| (11) Last Word
On Three Card Monte
– 3 DVD Set - Games of chance have a rich and colorful history,
but perhaps the most famous - and notorious - of them all is known alternatively
as Find the Lady, Tossing the Broads, and most popularly, Three-Card
Monte.
While written descriptions of early versions of this classic con game
date back to at least the 16th century, Three-Card Monte hustlers are
on the streets of the world's largest cities to this day, still able
to draw the unsuspecting into wagering their hard-earned cash, a testimony
to the lure and intrigue of this game.
The entertainment potential of this simple hustle didn't escape the
notice of magicians, either, with Professor Hoffman being just the first
of many conjurors to adapt the basic premise of this con game for the
amusement of their audiences.
Volume 1: You'll discover a variety of different artists
with their own unique interpretations of Three Card Monte.
Dai Vernon leads off with a routine that has its roots deeply in the
game's traditions. With just three ungaffed cards, Vernon first bewilders
a lay audience and then discusses the fine handling points with Michael
Ammar, Gary Ouellet, and Steve Freeman.
Fernando Keops is next, offering his version, and many additional fine
handling points, of Vernon's routine.
Chicago card expert Steve Draun manages to still keep the audience from
finding the money card, even when it has a paper clip attached to it
while David Regal turns the game into a fine example of card conjuring
where the money card vanishes and reappears elsewhere.
Scotty York conjures images of card hustlers of the past as he presents
his version of Martin Lewis' routine while John Guastaferro uses the
game to set up a sensational transposition between two selected cards.
Gregory Wilson takes to the streets in true Monte style, winning personal
possessions from passers-by in the process while, finally, Henry Evans
eliminates a card to play a stunning version of Two-Card Monte, yet
the spectators still cannot win.
Volume 2: You'll meet a number of performers each with
their own take on this old swindle.
Bill Malone begins with a typically hilarious version of Michael Skinner's
ingenious monte trick while Boris Wild uses a money card with a different-colored
back and the audience still can't find it!
Alexander de Cova combines Monte and Wild Card to amazing effect while
Harry Lorayne has three completely and highly entertaining monte-style
routines.
Garrett Thomas presents a variation on a classic of packet trick magic
using cards from a regular pack while John Luka presents a jumbo card
monte suitable for stage performance.
Michael Ammar finishes strong with Louis Falanga's Virginia City Shuffle,
a four-card routine where the audience cannot keep track of an Ace among
three blank cards and is especially bewildered to find that, at the
effect's conclusion, that there are now three Aces and only one blank
card!
Volume 3: You'll see five skilled magicians each with
a singular perspective on Three Card Monte as entertainment.
Jon Armstrong is first with a very commercial routine that has the spectator
trying to find the one card they signed among blank cards.
John Mendoza takes his audience back to an encounter with a carnival
swindler while Darwin Ortiz displays the skills that have made him a
world-class gambling consultant.
Doc Eason teaches the ins and outs of what makes Three Card Monte such
a great piece of card magic (along with super-practice sessions to help
ensure mastery) and Dan Harlan brings the swindle to a real-world environment.
Finally, as a bonus, Patrick Page gives up the real work on the legendary
Three Card Trick - Page's handling of what has been called the Dutch
Looper, the Kitson Miracle and, finally, just The Three Card Trick,
arguably one of the great effects in magic. It was the trick that he
always carried with him.
$59.85; yours for $48.00 (DVD01174)
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