Tag: Orleans Hotel

Magic in Vegas Day #3 “Robert Becomes a Magical Star!”

by reissmd, posted in Las Vegas

Another great night’s sleep.  I think I need to leave my phone in the kitchen from now on. 

Last night we were treated to an amazing show which included a mentalist, a juggler (not strictly a magician but still very entertaining), a physical magician, and a guy who had a nonstop supply of cards emanating from his hands.  There was also an emcee who did the best trick of the night.  He took a ring from an audience member.  Another member of the audience helped him make it disappear and the same member of the audience helped him find it.  It was located on the emcee’s toe under his sock AND BOOT! I would tell you how it’s done but I can’t because I don’t want to break the magician’s code of ethics. Also, I have no idea how he did it.

This morning we decided not to risk being killed by a cab driver for hiring them for a one mile trip and ate at the Copper Whisk located in the hotel.  It was closer but clearly a step down from Blueberry Hill.  But what it lacked in quantity and quality they made up in service. For example look how they arranged our service settings.  See below. 

As I recall he dropped the utensils on the table and said, “Here”.

We then attended the general session which showed a mentalist (Brian Curry) who was funny and impressive and a hilarious magician named Piff the Magic Dragon.  His trick was funnier than it was impressive but it was definitely my favorite presentation of the session.  There was a father and son duo who discussed how storytelling and magic presentations are very similar.  They gave tips to performing magicians which were definitely lost on me.  There was also a costume designer explaining the importance of your costume for your presentation.  I think I will stick with a white coat for my performances. 

The afternoon was much more enjoyable.  First we saw another mentalist (Drew Backenstoss) who gave a great show and then told how everything was done.  I definitely plan to utilize some of his tips.  This show was especially enjoyable because I was able to be a volunteer participant.  I was a bit scared because he was trying to predict the PIN of my debit card.  Lucky for me he failed in that endeavor.  After that we saw a close up magician (Mike Pisciotta) who also did a show and proceded to teach us how everything was done.  I got a close up view because again I was picked as a volunteer.  This was spectacular because we got to see a great show and learn some great magic tips. See  below.

Mike Pisciotta explaining how to do his tricks.

We have one more show tonight and then it is off to dinner. This has truly been an incredible experience. 

Ciao

Magic Time in Vegas Day#2 “The Magic of Sleep”

by reissmd, posted in Las Vegas

I had an amazing night.  The room was very quiet and I slept like a baby (that is I woke up every 2 hours) but thanks to Owen it was a great night.  Often when I wake during the night I’ll grab my phone and can’t back to sleep.  I didn’t want to bother Owen so didn’t touch my phone and instead fell back asleep.  Glory, glory, boy do I feel great. 

We got our act together this morning and headed to Blueberry Hill (a local restaurant recommended by Bill, not the Fats Domino hit song from the 50’s) [1505 E Flamingo Rd, Las Vegas, NV 89119].  The place was amazing.  Food was great, portions generous, and prices reasonable.  If you plan to stay at the Orleans Hotel I’d definitely recommend this place for breakfast but please take an Uber.  When the cab driver heard we wanted him to take us to a place about a mile away he was not a happy camper.  Getting an Uber back to the hotel was not all that easy either so maybe tomorrow we will look for something walking distance from the hotel.  No food pictures but here are just 4 pages from the menu.

French Toast or Waffles?
Pancakes?
Eggs Benedict?
How about an Omelette instead?
I lied, here is a food picture. Patrice and I shared an omelette (this was my portion) and it came with pancakes (located behind the eggs).

Then it was time for Magic!  Well not quite.  The General session was hosted by a very funny and clever magician named Rick Merrill.  The other presenters were talking about their philosophy and history of magic.  That is not very interesting to me but seemed very well received by the others (the true magicians) in the audience. 

The afternoon session was interesting, informative and inspiring.  We saw a British magician named Joseph Barry do some incredible card tricks and then showed them again but this time explained how they were done.  I think they are all quite doable.  All I have to do is quit medicine, not talk to any friends or relatives, and practice all day for about 10 years and I will then be mediocre at what he did, seemingly with ease.

We then saw a stunt magician named Jonathan Goodwin.  He too is from Great Britain but unfortunately about 4 years ago had a trick go awry and he is paralyzed from the chest down (T11 level for those of you in the medical field).  He showed us some incredible tricks that he used to do and also explained how they were done.  In addition to being informative he was quite amusing.  When the audience gave him a standing ovation, he said, “It looks like you are all mocking me”. 

