Geno Munari's Houdini’s Magic Shops which can be found all over Las Vegas will be expanding to the East Coast with a scheduled opening in Atlantic City at the Tropicana's The Quarter. The new store promises "A theater right inside the store allows guests to check out amazing live performances hourly." The Quarter which is scheduled to open this fall is described as a "$225 million retail, dining and entertainment complex."(6/28)

The International Brotherhood Of Magicians' 2004 convention takes place on Jun. 29-Jul. 3 in Cleveland, Ohio. Featured performers include: Jeff McBride, Karl Norman, Ali Bongo, John Carney, Alan Shaxon, Eugene Burger, Michael Close, Henry Evans, Fackelli & Kil, Jason Latimer, Dan Garrett, Yuji Yamamoto, Murray Hatfield, Mystina, Jessica Reed, Kerry Pollack, The Spencers, Tim Hannig, Gay Blackstone, Rich Bloch, Tobias Beckwith, Jim Passe, James Robenault, and Tom Vorjohan. Special events include a Guinness World Record attempt, a blindfold drive, special interest groups and much more. For more information click: HERE.(6/28)

The Society Of American Magicians' 2004 Convention takes place on July 6-10 in St. Louis, Missouri. Featured performers include: Topas & Roxanne, Dan Cole, Mirko, John Mendoza, Steve Bargatze, Jay Marshall, Tom Burgoon, Mike Douglas, Kohei Kobayashi, Dan Fleshman, Axel S., Bob Bloenk, Steve Corbitt, Charles Gauci, Greg & Kristi Gleason, Phillip Kaiser, David Kaye, Jim Pace, Arthur Trace and young magicians Max Nover, Dakota Rose, Krystyn Lambert, Brian Ledbetter, Kayla Drescher and Jonathan Shotton. For more information click: HERE.(6/28)

The two pilot episodes of T.H.E.M. (Totally Hidden Extreme Magic) which aired on NBC-TV on Wednesday Jun. 23 received decent ratings in the 18-49 demographic with the first episode finishing second its time slot while the second episode winning its timeslot among the 18-49 age group. The combined ratings for the hour for the 18-49 demographic was a 2.9 rating with a 9 share which translates to around 9 million viewers. The overall Fast National ratings gave the show a higher viewership.(6/28)

Mac King and his cousin Bill King have joined forces to create a comic strip titled "Mac King's Magic In A Minute" that will be unveiled on Jun. 30 at 11:30am at the Clint Holmes Theater at Harrah's in Las Vegas. The comic strip is distributed by Tribune Media Services and should appear in newspapers around the world on Jul. 4. The strip is described as, "An illustrated Mac King teaches readers how to pull off gut-busting gags with easy-to-follow directions full of witty asides and jokes. The colorful, vibrant illustrations will garner attention on any comics page."(6/28)

Gerry McCambridge begins a limited run of his live show "The Mentalist" on July 8 at the Douglas Fairbanks Theater (432 West 42nd Street) in New York City. The show is scheduled to run every Thursday through August. For tickets phone Tele-Charge at: 212-239-6200.(6/28)

Jim Passé will be attempting to do a cross-country blindfolded drive beginning on Jun. 30 at 9am in New York City and end at the Magic Castle in Hollywood on Jul. 6 around 2pm. He also plans on stopping in Cleveland to make an appearance at the IBM convention and perform on one of their shows. Passé who appeared on one of the "World's Greatest Magic" television specials is confined to a wheelchair and is doing the stunt to raise a million dollars to support medical research toward a cure for paralysis. For more information and to make a donation click: HERE.(6/28)

Kruti Parekh who is "India's first test-tube baby" is now a performing magician. A Star Online article quoted her, "Magic must be in my blood as I was born due to the magic of science.'' The story reported, "Her performances are also equally unique, as not only does she do them for charity; the third-year-engineering student also propagates environmental consciousness among children and young adults. …She says it is her life's mission to utilise her special gift to heal the world of its tragic wounds caused by environmental degradation." To read the Jun. 27 article by Wani Muthiah titled "India’s first test-tube baby has magic in her blood" click: HERE.(6/28)

