That is a brilliant routine! You coin behind the ear bit totally caught me off guard! In fact you have several bits of business that were well placed, funny, and that I hadn't seen before (your medallion on the chain bit being one!). As usual man, yours is a well thought out, well paced, funny, and magical routine. I am soooooo looking forward to this DVD!

Thanks Harry!!!

I worked VERY hard on that routine and I have a several techniques and ideas that are completely original (as far as I know) and I am very glad to be able to give all of my secrets back to the magic world on this video.

By the way, I want to remind you that I had gimmicked the bucket on that video in 8 different ways and you will be very surprised at all the crazy things I did to that prop.

I am still in the middle of editing the footage. Frankly, I did my best to make it a two disc set, but there was WAY too much magic material to be able to fit into two discs.

So, Today I am officially announcing that this will be a Three DVD set!

It's funny that some people had requested that I cover other versions of the trick such as coin ladders or manipulative routines, but the truth is that the fundamental version of the Miser Dream (a bucket in one hand and coins produced in the other) is much more complex and diverse than most magicians realize. If I added these other versions of the trick the viewer would be distracted from the core lessons that I am trying to convey in this video.

There is a lot of misers dream material dating back to more than 100 years ago, that seems to be forgotten or misunderstood. On these three DVDs, I bring these older versions of the Misers Dream back to life and explain why you should learn from the Masters of the past. And on the final disc, I add to the collective knowledge of the trick by exposing all the secrets of my Misers Dream routine (which I currently perform in my stage show).

Best Regards,
Levent (tired from editing video until 6 AM this morning)

Heck, if it comes to a four DVD set to be complete on this one thing (bucket Misers dream) I'm still in! I'm really looking forward to your ideas on gimmicking the bucket! I can't remember being this excited about a product ever! I’ve never been this excited about a one trick DVD! I’m in line for it when you finally get it ready for sale!

Re: Thin Coins
Lou Hilario asked: It would be helpful if you could explain how to make or find thinner coins for this effect.

Levant gave a very complete response on page 2. It included: 1. Take a regular coin and make it thinner.

I would add 1 A: Take twice the number of coins needed to a machine shop. Have them milled down and stuck together. This has the advantage of showing regular heads and tails on opposite sides.

I would credit Billy Bishop with this idea. He had a set made many years ago. 5 coins stacked about as high as 3 regular dollars. His son, Glen, is on the Café as bishthemagish. He may have more info about how they were made.

Hi Levent,

I think you are quite correct in saying that there is a lot to be covered in a straight routine using just a bucket. Especially since this is what most magicians would likely to be using.

I was approached a number of times over the years to do a basic Miser's Dream video/DVD but never got around to it. I'm so glad you are taking the time and effort to produce what looks to be a wonderful collection. If it comes anywhere near the superb job you did on the Benson book, it will be a real contribution to the art. Will look forward to it and your lecture at Fantasma.

All best wishes,
Bobby

Hi Bobby;

I look forward to seeing you in New York this spring!

I just finished editing all three videos. It should take a few more days to do the DVD authoring. These discs have so much material that I have to do a lot of work on the DVD menus. By doing this a person could find what they want on the discs very easily.


Best Regards,
Levent

P.S. In case anyone is interested the following is the various DVD menu chapters from my forthcoming "Ultimate Guide to the Misers Dream DVD"



DISC ONE:

Titles

THE MECHANICS:

Types of Coins
Coin Milling
Coin Sanding
Coin Coating
Coin Drilling
Heavy Coin
Cantu's Coins
Foreign Coins
Coin Holders
Safety Pin Holder
Buckingham Holder
Tying The Stack
Benson Holder
Downs Wire Holder
Holder Tips
The Short Pocket
Kellar Coin Catcher
Standard Coin Catcher
Buckley Coin Catcher
Loop Coin Catcher
The Coin Wand
Pails & Buckets
Children's Pails

THE MOVES

Classic Palm
Edge Palm
Finger Palm
Thumb Palm
Downs Palm
Purse Palm
Front Clip
Back Clip
Back Palm
Back Clip Production
Buckley Productions
Classic Palm Production
Allan Shaw Production
Thumb Palm Production
Buckley Production 2
Downs Palm Production
Levent Downs Method
Back Palm Production
Edge Palm Production
Multiple Classic Palm
Multiple Downs Vanish
Multiple Downs Production
Multiple Back Palm
Multiple Edge Palm
Elusive Pass
Top of Fist Production
Click Pass
New Fan Pass
40 Coin Palm & Pass
Eureka Pass
One Handed Edge Palm Production
Roy Benson's Banished
Wand Theory
Banished Method
The Coin Roll
Coin Roll Downs
Coins From Spectators
Cantu Move
Coins on Stage
Left Hand Technique
Timing
Benson Drop
Tommy Martin Tip
Levent Timing Tip
Quiet Coin Tip
The Misers Gambit
Rule Number 8

DISC TWO

Titles

THE MAGICIANS:

