Eugene's Last Dollar

[Bill Cushman]

I recently picked up Eugene's La$t Dollar and am very pleased with this new handling for a favorite classic, Grant's Slow Motion Bill Transposition.

For years I'd used Eugene's handling from his classic The Craft of Magic but had let it fall by the wayside as my interest turned primarily to mentalism. I'd read and watched with interest the derivations in Mastering the Art of Magic and the Magical Voyages series but never took the time to put together the new versions that overcame the problems inherent in the changes in our currency.

On a whim I ordered La$t Dollar and am very glad I did so. With co-creator Patrick Thomas Murphy Mr. Burger has released what he describes as his ultimate, and last, version. Both share their routines and it comes with the gimmick. La$t Dollar allows you to borrow any denomination bill from a five on up and is exceptionally clean. Like any good effect, there is some work to master but not beyond the capacity of your average magician. If I can do it, anyone can, and I've garnered some great reactions. The switch is smooth and fast, taking place in both the mage's and the spectator's hands for anyone not familiar with the original routine. If you like this basic effect, you won't regret picking La$t Dollar up.

[Jim Maloney_dup1]

I'm curious about this. A few months ago, Eugene gave a workshop at Michael Canick's in NYC. One of the things he showed us was his current thoughts on this effect. The method he taught us was different than what's in his Mastering the Art of Magic book and on his Magical Voyages video set. Does anyone know if this is the method he's releasing now, or does this contain further work on the effect?

-Jim

[Bill Cushman]

Eugene says in the info with La$t Dollar that he stopped doing the version in Mastering the Art of Close-up and Magical Voyages when co-creator Patrick Thomas Murphy showed him his improvement that resulted in the commercial release. It may very well be what he taught you at the workshop; he maintained that use of the gimmick and technique in La$t Dollar is easier and supererior than that in the above mentioned sources. He is calling it La$t Dollar because he feels this method is "it" and he is no longer looking for anything better.

[Guest]

The routine from Mastering the art of Magic can be used with foreign currency as well. Does this hold true for the new version or, like the original slow motion transposition, does it require U.S. money?

Jer.

[Bill Cushman]

While not addressed in the instructions, I don't see why you couldn't as long as the foreign currency is the size of US currency (this would be to change the foreign currency with a US dollar). I also don't see any reason you couldn't make the gimmick up in foreign currency to cause the change between two foreign bills of different denomiations, applying the same techniques Eugene teaches for US money.

[Bill Duncan]

Originally posted by jiggyjer:
... does it require U.S. money?

In many cases you could use any currency AND a one dollar bill. You could even use an IOU folded to the correct size.

Should your presentation require other currency making a gaff from say Pound notes or Yen would be easy enough.

[Guest]

So am I paying for a new handling of the old gimmick, or is this a new method entirely?

[Bill Cushman]

It's Patrick Thomas Murphy's modification of the gimmick in Mastering the Art of Close-Up Magic and Magical Voyages, which I believe qualifies it as a new gimmick. The handling is thus simplified.

[Guest]

Hey all, Mr. Burger gave an excellent lecture at the Castle a few weeks ago. One of the four tricks he performed was "The Last Dollar." (Most of the lecture was on theory.) It was a very clean performance of this great effect. You could tell that a lot of thought went in to creating such a magical routine. :cool:

[Guest]

Hi All-
Thank you for the kind words regarding Eugene's Last Dollar. The fake/feke is much different from past methods. But it is very similar at the same time. The goal was to build on David Parr's methodology. YES...you can use any denomination of U.S. Currency and foriegn currency will work as long as the bills you are using are of similar size. Eugene has taken all of the "work" out of his handling. His presentation is MAGICAL.
David Parr deserves the credit for IMPROVING and STRENGTHENING the MAGIC "moment" of Grant's original effect. Not only is David one of my favorite magical writers. He is one of my favorite magic friends. He is generous and understanding. He is always there when you need inspiration. If you have not read BRAIN FOOD or the MAGIC MIRROR then you have missed out on two very WONDERFUL magic books. Serious students of the effect should check out Grant's version in Tarbell 3, David Parr's version in Brain Food, David and Eugene's work in Master The Art Of Magic, The Magical Voyages Tapes/DVDs and David's latest version "Slow-Motion Swindle."

Please e-mail your suggestions and improvements to my attetnion. I look forward to hearing from you.

Magically,
Patrick Thomas Murphy

[Pete Biro]

What is the effect?

[Guest]

Hi Pete-
The effect is a bill transposition. The original effect was done with a one dollar bill and a five dollar bill. The spectator held the one and the magi held the five. The bills switched places. The magi ended up with the one dollar bill and the spectator the five.

David Parr figured out how to turn it around so that the magician ended up with the larger denomination. It creates a MUCH better moment.

Eugene's Last Dollar is a streamlined version of the other methods.