Paul Daniels, who is one of the most successful magicians in the world, is giving a special series of lectures titled "The Paul Daniels Master Class." The full-day seminars will discuss the business side of magic and will attempt to teach you how to earn a very good living through magic. Subjects covered will be: getting media coverage, increasing income, tapping new markets, generating and following leads, and much more. Eight master classes are currently scheduled. Three in the UK and five in the US. The UK lectures will take place in Birmingham (Mar. 22), Leeds (Mar. 23), and London (Apr. 5). The US lectures will take place in Chicago (Apr. 12), New York (Apr. 13), Orlando (Apr. 15), Las Vegas (Apr. 19), and Los Angeles (Apr. 20). For more information and reservations click: HERE.(12/23)

Barry Rubin who was performing at the Holy Cross Hospital in Florida is featured in a Sun Sentinel article that describes some of his routines and reported "For most of the senior citizens who were recovering from broken bones and strokes, Rubin's performance was a welcome respite to the long days of rehabilitation, medication and time away from families." The event was sponsored by Fort Lauderdale Magic Society which has been sending magicians to many of the area hospitals this holiday season. To read the Dec. 22 article by Gregg Lasky titled "Magician performs magic to those healing" click: HERE.(12/23)

The Pendragons, Jason Latimer, Scott Tokar, Alfonso, Mark Haslam, and Dan Jordan appear at the Magic Castle in Los Angeles on Dec. 23-29.(12/23)

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Anthony Blake predicted the winning number of the 1.6 billion euros (1.64 billion dollar) 2002 Christmas Lottery in Spain. A News Mexico article reported that he "…met the challenge of guessing the 2002 jackpot and, in front of the cameras of a private television network, opened the urn containing the book in which he had written the winning number several days earlier." When asked if he bought the winning ticket, Blake responded that, "he had not purchased the 'winning' number because it was not about the money." Should he have failed Blake stressed that "…he would be 'a horrible laughingstock' and would leave Spain." Blake also said that he now calls himself a "magician of the mind" because "a bunch of fortune hunters" have taken over the word "mentalist," To read the Dec. 23 article by Elena Moreno titled "Christmas jackpot shared all around Spain" click: HERE.(12/24)

Kenna Thompson will appear live on Northern Kentucky Magazine, hosted by Dick Von Hoene, (Insight Communications Channel 6) on December 24 at 10:30am. Thompson is expected to speak about collecting magic and will exhibit some antiquarian magic books, lithographs and apparatus. The Show will rerun several times during the day and in the next week. Check listings.(12/24)

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Marco Tempest's 13-part television series titled "The Virtual Magician" was just pre-sold to the Finnish market where it will be broadcast in both digital and analog formats. This is the first license in continental Europe for the show that has already been sold to the United Kingdom, Asia, Mexico and South Africa. Tempest said that negotiations are continuing all around the world as "Programmers are starting to appreciate the versatility in the show and are finding creative ways to utilize the content for their individual programming needs." For more information about the show click: HERE.(12/25)

Ricky Jay's book "Dice: Deception, Fate, and Rotten Luck," is reviewed in Willamette Week where it is described as "Given the subject matter, Jay and Purcell might easily have loaded the dice with more ponderous significance than they could bear. Instead, they've created a lively, resonant meditation on chance, decay and elusive hope." To read the Dec. 24 review by Catherine Kernodle titled "dice: deception, fate and rotten luck" click: HERE.(12/25)
--To buy the book click: HERE.

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Allan Slaight is described as a "magician and radio baron" in a Canadian Business article that looks at his career and accomplishments. The article reported that "Slaight himself has an estimated net worth of $1.23 billion -- putting him at No. 19 on the Canadian Business Rich 100--up from $1 billion in 2001." His secret to success is described as "Slaight has the same impeccable sense of timing in business as he does when performing magic." The article also recounts how hebecame interested in magic, "Slaight's affair with magic began in 1939, at age eight. He saw a conjurer performing at Eaton's Toyland in Toronto, and hawking magic kits for $1. 'I can’t describe the feeling,' he says. 'It just--wham!--hit me over the head.' Today, Slaight still travels to magic conventions across North America." To read the Dec. 23 article by Zena Olijnyk titled "A billion up his sleeve" click: HERE.(12/26)

Paul Gertner presents a New Year’s Eve show at the Oaks Theater in Oakmont, PA. An Oakmont Advance Leader Star article reported that "This show is going to be different from his performance earlier this year. The final illusion is a big finish and everyone will get a custom magic trick to take home. Gertner will teach all the kids how to use their trick." To read the Dec. 25 article by Kristie Linden titled "Gertner returns to perform New Year’s Eve celebration" click: HERE.(12/26)

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Criss Angel is featured in his local newspaper the East Meadow Herald which recaps his run at Times Square which closes on Jan. 6, "After 600 performances, the East Meadow resident and his five-man cast have been packing them in and are going to be moving to a bigger house." His show Mindfreak is described as "…not your garden variety, rabbit-out-of-the-hat magic show. It's an amalgam of music, comedy, performance art and illusion, complete with characters dressed in anomalous costumes." As to his future plans Angel said, "I'm going to be blowing up the show. It will still be Mindfreak, but it will have major, major illusions involved in it. More creatures and my live band…The next show is going to have things that nobody's ever seen before." To read the Dec. 26 article by Nick Buglione titled "Angel in devil's clothing" click: HERE.(12/27)