Lance Burton is featured in a USA Weekend story that recounts his career and mentions, "Burton watched Siegfried and Roy on the old 'Merv Griffin Show' and was inspired to pursue a career in magic. He now works out side-by-side with Siegfried Fischbacher on the treadmill at the gym. And on the night of Roy Horn's near-fatal attack by one of their tigers, Burton was one of the first people at the hospital." To read the Jun. 27 article by Alanna Nash titled "This magic man soars" click: HERE.(6/28)

Dixie Dooley and Shedini will be featured in "Escape" at Le Bistro Theatre at the Riviera Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. The show opens on Jul. 8 and will run on Thursdays through Saturdays at 8:30pm.(6/28)

Bill Martin who performs as "Swami Salami" is featured in The Marion Star where he recalled how magic saved his live in Vietnam, "While walking in one of the villages, two Vietcong captured Martin, but thinking fast, Martin decided to put his skills as an escape artist to use. 'I forced them to tie my hands in a way that I knew could escape from, using the Kellar rope trick,' Martin said. …He freed himself and ran into the jungle, stunning the Vietcong as well as himself." The article also describes his show. The article concludes with, "Salami also told the children that succeeding as a magician, or as anything else in life, requires them to do three things: 'Read, study and practice.'" To read the Jun. 27 article by Kaila Gregory titled "Event delivers a touch of magic" click: HERE.(6/28)

James Swain's Loaded Dice is reviewed in the Chicago Sun-Times where it is reported, "In less capable hands, Loaded Dice might have gotten hopelessly bogged down in the parallel storylines and a handful of other seemingly divergent subplots. Swain, though, maintains a very firm grip on the reins of his protagonist throughout the course of this very involving page-turner." The article also recounts and incident that happened to Swain, "One of things that added to my enjoyment of it was knowing that Swain, unlike his protagonist, was banned from entering more than a few casinos along the Strip. In fact, at last year's Bouchercon, the annual mystery writers' get-together, security officials at the Riviera Hotel were instructed to escort the writer to his seminar on casino cheats and not take their eyes off the devices he demonstrated." To read the Jun. 27 article by Gary Dretzka titled "A poker novel with the punch of a royal flush" click: HERE.(6/28)
--To order the new novel click: HERE.(5/1)

The Desert Sin Dance Company is featured in the current issue of Indulge Magazine where they discuss the magical segments in the show, "That would be Jeremy Vargus. Not only did he produce the show but he also created all the special and magical effects as well as the lighting. …Although he's only in his mid twenties, Vargus has starred in television, film and live stage shows ranging from luxury cruise liners to major touring productions as a magician-singer-dancer-actor and off-stage he works as a show producer and Illusioneer." To read the Jun. 7 article titled "Bask in the gluttony of the Desert Sin Dance Company" click: HERE.(6/28)

Bruce Chadwick is described in a Baptist Standard article as, "He has traveled around the world with his illusion ministry, performing at evangelistic crusades, Vacation Bible Schools, camps, retreats, youth rallies, church fellowships and other outreach events." The article added, "In addition to his performances, he has designed and fabricated illusions and special effects for theme parks, movies and other illusionists. He has published several works on the psychology of illusion and is highly regarded among his peers as a creative consultant and expert in the field of illusion mechanics." To read the Jun. 25 article by Leann Callaway titled "Illusionist uses sleight-of-hand tricks as visual aids for gospel presentation" click: HERE.(6/28)

Fakir Ben Ghan (Zdenek Zahradka) who survived a stunt where he was buried for 10 days is featured in a BBC News article that reported that "He said the most difficult thing to endure during the feat was severe thirst, adding that the seventh and eighth days were the most challenging." To read the Jun. 25 article titled "Czech spends 10 days buried alive" click: HERE.(6/28)

Kenneth Ladd is featured in a Toledo Blade article that reported, "Mr. Ladd, who has worked with youth for more than 40 years, has performed 'Magic with a Message' throughout Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan, and has presented magic shows for numerous parties and events. He also travels around to schools, county fairs, and Vacation Bible Schools to perform." To read the Jun. 24 article by Janet Romaker titled "Hocus pocus is his focus" click: HERE.(6/28)