Hotel entertainment | Jon FinchThe Indianapolis Houdini

If you manage a hotel you need a magicianThe Houdini of Indy: the magician who broke free from Indianapolis

in Indianapolis, Indiana. Born 1945, after graduating from Ball State University, Bill Shirk became “The Indy Houdini.” The Indianapolis illusionist is not only the most famous magician escape artist in Hoosier history, the performer is a radio personality and an actor as well.

You already know that the hotel industry is competitive. Along any main street, there are plenty of options for your important guests when it comes to staying–even plenty of great options.

How does a consumer decide where to eat or drink?

Reggie Miller

A professional magician does more than stroll from table to table, performing close-up magic (this type of magic happens right in front of their eyes and even within their hands)., throughout the 70s, 80s, 90s, and 2000s, the Midwest magician played a huge role in Indianapolis radio. But Bill Shirk didn’t stop there. He made a mark as a magician.

Having a house magician solves a dozen issues that a successful hotel faces. A seasoned hospitality magician typically performs personalized command performances for your guests.

Now that I have that out of the way let me give you a few reasons why you need magic in your establishment:

Your guests will thank you

Wanting to boost the ratings for his new show, Shirk decided to climb its antenna on top of Chase Tower. The magician shimmied up the 250-foot pole during a thunderstorm. The winds twisted around the performer, bending the pole like a plastic toothpick. A man shouted at him to come down at once.

Vice President Dan Quayle (from Indianapolis) was coming to Chase Tower to give a presentation. Something about a man climbing a 250 foot pole on top of Chase Tower didn’t sit well with the Secret Service.

The publicity stunt worked, boosting the ratings of the new station more than 300 percent. That’s why Bill Shirk did them. Not for the love of it. Not because it made Bill Shirk feel alive. Not for the thrill of it. The magician wanted to boost the ratings of his Midwest radio show.

It worked

.

In four short years, the Indianapolis man set eight Guinness World Records—the fastest strait jacket escape and fastest jail break in the world.

Magic is in season right now.

David Blaine, Dynamo, Derren Brown, Criss Angel, Penn & Teller – the list goes on and on.
Magic is very popular with the general publicThroughout his career, Shirk was buried alive ten times. Like Harry Houdini before him, the Hoosier was buried alive for over three days..

But Bill upped the ante, raising the stakes by being buried with two tarantulas, a rattle snake, and a ten-foot python snake. The publicity stunt wasn’t broadcast in only Indiana. Radio stations and televisions covered this across the globe.

TV shows have magicians all the time–I hardly need to mention Penn & Teller’s Fool Us, which received the nomination for Critic’s Choice Television Award for Best Structured Reality Series–plus more touring magic shows are happening now more than ever in the past.

In 1983, the man set his sights higher, taking on a role as an actor. Closely mirroring his real life, he portrayed himself, Bill Shirk, in The Escapist. In the movie, he tried to save his precious station from a ruthless corporation. Harry Houdini before him escaped from a straight jacket hanging upside down suspended from a crane. The Hoosier daredevil Bill Shirk escaped from a straight jacket while suspended from a helicopter 2,000 feet in the stratosphere.

People LOVE to see magic and are prepared to pay to do so.  As a hotel manager this is something you should take advantage of.

Buried alive

In 1992, on the 66th anniversary of Harry Houdini’s death, Shirk performed a buried alive trick. For added drama, he would be buried alive in a solid plexiglass casket, under 1400 pounds of wet cement.

The casket collapsed on Bill.

Magic can be tragic. Sadly, more than a dozen

magicians have died from a magic trick

.

Close up magic is even more popular.Yes, Bill Shirk is alive

. Though the casket crushed and nearly killed Bill, the magician survived. Now in his 70’s, Bill Shirk said, “I’ve lost interest in trying to kill myself.”

Of course, “close up magic” is the sort that is performed right in front of the spectator’s eyes and in Jon Finch’s case in their own hands.

As a magician, I frequently hear people say that don’t fully trust the magic they see on TV, but that when it happens to them personally they have a change of heart.

Close up magic is perfectly suited to a hotel environment. You can have a magician going from group to group and your customers will love it .

Unlike a lot of other types of entertainment, magic is inconspicuous.

magician in Indianapolis

is Jon Finch.

Shirk owns a Boone County Indiana radio station. The Hoosier Broadcasting moved studios of its channel in Boone County, from the Pyramids office Park near North Michigan Road and Interstate 465 to new venues in Lebanon, Indiana.

Catholic Radio Indy uses a station owned by Hoosier Broadcasting. Despite being a millionaire, something about the magic of radio still has its hold on Shirk and he’s not ready to retire. Radio gives him something to do that doesn’t involve magic or escapes.

If you decide that entertainment would work in your venue, there are many options. However,about every other form of entertainment has to be experienced by the whole venue.

Bill Shirk is not like other hillbilly Hoosiers in Indianapolis, as the music on his radio station isn’t like most of the other music from stations in Indianapolis.

One example is Karaoke. Karaoke can draw people into the hotel–people looking for that sort of thing; but it can repel as many who dislike it.

Oftentimes people walk into a hotel that has a Karaoke system set up, and they immediately walk out. If I wanted to eat there I HAD to listen to a couple hours of terrible singing and I didn’t want to do that.

