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Banker's
Dream
by Professor Spellbinder

This is a variation of a classic magic effect called
Bank Night, invented by Tom Sellers of
Scotland, and published under the name Its
Only Chance in 1935. Through the years, many
variations have appeared but I believe my version, first
published in 1986, is the simplest and best. It is
performed entirely in the hands, with no need for tricky
trays or body work. It uses ordinary Dollar Store
security envelopes, and best of all the method works with
almost any "Bank Night" routine that has ever
been developed. That's why I call it the "Banker's
Dream."
The Basic Effect:
Several envelopes are presented to spectators, who
freely choose the envelopes. They are told that only one
of the envelopes contains money, and whoever chooses it,
wins it. The last envelope belongs to the magician. The
spectators open their envelopes one by one and all are
empty except the magicians, which contains the
money. Over the years there have been many variations on
this theme, and this method is compatible with all of
them. Several sample routines from the 1930s to the 1980s
are included.
Features:
The envelopes can be blank, or imprinted with
letters, numbers, symbols, or funny sayings. You can even
hand each envelope to a spectator to mark with a magic
marker before you begin. The advantage of having the
envelopes marked is that spectators can then choose the
envelope they want by name, rather than having to pick it
up (which often requires some sort of tricky tray). No
additional props are needed with my method, and you don't
go near your pockets at any time.
You can show both sides of each envelope at any time.
You can start with empty envelopes and fill them with
funny money at the start of the routine, then insert a
real bill into one envelope with the backs towards the
audience so they don't know which envelope it is, mix the
envelopes, and then begin letting the spectators choose.
As a bonus, two related endings are included. One
ending is an ungimmicked version of converting a five
dollar bill into five one dollar bills to give away to
the participating spectators (you should be so rich!).
The other is actually a complete version of a burning
bill routine where the "wrong" envelope
apparently is consumed in fire and "by mistake"
you are left with a piece of newspaper, which is then
magically transformed into the bill everyone thought was
consumed by the fire. The bill is the original one
borrowed, and no thumb tips or any gimmicks are used in
the routine other than pure sleight of hand.
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