This topic is opened for questions and comments on the School for Scoundrels and our products, books, and videos.

The Magic Castle has offered a course to its magician members once a year since 1996. This unique four-week course teaches the history, theory, technique, and application to magic of the ancient street swindles the Shell Game, Three-Card Monte, and Fast and Loose. Whit Haydn and Chef Anton are the creators and teachers of this course, and it is known as The School for Scoundrels.

The eight-hour course in street scamology will be offered to Magic Castle members only on Sunday nights in November, 2003 as part of the Magic Castle's Magic University. Contact Yvonne Smith at the Magic Castle for more information and registration.

The School for Scoundrels Store was set up originally to meet the needs of our students at the Magic Castle who were studying the classic street hustles Three-Card Monte, Fast and Loose, and the Shell Game. We wanted to be able to supply quality apparatus and research materials for their training.

We developed our own props for these games that met our exacting standards of quality, practicality and beauty. We wrote our own manuals and notes. Then we looked to other sources for creating a line of products that would be of interest to anyone who is fascinated by these ancient short cons.

Eventually, we expanded to include items that involved our other mutual interests--including confidence games and hustles of all sorts, billiards and pool, as well as street, restaurant and bar magic. We will continue to enlarge our offerings as we find things along these lines that we think are unique, of superior quality, and not easily found elsewhere. We believe in supplying value, and though it often isn't cheap, as Gazzo likes to say, "The professional can't afford cheap props."

We intend to stand behind all our products, and hope to establish a reputation that will truly "inspire confidence worldwide."

Since we are the manufacturer and wholesaler of most of our own products, we seldom offer any sales or specials on our site.

However, since the Magic Café was kind enough to tie me up here for a whole week and keep me out of Chef Anton's hair most of that time, he has decided to make an exception.

For the rest of September, Chef Anton and I will be offering a 10% discount on any of our School for Scoundrels products to members of the Magic Café. This will include all of my products, the Scoundrels' products, and Chef Anton's products. You simply have to state that you are a member of the Magic Café and wish to participate in the 10% off Magic Café sale.

You will have to email your orders directly to store@chefanton.com or call Chef Anton at (800) 679-3859. You can also write to:

School for Scoundrels
6213 Sacramento Ave
Alta Loma, CA 91701

Please do not email or call me with any orders. Chef Anton is an astute judge of character, and never, ever, lets me touch the money. You can trust him with your credit card info, because he has a really honest face.

Check out our online catalog at http://www.schoolforscoundrels.com

Well, that settles it, I'm buying one of everything. . .

Ka-Ching!