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Vegas Vacation is a brilliantly designed effect that allows the performer to predict every aspect of the spectators’ imaginary trip to Las Vegas. They will be able to freely make a variety of choices. In a finale they will always remember you will reveal a detailed prediction of all their choices. Description: You begin the performance by telling the spectators about an imaginary trip to Las Vegas that you want them to help you plan. One person is asked to choose an airline, Delta, United, or American Airlines. Another person is asked to choose the type of accommodation, economy, deluxe or a suite. Once these two decisions are made you pass out four rack cards that might be found in the lobby of a hotel. They are for the Bellagio, the MGM Grand, the Luxor and the New York, New York Hotel and Casino. You tell them that you would like to give everyone a chance to participate so each person holding one of those cards will choose either the accommodations, the spa package, the buffet or the Cirque du Soleil show. As each person chooses, the costs of each choice are written down on the outside of a pre-printed envelope. Once all of the choices are made you hand the envelope to another spectator who you ask to tally the expenses. To everyone’s surprise you have that person open the envelope and read the enclosed letter that miraculously predicts their first two choices and the total cost of the trip.

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Method: Depending on your performance style and the abilities you claim this effect may be presented as precognition or your ability to control your spectator’s decisions. There are two secrets behind this effect, psychological forces and a clever mathematical principle. Psychological forces are used for the first two questions. When asking the spectator to choose an airline you will use a subtle vocal force that was explained by Banachek in Psychological Subtleties. You will say, “We need to choose an airline. Do you want to take Delta-United, or American Airlines?” There are a couple of parts to this. First of all, ask the spectator to “choose an airline” not “choose how they want to get to Vegas.” If you leave it that broad some might choose to drive or take the train. You then give them three choices for airlines and through your voice you lead them to choose American Airlines. As indicated by the hyphen you will say “Delta-United” without a pause, making them run together. As the bold indicates you will give more emphasis to American Airlines. By doing this it is more likely that people will choose American Airlines. Make sure you do not overdo it so that this is obvious to the audience. All of this should be subtle. Practice it until it sounds natural. It will not always work, but with a confident and well-practiced delivery you will have a much better chance. If, as sometimes happens, people do not choose American Airlines, simply ask a few other people in the audience. If a majority chooses American Airlines then go with that. If there is no consensus simply leave it as undecided. Even if one of the predictions is not correct the finale is still spectacular. For the second force you will say, “This trip is on me. Do you want to stay in the economy room, deluxe or suite?” By prefacing this choice by telling them that you are going to pay for the trip you reduce any financial concerns that might influence their choice. If money is no object most people will obviously choose the suite. If they do not choose the suite, simply prompt them to choose it by saying something along the lines of, “Oh, come on. You deserve the best.” The second portion of the effect relies on a clever mathematical principles used by Fred Rosenbaum in his effect called “Chinese Menu” in Syzygy and later marketed as Szechuan Sampler. Larry Becker and Lee Earle later used this principle in their effect “Cruise Control.” Regardless of which number is chosen from each card the total will always be the same as long as each number comes from a different category. Even though the numbers are all different, as long as the suite, spa package, Cirque du Soleil show and buffet costs are chosen from different packages the result will always be the same. There are many different choices and numbers listed, but as long as these four are options are made by different people the result will always be the same. Emphasizing that the numbers are all different is key to the effect. Some in the audience might assume that all the numbers are the same. When writing down the numbers people give you it is a good idea to ask others what that option would have cost at their hotel and to make some comment about it being more or less expensive.

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For this effect you received six cards. Three of them, MGM Grand, Luxor and New York, New York Hotel and Casino, are used every time you perform the effect. There are also three different Bellagio cards. When used with the other three cards each of these Bellagio cards will result in a different total amount. To find out what the total will be simply look at the last three digits of the phone number at the bottom of the Bellagio card. The card with the phone number 888.863.0863 will add up to $863. The card with the phone number 888.795.0846 will add up to $846. And the card with the number 888.987.0000 will add up to different numbers based on which item is chosen. The first two cards allow you to do a repeat performance with different outcomes. The third one allows you to hand out the cards for inspection without worrying about them trying different options and discovering that they all add up the same. You may have the spectator add up the numbers or you may do it yourself. The advantage of doing it yourself is that you may make sure it is done correctly, but some may think that you are miscalculating it to get the number you want. When someone from the audience adds it up it seems fairer, but there is a greater chance for a mistake. It is best to either add it all up out loud and allow people to check your work or to follow closely as someone else does it so you may point out any errors. Regardless of which method you choose the audience will be blown away by the impossible prediction. Performance Suggestions: There are a few additional ideas that can be used to further the impact of your performance. Equivoque – Instead of starting off by telling people they are going to plan a trip to Las Vegas you might consider writing down Las Vegas, Atlantic City, Monaco & Macaw on four cards. By using equivoque, or the magician’s choice, you may force the volunteer to choose Las Vegas. For those not familiar with equivoque, it is a technique that uses language to force the audience to choose something. The key to this technique is linguistic ambiguity. The audience will not know what the outcome of their choices will be until after they are made. For example, place the four cards, with the city names, on the table. Ask the volunteer to put his or her hands on any two of the cards. If he or she puts a hand on Las Vegas then you will eliminate the other two cards. If he or she does not put a hand on the Las Vegas card then you will eliminate the card that his or her hands are on. Either way there will be two cards left, one of which is Las Vegas. Ask the volunteer to hand you one card. If you are handed the Las Vegas card then without missing a beat you hold up that card as the volunteer’s choice. If you are handed the other card then without missing a beat you eliminate it and turn your attention to the card the spectator is holding.

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Himber Wallet – For this option you will need a himber wallet. This is a standard magic utility wallet that has two identical pockets or flaps, one on each side. It may be turned over to switch whatever is in the pocket or flap the audience can see. Tell your audience that they should always take cash with them on a trip and that you are going to randomly figure out how much they will need. Present a volunteer with a pile of twenty $10 bills (fake money may also be used) and a himber wallet. On one side of the wallet you will have $80 pre-loaded and the other side will be empty. Ask the volunteer to take a random amount of bills off the top of the pile. These are then placed in the empty side of the himber wallet. As the rest of the bills are put away you will turn the wallet over so the volunteer’s bills are hidden and the side with $80 is ready to be revealed. The $80 worth of spending cash may then be revealed as an added kicker to the prediction. Casino Royale – Consider using this routine as a lead in to Casino Royale. For those not familiar with it, Casino Royale is a wonderful effect where the performer is able to predict what casino the spectator will choose as well as the outcomes of several games of chance. It is available in Larry Becker’s book Stunner’s Plus. Web Resources: To download the files to print more envelopes and letters go to www.Carlism.com/VegasVacation. Credits: Banachek. Psychological Subtleties. Fred Rosenbaum. “Chinese Menu” in Syzygy edited by Lee Earle. Larry Becker and Lee Earle’s “Cruise Control.” Larry Becker. Stunner’s Plus. Disclaimer: Vegas Vacation is in no way associated with Cirque du Soleil, Bellagio, MGM Grand, Luxor, New York, New York Hotel and Casino or MGM Mirage. Guide Media, LLC uses names and artwork belonging to these companies under the fair use doctrine.