Golden Gate Gathering

[Tom Frame]

Its time once again for the Golden Gate Gathering. The convention will take place at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Foster City, California on July 29th, 30th and 31st. The scheduled performers are Mike Gallo, Norman Beck, Paul Vigil, Allan Ackerman and Jason England.

For more details, go to http://www.bamagic.com/

[Kent Gunn]

Yes, Virgina, there is magic in Northern California!

The convention is small. Each lecture is presented twice. This way you're in a room with less than 30 people. It's literally a gathering.

The dealer's room consists of Byron Walker and his eclectic stock of magic books.

We do card and coin tricks until we cannot stay awake any longer.

Show up on Thursday and I'll be doing the Cups and Balls in the lobby as the official greeter. Tall fellow, overweight, shiny cups; I'm easy to spot.

Kent Gunn

[Doomo]

Wow! A convention in California! Whooda thunk it! Ok, I will be there... Who else will darken the doors of this formerly nice, polite hotel? i HEAR THERE WILL BE CARD TRICKS... And cookies!

[Tom Frame]

If you're going to the Gathering and you're intimately familiar with the phrase "flopping the nuts", please give me a holler at tomframe1@comcast.net. I have a proposition for you.

[AMCabral]

If you're going to the Gathering and you're intimately familiar with the phrase "flopping the nuts", please give me a holler at tomframe1@comcast.net. I have a proposition for you.

I NEED AN ADULT!!!

-T

[Kent Gunn]

There will be other events, apart from Mr. Frame's collecting up the boneshakers, cardsharks, hazarders and pikers, and tinhorns.

Most magicians I know, cardsharks included can't play poker to save themselves. It's a pretty distilled lot that would want to hazard hard earned dollars when there's lecture notes to be had.

Oh . . . and who in the hell would be stupid enough to play cards for money if Jason England was even in the same hotel????

KG

PS . . . Here's some old video of me flopping my . . . or at least playing with my balls.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jq0sIIb3q4

[Curtis Kam]

I'll be there, with a contingent from Hawaii that might well number in the threes. (including me) Tony, nevermind the cookies, will there be wallet indexes?

[Doomo]

Funny you should mention that Curtis... There will be 3 different ones. All very different from what is currently being hawked... And one that is WAYYY different! But I think you will get a kick out of them.

[Doomo]

Curtis, I should mention that 2 of them are NOT on the website as they are a pain in the ass to make... But none the less, both are rather cool and quite usefull...

[Pete Biro]

I hope to be there next year.

[Kent Gunn]

Pete,

When you come up next year, let me know dates. I'll work in a free tour of the Nikon facility, here in Belmont.

KG

[Kent Gunn]

This just in:

Tony Miller will be at the GGG. The master of leather makes an appearance outside the federal prison system. Who knew?

Wallets galore for one and all. Well he'll have some with him anyway.

Before I forget . . . T-SHIRTS everybody who shows up gets a T-SHIRT with the GGG Logo. (if you pay for one on-line that is!)

www.bamagic.com

The logo to order is in the upper left corner.



Oh and we have T-Shirts!!!

KG

[Dustin Stinett]

I hope to be there next year.

Hey Pete, I'll do the driving. Deal?

[Joe Naud]

I know you guys don't know me, but I will be happy to pay for the gas if you save me a place in the back seat. I'm sure the banter would be worth the price.
Peace, Joe

[John Signa]

I hope to be there next year.

Hey Pete, I'll do the driving. Deal?

Just don't let him push the button.

[Dustin Stinett]

Just don't let him push the button.

[size:20pt] :)[/size]

Maaaaaaaaax!!!!

[Dustin Stinett]

Joe,

A year from now, Pete and I might need you to pay for the gas AND do the driving!

[Joe Naud]

I'm in. Seriously, my car my gas, I'll even throw in snacks for the drive. My wife will be happy to provide a list of home made goodies for you both to choose from. Can't wait!!
Peace, Joe

[Magic Newswire]

The Fourth Golden Gate Gathering ended last night and Lee Asher was kind enough to act as the eyes and ears of the Magic Newswire audience. He's sent in interviews with Theron Shuab, Allan Ackerman, David Nelson, Kent Gunn, Paul Vigil & more! You can listen here:http://bit.ly/GGG2010
We've also posted a few videos from the Gathering as well!

[Tom Frame]

I hosted the inaugural GAG (Game At the Gathering) poker tournament in my room at GGG. My idea was to assemble some of the most gifted card men on the planet and play poker on the square, that is, without cheating.

Did these esteemed cardicians, a few of which claim to know a thing or two about gambling artifice, actually know how to play poker?

Could they resist the impulse to put work into the cards, angle shoot, or collude?

Would it be a good or a bad thing if they did or didnt engage in unscrupulous practices?

Could I detect shady maneuvers if they occurred and would I care?

Ah, the meta-games within the game.

Early on, Jason offered to be the dealer. I offered to cut off his thumbs.

Jason and Paul are essentially an old married couple, so I knew that I had to keep my eye on them, regarding cuing, chip dumping, etc. They were quite aware of my concerns and did a splendid job of exacerbating my anxiety.

I needed a dealer who, in my estimation of his technical prowess, wasnt capable of dirty dealing. I found one who fit the bill.


GAG #1 7/29/10

Players:

Lee Asher, Steve Brooks, Jason England, Tom Frame, Tony Miller, Paul Wilson

Winner: That shifty Scot, Paul Wilson won the tournament!


I envisioned this tourney as a yearly event. However, due to popular demand and being pelted with money, I held GAG #2 on Friday night.

My dealer didnt live up to my limited expectations regarding his capacity to correctly and expediently deal a poker game, so I fired his ass, with much love.

I convinced a friend, who wanted to hang with the boys and witness the bloodbath, to be my dealer. He wasnt familiar with Hold Em, so I gave him a brief tutorial on shuffling, dealing, chip management, etc.

Two hours before the start of GAG #2, I was informed that my dealer had a Technicolor yawn-inducing migraine that prohibited his participation. Ha! Sounds like sleep-deprived, chemically imbalanced, anticipatory anxiety to me!

I also lost one of my promised, purported players. His current status and level of functioning are unknown.

After injecting a frightening dose of adrenochrome into my pineal gland, I raced around the walls of the hotel in search of a competent dealer and a player to fill the remaining seat.

I found just the right men for the positions, so to speak.


GAG #2 7/30/10

Players:

Steve Brooks, Jason England, Tom Frame, Howard Hamburg, Madhi Gilbert, Paul Wilson.

Winner: That Celtic cur, Paul Wilson defended his title and won again! He is the reigning GAG champion. At last report, Paul was planning to go to San Francisco, to buy a pair of pricey, Indiana Jones boots. Despite my best efforts, I was not able to convince him to buy a bullwhip.


Enough of this poker crap already. GGG is a wonderful convention. I commend Kent Gunn and his crew for throwing a well organized, participant-friendly conclave that features the best magical adventures in the Bay Area. I enjoyed it immensely!

Highly Recommended

[magicam]

Yes, Virgina, there is magic in Northern California!

And magic collecting, too. Ask Byron about BAMCA.