Online Houdini slot machine

Our friend Mick Hanzlik (author of Houdini’s Mirror Handcuff Challenge, Getting Closer to the Truth and Looking into the Mirror) has sent over a link he discoverd to an online Houdini slot machine. This UK based game has a Demo mode so you can play (for a while) without having to spend real money. It's addictive! I played for an hour just so I could see all the different bonus page images, some of which I'm sharing below. But I'm not sure I saw them all, so...

Play Houdini Slots

CLICK HERE for a look at another Houdini slot machine I discovered in Las Vegas in 2008.

Houdini the gambler

We all know Houdini's brother, Hardeen, was a gambler. Sid Radner said he "played the ponies", and it's been revealed that the reason he sold off many of the Houdini props he inherited was to pay off gambling debts. But what of Houdini? Was he gambler as well? Or did his self imposed prohibition on drinking and smoking as extend to gaming?

While Houdini certainly took an interest in gambling techniques, namely methods for cheating (like the famous Keplinger Holdout), he doesn't appear to have been much of a gambler himself. However, there are two notable occasions where Houdini did take to the gaming tables. Once was in desperation. The other to stem his grief.

The first happened in the Fall of 1897 when the struggling Harry and Bess were swindled out of their pay at a Milwaukee Music Hall. Retreating to the old reliable Kohl and Middleton Dime Museum in Chicago for work, Houdini is said to have "plunged into a game of craps to retrieve his fortunes." Instead he lost $60 (this at a time when he was making at best $25 a week). According to Harold Kellock, Houdini had to promise Bess that he would never gamble again -- "and kept his promise with fair circumspection."

But despite Houdini's promise there is another mention of Houdini taking to the gaming tables, but this time with much better results. After his mother died in July 1913, Houdini was racked with grief. He cancelled engagements in Paris and he and Bess took on a vacation to the French Rivera, hoping to get his mind off his grief. It appears Bess lifted her gambling restriction, and Houdini visited the famous casino in Monte Carlo. On his first night, Houdini came out 500 francs ahead. On his second night he won 1500 francs! (Unfortunately, I could not find a source that records which casino game Houdini was so adept.)

Houdini in Monte Carlo from Houdini His Legend and His Magic

But even his winnings did not brighten his spirits during the dark days of 1913. Instead he made repeated visits to a cemetery reserved for people who had committed suicide. He noted in his diary that the casinos, hoping "to keep things quite", stuffed money into the corpses' pockets to suggest it wasn't gambling losses that led them to take their lives (he doesn't record how he came by this info).

So maybe it's best Houdini wasn't a big gambler. He might not have found many willing partners to play with him. I mean, would you play cards against Harry Houdini?

UPDATE: See the comments section for a Houdini gambling story that I missed.

Silverman on Radner

Just a heads-up that the February 2012 issue of Genii includes an obituary of Houdini collector Sidney Radner written by Kenneth Silverman (Houdini!!! The Career of Ehrich Weiss). As you would expect, it's beautifully written tribute. In regards to Radner receiving Houdini's original equipment from Hardeen, it includes this little gem:

"He believed that Theo, a serious horseplayer, sold off such apparatus to pay gambling debts."

I believe this is the first time this has ever been acknowledged in print.

What happens in Vegas...

Actually, I don't know if this is Las Vegas. In fact, I don't really know anything about this photo of Bessie Houdini in a casino that I found among The Culliton Papers. Who are these men that are either rewarding Bess or taking her money? One thing I do like is in this pic is you can really see just how small Bessie was, even in heels!

Click to enlarge

But there's something more here. This photo actually debunks a major myth. Check out Edward Saint at the slot machine in the background. Not only is it cool to see him holding a cigarette, but look at that big smile on his face. Well, that shouldn't be!

According to The Secret Life of Houdini (page 555), Ed Saint suffered from "nerve paralysis of certain facial muscles" making it "impossible for him to smile." Saint actually took advantage of this condition and performed during his carney days as "The International Smileless Man", in which he would offer audience members $1000 if they could get him to crack a smile.

Well, either that isn't Saint back there (and it sure looks like him to me), or he's put one over on us all. But now he's busted.

By the way, Patrick Culliton can't recall where he got this photocopy, and several other candid shots of Bess and Saint around town (a second shows Saint smiling), so he warned me that it might not be okay to post this. If you are the owner of the original and want me to take this down, just shoot me an email and it will vanish like magic.

Or, better yet, let us know where this was taken and who these men might be. It's a pretty cool, revealing shot, and I think a great way to conclude The Culliton Papers.

UPDATE: Mystery solved. This photo is part of the Richards Studio Collection in the Tacoma Public Library and the caption reads in part: "Beatrice Houdini, widow of the famous magician Harry Houdini, tries her luck with the slot machines while attending a party at Ray Gamble's 'Elephant House' during a visit to Tacoma in July, 1941."

Also enjoy:

• Willard's side
• Houdini and the Transatlantic Flight
• Miracle Mongers the Movie
• Houdini's wristwatch
• Did Houdini have claustrophobia?

Cheating Houdini greeting card

Here’s a unique item. This greeting card designed by Akemi Yoshida features close-up magicians Charlie Miller and Dai Vernon (“The Man who Fooled Houdini”) cheating Houdini in a game of cards.

The image is said to be inspired by the 1890s Knaffl & Bro. photograph "The Skin Game" and the 1940s Irving Sinclaire painting "The Poker Game." It is released with permission from the Dai Vernon and Charlie Miller estates.

The greeting/invitation card is folded to 7”x5” and is blank on the inside leaving it open to be used for any occasion. It uses standard postage and includes a matching envelope.

Miller & Vernon Cheating Houdini can be purchased from Meir Yedid Magic. There is also a listing on Amazon.

Gamble on Houdini!

Think you’ve seen it all? So did I, until I stumbled on these Houdini slot machines at the Mirage hotel and casino in Las Vegas.

Actually, I’m not even sure what kind of machines these are. All I know is they made my money disappear like magic. Two helpful women playing beside me told me these were “penny slots.” They also pointed out that I was unusually unlucky.

Well, not too unlucky, because I was thrilled to have lucked into finding these! Here are a few more pics (which I later discovered I was not supposed to take). Enjoy.