Jonathan Goodwin

After a short break it was the close up magic show.  This is always my favorite.  Tonight was no exception.  There were 4 different magicians and all were spectacular.  Some of the tricks I had seen before but there were others that were beyond comprehension.  For example one of the magicians made shadow figures with a light on a screen.  No big deal, we have all seen that.  But have you seen it where he throws a card from his hand to the shadow and then the shadow throws it back?  But my favorite was a trick involving a bag and an egg.  No need for me to explain it because it clearly was impossible and the magician just had us all on hallucinogenics.  Yes, it was mind boggling.

We then went for dinner and got stuffed on cajun food. What else would you expect at a hotel called, Orleans? 

But that isn’t the end of our night.  We will be leaving the room soon for another show.  This is apparently the big show of the night.  

And to think this is just day #1 of the convention. 

Ciao, until tomorrow. 

Magic Time in Vegas, Day #1 “Welcome to Sin City”

by reissmd, posted in Las Vegas

Many followers of this blog know that I have adopted a new hobby, magic.  My friend Mike and I have been studying online with our instructor (also Mike) who is a plumber in New Jersey (not a joke). We have been having a lot of fun and become much more interesting to strangers (our friends are bored having seen our tricks too many times as we use them as an audience for our practice sessions). I found out about a convention dedicated to magic called “Magic Live”.  It takes place every year in August in Las Vegas.  Yes, Vegas in August doesn’t sound like a dream trip but that is where Patrice and I are.  Lucky for us we have a travel guest, our oldest grandson, Owen.  This is our third trip with Owen having taken him to Panama and Canada previously.  He is a great travel partner, very easygoing and so fun to talk to. 

We found out about the magic convention from 2 of my patients, John and Connie.  We ran into them last year when we were out to dinner.  Oddly, Connie recognized Patrice from the blog and didn’t even notice me.  I don’t recall how we got on the topic of magic but Connie mentioned that her brother hosts the magic convention and here we are.  

Upon arrival to the Harry Reid International airport in Las Vegas there was no doubt that the pilot took us to the correct city.  These two sights made it clear that we were not in Salt Lake. 

Slot machines by baggage claim. “Dorothy, you are not in Kansas anymore.”
Okay, can you direct us to which part of the airport where this is allowed?

After exiting the airport we were in a cab in seconds (this definitely is not LAX) and on our way to the Orleans Hotel. My friend and magic buddy, Mike, decided not to attend because the hotel at which the convention is located is not one of the luxury gaming houses.  “Robert I am not going to a hotel that charges $80 per night”.  Hmmm, okay. At first it seemed just like any of the other Vegas hotels, smelling of smoke and with a huge casino greeting you as you enter.  It is clear that this is not like the higher profile places.  For example at check-in your option was to do self check-in or pay $35 to have a human take your information. We opted to save the $35 and use the self check-in machine which was very easy to use.  We were only given 2 keys which is all we need since if we let Owen out of our sight for one nanosecond his mother and father will have us fried.

The Orleans might not be a luxury hotel but it still is very nice and adequate for our purposes.  For example we had an excellent dinner at Alder and Birch which is located in the hotel. We got a great deal on the price of the meal because we were the guests of our friend Bill and his son Bill Jr.  The meal was amazing but the best part was the entertainment. Bill teaches airline mechanics how to work on engines.  Years ago he also worked as a party clown entertaining kids. Bill Jr. is a professor at Abilene Christian University.  Both Bills are amazing magicians and entertained us during dinner with some incredible tricks.  

After dinner we headed over to the Convention mixer where we met some more magicians and were treated to some more impressive magic.  Next door was what they call “The Dealer’s Room” which is essentially a hoard of merchants selling a variety of magic tricks.  It was very interesting but there were so many people there it was hard to get a salesperson to even talk to let alone see what was special about their booth.  Hopefully later in the week it won’t be as crowded.  

Enjoying time with our baby grandson (he is the one towering over us) while I try to hide the ice cream I am eating.

Tomorrow the convention starts for real.  Hopefully I will be funnier tomorrow.  Patrice can be brutally honest sometimes.  I asked what she thought of the blog and she said, “It wasn’t very funny”.   

I will try harder tomorrow.