I.B.M. Ring 362
The Maine Mystics
Bangor, Maine

Ring Report
April 29, 2007

The Dr. James William Elliott Card Challenge was held at the April meeting at the Hotel Harris in Rumford, Maine ( Maine's Capital of Magic). Contestants were given a new, sealed deck whose design had been kept secret. They had up to ten minutes to perform card magic. All I.B.M. members present voted to determine the winner. Rumford native Scot Grassette served as the emcee, offering bits of magic history and displaying books, photos and collectables between performances.

The order of performance was determined by cutting a deck of cards, which Dr. Wilson shuffled between cuts. Wes Booth and Danny Baker both cut to the King of Spades. In the showdown, Wes Booth cut to the King of Spades a second time, which proved to be the strangest magic event in the entire evening.

The Great Stephan opened with a whirlwind of magic, producing a bill from between two cards, transforming the bill into a coin, tearing and restoring a selected card, floating another card, and vanishing a silk and producing it from a rolled-up card.

Phil Smith had six cards selected, shown, and returned to the deck, which he shuffled. He found each card in turn, with each revelation better than the last. He found the final card within the shoe of an audience member. He then had a signed, selected card placed within the deck. He reversed one of the Jokers within the deck, placed the other reversed Joker on top, cut the deck several times and spread it. The selected card was trapped between the two Jokers.

Danny Baker, Maine's Funniest Magician, performed his Deadeye Dan Poker Deal, an original routine with the script in verse. He dealt out the entire deck as thirteen four-card hands, one for Deadeye Dan and twelve for the cops who wanted to run him in. Despite the two pair dealt to every cop, Deadeye Dan had the Aces and walked. Danny proved the story was true by popping out one of his eyes and showing it around.

Wes Booth floated the sealed deck in zombie style. He took out the Jokers and tossed them into thin air, then proceeded to bring a signed, selected card to the top of the deck several times. Each time, the card rose in a more impossible fashion before the expert eyes burning his hands. Finally, he tore and restored a card.

TVP Bob Nixon had a member of the audience select a card in the fairest possible way. Allowing the audience member to handle the cards, he directed them to divide the deck into several piles and reassemble it. Just as we were all convinced the card was well and truly lost, Bob took the deck and found the card. He then dealt out the entire deck into two piles as audience members called red or black. He turned the cards face up, showing us that the reds and blacks were separate. It was out of this world!

When the votes were tallied, Phil Smith was named the 2007 Elliott Card Champion. Full details of the presentation to the town naming Rumford as Maine's Capital of Magic, the minutes of the business meeting, and photos are available on the Ring's web site (www.ibmring362.org).