Loved the show last night at the event in Winnetka, Illinois, celebrating the Vice President at Basic Wire and Cable.

I had already been looking forward to it because I love Winnetka, Illinois, but once I got there, I found a wonderful audience (one woman screamed at the end of just about every effect).

How does a magician decide which group to approach first when he arrives? After checking in with my contact, I scanned the rooms and saw a table that seemed a bit socially fragmented. There were two or three people seated who didn’t seem included with the others at the table. I approached Dorothy first and nominated her as the final decider, the moderator at the table.

Many people think of card tricks when they think of a magician.
What surprised me the most about the event was that I really didn’t do much card magic.
In three hours, I did two card tricks—each took less than two minutes.

The one card trick I did for Joel and Hillary..

He chose a card and drew a little picture on it (just to be sure his card was really his card). He put his now-decorated card into the deck and he mixed it back into the deck.

Finally, standing several feet away, I snapped my fingers and his card (with his picture on it) appeared under the vase in the middle of the table. Simple plot, direct magic, I love it.

Maybe I’m attached to this trick because I’m not aware of any other magician doing it.
Still, when I asked this table if they wanted another like that or another effect with a mental flavor, they voted for the latter (before the card under the vase, they had seen several successful mentalism experiments).

I’ll level with you…
Tricks like the card under the vase required hundreds of hours of practice on my part. I find the mentalism effects are easier in that respect. One benefit is that I could do them with two hands tied behind my back.
How should I feel about those hours spent on such card tricks?

I led with a fun mentalism effect, and they just kept asking for more. So I set aside the deck of cards for the night and did mentalism for three hours.

Correctly guessed the last phone number Kim called on her phone.
She didn’t even need to pull out her phone, since she knew who it was and knew the number by heart.

Correctly guessed Stacy’s first-born child’s name, Cara.  Lucky me!
Rich commented that he almost as impressed with the fact that I pronounced it correctly.
Mentalism need not be more elaborate than that.

Not all the folks were from Chicago. Some of the folks at this Winnetka gathering came all the way from Cincinnati!
At one table I told David from Cincinnati, standing between the table and a nearby wall, to grab some of the books from the shelf. The books were passed around and people thought of random words from within the books. Then from from one to another I revealed the words they were thinking.

If you’re hosting an event near Chicago and have a discerning audience (maybe even a few wild people), and you’re looking to add some unique, engaging entertainment that will astonish your guests, please email or phone me. I’d love to add a touch of magic to your event!

Jon Finch is is available to entertain at social and corporate events. If you’re looking for remarkable entertainment, Jon Finch is one of the best magicians in Chicago and can be reached at (317)766-6519.