talkmagic.co.uk

hey chums! hows it going? im off to the magical las vegas in 1 month, cant wait! am booked to see penn and teller and lance burton!

are there any magic shops in the area? i know they have those houdini shops but they seem to sell things that curious tourists want, not proper magicians etc if you get what i mean, basicly are there any good proper magic shops in vegas?

cheers all!

There are two located right next door to each other. I couldn't believe it and when I remarked upon it the guy behind the counter shrugged and said "this is Vegas!"

I can't remember where they are though. There are also a hundred thousand tourist magic shops which are designed solely to rip off the undeserving public at inflated prices. Shops after my own heart.

The two shops you are thinking of are Denny & Lee's Magic Studio and Planet Mirth. Planet Mirth is now out of business, leaving Denny & Lee's. You can find Denny & Lee's on Dean Martin Drive (Formerly Industrial Rd.) It's about 1/2 mile South of Tropicana on Dean Martin Drive. If you need more information, I'll be happy to help you out!

I am sad that Planet Mirth is gone. I got the impression that it was run by a real old pro who knew showbusiness. Earl something or other his name was.

Incidentally when I was in Vegas I got the impression that the demonstrators in the Houdini shops had no idea Ignore this Malware message which was posted by idiots thus proving how stupid they really are and t off the public properly. They were doing everything all wrong. I felt like jumping up there and showing them how to do it out of a great spirit of compassion.

if i remember rightly theres a small one in the Riviera hotel and i seem to remember another in the Stratosphere i think

Mog is correct. While I don't recall the name of the one at the Riviera, the shop in the Stratosphere is called the Las Vegas Magic Shop. It's a decent shop, but I found the prices to be higher than usual. The people inside are very nice - and will eagerly talk "shop" with other magicians. I spent almost 5 hours in there at one time, much to the dismay of the people I was travelling with.

The Houdini shops are not geared towards serious performers - but they're not terrible. They're one of the first places where I saw the bicycle editions of some of Bro. John Hamman's excellent packet tricks. However, the shops have more gags and jokes than anything else. I would still give one or two a shot - you might find something interesting.

Slight change of topic, there's a good chance that I'll be visiting Las Vegas either in January or in March next year and I'd like to see at least a couple of the Magic Shows there. At the moment I see there's Penn & Teller, Rick Thomas (who is at Blackpool in Feb 2008!), and Lance Burton but no idea if those shows are likely to still be on next year - is there any way of finding out?

Hi Mandrake - Penn & Teller - Lance Burton have 10 year + contracts and perform every day. Rick Thomas is a seasonal act and is there in heavy Seasons. Also see Amazing Johnathan and Mac King.

In april is the world magic seminar in Vegas (I'm going ) if i dont go in Jan.

Theres quite a few people from here going in Jan.

Darren @ The Magic Attic

Mandrake, There is a publication called What's On...which is available free in most Las Vegas Hotels. You can ask for a copy upon arrival. You can also keep an eye on their official website here: http://www.ilovevegas.com/ This will give you a good idea on all the shows you'd like to see. In addition to the suggestions already made, you can check to see if David Copperfield will be performing at the MGM (Hollywood Theater) during your visit. That information is available here: http://www.mgmgrand.com/entertainment/hollywood-theater.aspx

Fantastic stuff guys, thanks! Of course, Mrs. M wants to go see the Cirque De Soleil Show Ka at the MGM, the last time I was there in 1993 the place was still just a building site!

Here is an eye opener:
http://www.tripadvisor.com/

This is a site where members of the public review hotels, shows etc;

There is a search function there. If you search for these names which are playing in Vegas you will get reviews of their shows. Lance Burton, The Amazing Jonathon, Penn and Teller, Mac King and probably more that I can't think of straight away.

You will be shocked at the comments about your magical idols from the lay public. 50% of the comments about Lance Burton are negative. Penn and Teller even more. As for the Amazing Jonathon he comes off the worst of all. Mac King comes off the best with only one negative comment.

Read it and the next time someone says something negative about your show you won't feel so bad.

Thanks Mark, it's good to hear of more realsitic information as most of the stuff I've seen so far indicates that every show is an absolute winner although I have found one review site which described Lance Burton's show as 'OK if you need to entertain the kids, otherwise go see Rick Thomas' .

It has been pointed out to me that if anyone goes to the actual trouble of posting a review they are either very pleased or very displeased about a show. No in between.

The vast majority of people who view a show say nothing whatever.

This is why I am very much against evaluation forms that some entertainers insist bookers fill out. It is asking for trouble since people always feel very important when asked to fill out a questionaire and will imagine themselves to be theatre critics.

You will not like what they say. Don't do it.

We had some 'Customer Feedback' forms handed to us after our holdiay recently. None of the questions covered the areas where I felt I wanted to make comment and most of the questions were strongly geared to getting positive and praiseworthy answers. I used the form for the 'Torn and couldn't be bothered to Restore it' trick - very satisfying!

Mandrake wrote:Fantastic stuff guys, thanks! Of course, Mrs. M wants to go see the Cirque De Soleil Show Ka at the MGM, the last time I was there in 1993 the place was still just a building site!

I can assure you, that it's not just a building site, anymore.