh!!!

I understand that subscribers on the other side of planet are now getting the web site to open. Hopefully everyone will be able to read this weeks issue before the nights out.

Try for yourself.

http://streetmagic.info/eMagic42.html

Criss Angel effect..

Want to see Criss Angel take a flying leap? No.. I mean take a flying leap and pass through another performer. you can catch a video of Criss performing at the Magic Castle by clicking ... HERE

Dirty Poker

This courtesy of KLAS TV channel 8 from Las Vegas...

"If you are one of the millions of people who've taken up online poker, there's a pretty good chance you are being cheated on a regular basis according to a man who may be the most successful gambling cheat ever. Richard Marcus knew every trick in the book when it came to fleecing the casinos. He retired without ever getting caught and is now warning poker players about what they are up against. Marcus spoke exclusively with George Knapp of the I-Team.

There's an old saying about poker. If you can't spot the sucker at the table, then the sucker is you. Considering how much money is involved in poker these days, Richard Marcus says it's entirely possible someone will shoot him for revealing that poker, despite its popularity, is crooked. It's rigged, both the online games and the live tournaments in Las Vegas casinos. He's written a new book called Dirty Poker in which he lays out the sordid details. Here are a few of them..."

Read parts 1 and 2 HERE