Robert-Houdin
Carl Herrmann
Harry Kellar
Sachs' Finale
T. Nelson Downs
Downs' Fictional Act
Downs' First Gambit
First Productions
Downs' Variations
Left Hand Load
Coin Thru Hat
Coin Toss
Any Number Coins
Misers Paradox
Coins & Glass
Coin Thru Knee
Pocket Steal
Downs' First Finale
Downs' Kellar Catcher
Downs' Second Gambit
Downs' Second Finale
About Cortini
Hugard's Gambit
Harrison's Gambit
About Jose Frakson
The Frakson Pail
1000 Dollar Move
About Charlie Miller
Miller's Gambits
Miller's Real Routine
Miller's Method
Spectator Drop
Laugh Misdirection
Split Stack Steal
Sound Effect Gag
Miller's Finale
Paul Potassy
Conradi Gimmick
Potassy Set-Up
Potassy Method
Coin Thru Pail
Spectator Salt Gag
Gimmick Steal
Pocket Steal
Al Flosso
Flosso's Props
Flosso's Gambit
Flosso's Key Move
Double Thumb Palm
Flosso's Prelude
Flosso Part 1
Flosso Part 2
Flosso Part 3
Flosso Part 4
Flosso Part 5
Flosso Part 6
Flosso's Finale

DISC THREE

Titles

THE MAGICIANS:

Roy Benson
Benson's Table
Visible Misers
Levent
Levent On Stage
Backstory
Levent's Coin Wand
Misers Odyssey
The Levent Pail
Spring Clip Release
Final Load Holder
Final Load Items
Production Ear
Acoustic Problems
Pail Version 2
Downs Palm Problems
Cantu Coin Redux
Levent Coin Catcher
Table Coin Holder
Levent Coins Production
Heavy Coins
Levent's Set-Up
Nose Gimmick
The Bottle
Levent's Gambit
Levent Routine
Big Coin Load
Noise Maker
Coin Tossing
Ear & Nose Steal
Wallet Steal
Miller Move
Toreno Move

THE MULTIFARIUS:

Drop Gags
Toss Gags
Pump & Dump
About Books
About Finales
Albert Le Bas
John Mulholland
Downs' Final Finale
Credits

WOW I can't wait ! that's a lot of stuff to chew on .... I have been doing a coin act for years and I can't wait to take it up a notch . Thanks for your time and work in this one !

Good Lord!!!
This has to become a classic visual encyclopedia on the topic.

Amazingly comprehensive within your defined goals,
and great to see a "who's who" of magic represented.

Thanks for listing the contents…

Magically,
Walt

Looking forward to its release!

Hi Guys:

Here is the latest update:

Discs number one and two are finished and are in the process of being duplicated. I should be finished authoring disc number three by Monday, after which it will also be duplicated.

The total running time of the three volume "Ultimate Guide to the Misers Dream" DVD collection is well over 5 hours long.

I am still sorting out some details and I should be able to announce the price very soon.

Best regards,
Levent

For more info go to:

http://web.mac.com/leventmagic/LeventMagic/Misers_Dream.html

Levent, is this not ready yet? I am excited to get a hold of this soon. Do you accept prepayments now?

Hi Lou:

I estimate that we should be ready to ship the "Ultimate Guide to The Misers Dream" DVDs in about 2 to 3 weeks. I can now officially state that the three DVD set will be about 5 and 15 minutes long and the price will be $39.95 plus shipping and they will only be sold at my website or during my lectures.

I prefer not to accept any payments until the product is ready to ship.

Levent

That's a steal! I can't wait to get these!

Obviously, what I meant to say was that the running time for the set was 5 HOURS and 15 MINUTES LONG.

Jay:

There is a lot of great information about the Misers Dream in the old literature. But for one reason or another the vast majority of magicians seem to only know the barebones of the effect.

By keeping the price of this set very affordable, I feel I have a better chance of getting this information out there. In this way those who want to do the Misers Dream will get a vast array of options from which to start. And those that already do the trick may learn some things that will allow them to take it to the next level.

Levent

I am pumped!!!

Can't wait until it is out.

David

Hi Guys:

The duplication process of the DVDs has gone very well and at the moment we are putting together the packaging.

The Misers Dream DVD set will ship ON or BEFORE April 15, 2008.

I've heard from quite a few people asking if they can pre-order these DVDs. So, we've set up the LeventMagic.com website to currently accept orders and once we begin shipping, the DVDs will be sent out in the sequence in which the orders were received.

I am very excited about this product and I really am looking forward to hearing how they are received by the magic community!

Best regards,
Levent

Ordered!

Sent my payment, too!

Hi Harry & Lou:

Thanks for your order!!!

For those of you that have ordered other products (in addition to the Misers Dream DVDs). We will ship the other items immediately and when the Misers Dream DVDs are ready to ship, they will be mailed out in a separate package.

Needless to say, we do NOT charge for the extra shipping costs that are incurred by mailing two different packages.

Levent (Currently on Tour)

I'm on the list now, too!

Yours,

Paul