A Las Vegas Mercury article listed the nine best Las Vegas Shows according to the columnist. The magic shows making it into the top nine were: Penn & Teller (3), Lance Burton (4), Amazing Jonathan (6), and Mac King (8). To read the Dec. 26 article by Barbara Scherzer titled "Best shows of 2002" click: HERE.(12/27)

Kevin Shea who wants "To become known as one of the world's top performers in his field, on a level with his childhood idol, David Copperfield" is featured in The Broadcaster. To read the Dec. 26 article by John Collins titled "The Magic Man of Merrimack" click: HERE.(12/27)

Avner The Eccentric will be presenting his "Exceptions to Gravity" show at The Camden Opera House in Maine on Sunday Dec. 29. A Waldoboro Courier Gazette article recaps Avner's career and credits. To read the Dec. 26 article titled "Out with a bang..." click: HERE.(12/27)

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Dale Salwak's Stars of Magic show which has played all over the west coast for may years will make a rare appearance in the Chicago area on Tuesday Dec. 31 at 7:30pm at the McAninch Arts Center at the College of DuPage in Glen Elyn, Illinois. Performers scheduled to appear include: Chuck Jones & Company, Jade, Amos Levkovitch, Dale Salwak, and Chris Mitchell. Tickets are $40 per person and are available by phoning: 630-942-4000.(12/28)

Jeremy Vargus is described in a South Florida Sun-Sentinel article as "…a rare breed of young performers who are breathing new life into old tricks." Vargus will be producing his "Magic-XS" show to the "Back to the Beach New Year's Eve Miami 2003" event at the Miami Beach Convention Center on Dec. 31. Vargus describes the type of show to expect, "In these shows we present over-the-top stage illusions along with pop singers, performance artists, dancers, etc., yielding fantastic results." To read the Dec. 27 article by Greg Overzat titled "This young man has a magical career" click: HERE.(12/28)

Ronnie Chibber who performs and teaches magic year round recounts the year's successes in a Times of India article, "It has been a great year. When I come back home after my performances in various schools of Delhi, I feel so light in my heart. I start giving out positive energy to everybody who comes into contact with me." To read the Dec. 28 article titled "More mastie next year" click: HERE.(12/28)

NEW YORK CITY: The weekly gathering of New York City magicians will hold a Holiday party on Saturday Dec. 28 at Maui Tacos Restaurant (330 Fifth Avenue--lower level) from 1-5pm. Admission is free to all magicians. Expect some food, continuous viewing of magic videos and of course live magic.(12/28)

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On December 29, 1997 MagicTimes went live with its first news item. Today is officially our fifth anniversary. In the previous five years we managed to publish daily news stories without missing a single update. That is 1,826 Days with an average of 4-7 news items per day -- that is around 10,000 news items about magic, magicians and events. Our readership continues to grow with most magicians making a visit to MagicTimes part of their daily routine. We were seriously looking at shutting MagicTimes down at the end of the year, mostly due to the amount of time it takes and amount of money it continues to lose. However we did decided to continue -- with a more streamlined approach that will debut on December 30 as we begin our sixth year of publication. We also want to take this opportunity to thank all our readers, supporters and especially the magicians who provide us with content. (Meir Yedid, Publisher -- 12/29).

John Ferrentino who recently signed a one-year deal to perform on both of the Disney Cruise ships (Disney Magic® and Disney Wonder®) was on board last week where he performed for former President George Bush and his wife Barbara as they vacationed with their son (Gov. Jeb Bush) and granddaughters Jenna and Barbara.(12/29)

Grover G. George who used to be billed on his posters as "The Greatest Magician on Earth" is featured in a Times Recorder article. The article takes a more personal approach and discusses his life in his hometown of Zanesville, Ohio and his successful career touring through South America. The article discusses the law suites that Howard Thurston used to try and stop George from performing seven specific illusions and also reported that "He also has the distinction of being the first North American to have a principal part in a Brazilian movie, the first magician to make a movie devoted to magic and the first magician to perform on Brazilian television." To read the Dec. 28 article by Chuck Martin titeld "'World's Greatest Magician' was from Zanesville" click: HERE.(12/29)

A School of Wizardry will open in Stourbridge, England on Jan. 14. John Milner and Tracie Hughes who run The House of Magic will operate the school. Milner is quoted in an Express & Star article, "Since opening The House of Magic(UK) we have been repeatedly asked to give lessons to aspiring conjurers. We have therefore taken the decision to set up the school to accommodate this demand. If the apprentices become competent enough they will be able to audition for local magic societies and ultimately audition for membership of The Magic Circle." To read the Dec. 26 article by Jane Beese titled "All aboard as town gets own Hogwarts" click: HERE.(12/29)

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