The same is true of singers, bands, accordion players, comedians – every other type of entertainment – either you’re forced to stomach it or you leave.Bill Shirk Bill Shirk’s Bill’s Shirk william william Shirk william Shirk’s Bill

Bill Shirk

Magic, on the other hand, is unobtrusive. A magician strolls from table to table engaging one group with magic and then another one. If a group doesn’t like magic or they’d not participate, they aren’t obliged to (unlike most other forms of entertainment). Bill Shirk’s Bill’s Shirk william william Shirk william Shirk’s Bill

Bill Shirk

It means you can put on entertainment which most customers will enjoy but Bill Shirk’s Bill’s Shirk william william Shirk william Shirk’s Indiana statistics baseball escape artist basketball american reel broadcasting football boone county coffin ingo 5m ball state University college football Indiana statistics baseball escape artist basketball american reel broadcasting football boone county coffin ingo 5m ball state University college football radio Houdini stunt world career game modern buried 1976 broadcast 1992 Bill Bill Shirk Bill Shirk’s Bill’s Shirk william Shirk william Shirk’s Bill Bill Shirk Bill Shirk’s Bill’s Shirk william william Shirk william Shirk’s Bill Bill Shirk Bill Shirk’s Bill’s Shirk william william Shirk william Shirk’s Indiana statistics baseball escape artist basketball american reel broadcasting football boone county coffin ingo 5m ball state University college football Indiana statistics baseball escape artist basketball american reel broadcasting football boone county coffin ingo 5m ball state University college football radio Houdini stunt world career game modern buried 1976 broadcast 1992.you don’t have to worry about driving away customers .

What Bill Shirk Indiana stunt?

On the other hand, if the group is a family group, the performances can be changed to appeal more to children and teenagers.

shirk buried alive

In fact with family hotels there is the ‘The Child Decider’. Your child will choose where you go out to eat as a family. If you have children and have been to a restaurant where there is a magician doing magic tricks, when it comes time to pick where to go again, where do you think the child will choose; the place where there is nothing going on or the restaurant where they can watch the amazing magician?

bill shirk

bill shirk buried alive

is bill shirk still alive

bill shirk magician

You can eliminate walk outs.

bill shirk escape artist

Long waiting line? .Opportunity!

I’ve worked with a number venues where their priorityis bill shirk still alive bill shirk buried alive bill shirk
is for me to stop this from happening.

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As customers arrive they are ushered into the bar and told the magician will be with them momentarily. Then while they are waiting they get to see live close up magic.

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What if you could transform restless walkouts into raving fans ?bill sherk magician houdini buried alive shirk buried alive

By booking a professional restaurant magician,
bill shirk magicianyou have transformed a walkout into a happy patron .bill shirk escape artist

bill shirk buried

.

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Indianapolis magician

Magic can help manage problems within the venue and mentalist Jon Finch brings captivating entertainment to the Circle City. Known for his engaging performances and mind-blowing illusions, Jon has become a favorite among Indianapolis audiences. With a client list that includes Anthem, Eli Lilly, USIC, Finish Line, and Rolls-Royce, Jon Finch delivers top-tier magical experiences for corporate events and private parties. His Hoosier magic is a hit with Colts and Pacers fans alike. For unforgettable entertainment in Indy, choose Indianapolis entertainer Jon Finch to astonish and delight your audience.

Jon Finch | Magician & mentalist for special events

Imagine you have a problem and there is a delay on the room. Depending on the customer this can be frustrating, for all concerned.2323 Woodglen Dr, Indianapolis, IN 46260

+1 317 766 6519

A good magician will work with the staff in the hotel to ensure any problems are dealt with quickly and effectively.[email protected]

(for the

If there’s going to be a delay, the magician can go to the guest and explain the situation and then, while they’re waiting, he can make time fly (even though that’s fastestaltogether impossible response, click the smoky button)).About

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Before the patrons know it, the problem is rectified and they don’t have an issue waiting at all.Privacy policy

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Create a magical souvenir that is better than word of mouth!

A lot of magic tricks involve altering a normal object in an impossible way. Making a borrowed dollar bill fold itself in half in the hands of the spectator and then float into the air; or having two, signed playing cards fuse together into one card (for, say, when a couple comes in on their anniversary).

A great magician will perform tricks like this when in a hotel. That miraculously-altered object will be kept  and treasured by the person participating in the trick as a souvenir.

You would be astounded Code Snippet ma-customfonts 3.4.2at the number of people that take these magical souvenirs home and proudly show them around to their friends and family.

There is no way to buy the publicity that this sort of thing manufactures.

Many times a stranger I have never yet met asks, “hey can you do the trick with the dollar my friend told me about?”

But the bottom line is this: people will come into your hotel because they want to experience this sort of thing themselves.

Benefits of having Finch entertainment in a nutshell(yes, Jon Finch can fit into such a venue)

• Personalized entertainment – especially good for special occasions, like anniversaries and birthdays
• Unique entertainment, an extension of your hotel’s hospitality
• A cover for delays in rooms and delays in the hotel
• Entertain guests on busy nights
• Increase business on slower nights
• Draws return customers that bring new customers with them
• Attracts publicity: free advertising from Jon’s promotion at public appearances, private shows, and social media
• Delays the customers from leaving, generating increased revenue
• A way of stimulating conversation between strangers in the lounge

If you own or manage a hotel you need a magician

Having a magician in your hotel is cost-effective and will generate repeat business and new business.

Obviously you have to pick the right magician to be sure it’s a good fit.

Perhaps arrange for a performer to come in to let you to watch the reactions of your customers and listen to the laughter.

I promise that you will soon wonder why you didn’t do this years ago.

If you want to speak about having me appear at your venue,let me know.

To contact Jon, simply email at j[email protected], or call (317) 766-6519.

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