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Paul McCartney rocking out in Jacksonville at this year's
Super Bowl, which the New England Patriots won...

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""I promise to keep all of my clothes on" - Paul

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LAS VEGAS - Well, my New England Patriots did what they were supposed to do. Not to be outdone by the World Champion Red Sox, they beat the Philadelphia Eagles to win their third Superbowl in four years. I missed the victory celebration and parade back in Boston, as I have been toiling away here in sunny Las Vegas. I had about twenty-five family members and countless friends who were there. Some of them haven't been seen since.

The game was fun, but the half time show was even better, with the one and only Paul (McCartney, not Daniels) ripping the joint apart down in Jacksonville. With no wardobe malfunction, and no lip synching, this was a good old rock and roll show. A mini concert, only four songs long, but easily the most exciting part of the day.

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It was amazing to watch the precision and speed of the ground crew and tech staff as they set up the entire stage, sound system and lighting in less than 7 minutes. We're talking real magic here. An elaborate sound and lights package was erected, plugged in, tested, and ready to go in the space of a few commercials. The huge stage took seven trucks to haul out into place in the center of the football field and nearly 50 tech crew members running in all directions, pulling, banging, plugging in, nailing down and connecting all the parts into a working stage.

Then, hundreds of invited guests rushed out to surround the stage, the lights switched on high, and Paul walked out, causing the entire stadium to scream and cheer. Sort of like when I step out onstage...cheering, yelling, applauding, you get the idea.

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For those who may have missed his performance, the set list: He opened with Drive My Car, Get Back, Live and Let Die (with massive fireworks and light show) and as I suggested to him, he closed with Hey Jude. Brilliant. Thanks, Paul.

Heard from my good pal Ruairi O'Conner, the master magician from Dublin, Ireland (Pictured above) just before the game started. He was watching via satellite in Ireland, probably naked, and rooting for the Patriots as well.

ARTWORK

My friend Brennan has just finished several new pieces in his clown series, and his first magician themed art as well. We have them here in the office, and they are truly gorgeous. We will have them up for you to see here, and hopefully you will be inspired to buy one for yourself. They also make great gifts. Check them out next week.

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CARSON ARTICLE PRAISED

Thanks for all the kind words on our tribute to Johnny Carson. It was fun putting it together, brought back so many memories, both of working with him myself, and also of the many laughs produced during so many shows that I watched, long ago with my family, my dad loved him, and right up until he retired. We all hated to see him go. There will never be another one like him.

Scott Wells sent this along, which features a listing of all of Johnny's magic guests...

"As we see the clips of Carson's show and hear those reminiscing about The Tonight Show over the next few days, just remember that not only did Johnny start out as a magician, but he had a love of our art in his heart. Unlike his successor, Jay Leno, who rarely if ever features a magician, just look at some of those who were among his 22,000 guests over his 30 years on the air (in alphabetical order):

Don Alan, Michael Ammar, Harry Anderson, Carl Ballentine, Harry Blackstone Jr., Walter "Zaney" Blaney, Jonathon Neal Brown, Lance Burton, Carazini, Dick Cavett, David Copperfield, Steve Dacri, Dean Dill, Joseph Gabriel, Uri Geller, Paul Gertner, Brian Gillis, Goldfinger & Dove, Albert Goshman, Jimmy Grippo, Johnny Hart, Pat Hazell, Doug Henning, Ricky Jay, Kreskin (more appearances than any other single guest), Harry Lorayne, Steve Martin, Chris Michaels, Scot Morris, Penn & Teller, James Randi, Randall Richmond, Marvyn Roy, Shimada, Michael Skinner, Johnny Thompson, Orson Welles, Mark Wilson.

He really did a lot for so many people and so much for our art as well." Thanks, Scott.

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OVATION THE SHOW

The downtown Las Vegas show, Ovation The Show, continues to play at the Lady Luck Hotel and Casino, hosted my my good friend Fielding West. Stopped down to see him and hang out at the video poker bar with him, although he says he rarely plays there anymore, now that they have "tightened up the payoffs". Can they really do that, Fielding? Eh?

Fielding is responsible for my recent addition to this video poker thing. He showed me how to play, gave me lots of secret tips, and on my first attempt, I fed my twenty bucks in, and within minutes, I had won over two hundred. Well, thank you very much.

I soon had Jan hooked as well, and on her first session, she won three hundred big ones. So, we both figured it was easy money, so we set out to join every slot club in every casino on the face of the earth. (Okay, in Las Vegas and Laughlin). Now we have a wallet stuffed full of plastic casino cards, and I have Fielding to blame.

In the show, Fielding opens with a dove production. Bob the Bird appears from under a hanky, in a very clean, surprising manner. Then, in his offbeat, sicko sense of humor, Fielding crushes the bird into his fist, feathers flying, and makes him vanish, or he slips him intohis coat pocket, whichever you choose to believe. Then he slowly reaches into his pocket and removes Bob, who looks fine and dandy, ready for his next trick, which is the cannon trick.

Bob fearlessly gets placed inside a large cannon, and when the thing explodes with a huge flash and bang, Bob is hurled across the stage, into Fielding's mouth, then he is spit out into the glass box, emerging in fine form once again. Man, that bird works hard. And he makes FIelding look good.

I'll talk some more about this fine show next time, and the other magic act in the show, Jason Byrne.

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NEW KITTY IN THE HOUSE

Alan Goldstein and Lin have a cat. This cat is named SAHARA. She weighs in at around 60 pounds. SHe's a mix of rare, exotic cats, part Bengal Tiger, a beautiful animal. She hisses and swats at you, showing her massive fangs, and she has been terrorizing their little domestic kitty.

The poor little thing is adorable, as you can see. But she is also freaked out. We were asked to help them find a home for this little furrball. We took her home, just for a while.l Yeah, right.

She has now been with us for three week, and she has just started sleeping on OUR bed, and seems to be pretty much right at home in our place. I always used to have cats. Seven at one time. Raised them from tiny babies. Figured I was through with them.

And when our cocker, Buster, passed on a few months ago, we decided that we would be pet-less for good. We figured, with all the traveling we do and spontaneous trips out of town, it makes it a lot easier to just pack up and go.

So much for that concept. Now we have company, a new family member, named Mindi. Many lifetimes ago I had a kitten named Mindi, and this little girl looks so much like her, has the same sweet voice and is gentle and affectionate like her first namesake was. So Mindi lives again. We're in love. We'll see how long she takes to completely become accustomed to our home and the noise. Hope she likes rock and roll. And cigar smoke.

Until next time,

Magically yours,

Steve

This Week's Column

Last Week's Article

Johnny Carson says his final good-night

Previously: Johnny Thompson Gala Event in Vegas

Previously: Gerry & The Pacemakers

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