For the past five years, Mike Hammer has been packing them in while headlining in his own theater in the Four Queens Casino and Hotel on Fremont Street, downtown Las Vegas. Mike has his own style, and it works for him. He is the "Don Rickles" of magic with a rather abrasive approach where he actually insults his audience...and they love him! The night I visited his show, the room was packed and afterwards I overheard some saying this was a repeat visit to enjoy his show. Two people had paid for return visits to watch his show over 30 times!

Some of you might remember seeing Mike on "Penn and Teller Fool Us" with his outrageously memorable performance using a blow up doll. If not, then you can view the video here on this blog.

In this podcast, we cover a lot of territory from how he developed his act, working in Las Vegas, routining, trick selection, getting out of bad situations when things go wrong, and keeping his performances fresh. This was a fun and funny podcast that includes a lot of sound advice with some great behind-the-scenes stories.

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Jeff Hobson's lecture was the first event of the day and he happens to be my first guest on the podcast, too. This lecture was in the high school gym on the stage. And as soon as he finished, registrants took their seats in the bleachers as Joshua Jay gave his lecture. After lunch, Losander presented his lecture. Of course during this time, the dealers were selling in the elementary gym plus those outside vendors under the tents. The evening show featured "The Next Generation of Magicians" with some very clever and outstandingly talented young men and women like Trigg Watson, Timothy Cripe and Bill Cook

Time stamps for this podcast:

00:00:16 - Join Jeff Hobson and others at Clancy's for lunch and hear Jeff as hbrings us up to date on his performance including the "Illusionarium" on the cruise ship and thee "Illusionists" tour.

00:13:55 - Creator of the Napkin Rose, Michael Mode, chats about his creation including the Get Together documentary that is being filmed by The Verge this week. He also talks about the phone app that he and Jeff Hobson developed.

00:34:10 Bill Cook talks with us before he takes the stage for his performance on the evening bill. Believe it or not, this is Bill's first Get Together.

00:36:41 - Jania Taylor joined me at the bar in Clancy's for Magic & Martinis Thursday. This chat includes some dialogue with a local patron who has been living around these parts for decades. He and Jania recount some interesting and historical stories about the old "Magic Carpet" bar and Clancy's, too. There is a close-up contest going on in the bar so it is a little rowdy but I know you'll enjoy the feel of this chat.

00:46:42 - Anthony Gerard tells us about how the "Street of Cards" came about as we scale cards across the street from Five Star Pizza with an aim to get it over the top of the second floor of the nearby building.

Download this podcast in an MP3 file by Clicking Here and then right click to save the file. You can also subscribe to the RSS feed by Clicking Here. (please note: this RSS Feed subscription system may not work with Android systems). Remember, you can download it through iTunes. See the preview page by Clicking Here.

Magic & Martini's Thursday

The Magic Word

A Podcast for Magicians, About Magicians, Hosted by a Full Time Professional Magician, Scott Wells

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350: Hammer Time with Mike Hammer

177: Day 2 - Abbott's Get Together 2014

Magic & Martini's Thursday

The Magic Word