...then you can also wonder why magic companys "gets" the merlin award when they obviously are selling and advertising a lot of rip offs.

Follow the money.

Oh, so you are saying people are paying Tony to come fly to their city to award them. I get it now. I understand how that could seem questionable.

No, I won't comment on the things I think the top guys need to fix. Although I have valid and helpful points, it's not going to help them since they have their own team telling them the same stuff. My comments will be dismissed here on the Café since I'm not a recognized performer and still have things of my own to fix. People have trouble taking advice when it doesn't come from a household name. BUT to prove I'm not completely baseless in my claims, I'll give ONE for Mac King -

First off, Mac is an awesome guy and great performer. We won't argue he's one of the top 10 or not...but he's one of the longest running Vegas shows so we'll assume he's "high enough" for purposes of this thread. Here's a simple "fix" to help his show be more professional (see, now doesn't that sound terribly arrogant of me?!). When Mac rings in new props, he uses a stagehand to place the prop halfway between the wings and the stage. So the prop is basically half on stage and half off. Not only does this create an amateur look to the stage, but the stagehand does it DURING Mac's routines. So while Mac is trying to do the climax of the routine, off in the wings we see the next prop being drug out and placed on the stage. This interrupts Mac's routine, pulls attention from the climax, clutters the side of the stage unnecessarily, and all-around looks very unprofessional (Mac has an "unprofessional" look anyway - but there's a PROFESSIONAL way to look unprofessional - does that make sense?). The rest of his "carpet bag" act looks great, but he needs to think through a more effective way to ring in props if he doesn't want an assistant to bring them on stage.

I do better understand how it seems that some people may be "purchasing" a Merlin by simply flying Tony into their town, but I do question whether he just gives out his award willy-nilly to anyone who has cash. I also think if you do NOT have cash, you are probably not a top professional anyway...

You said "Many of the Merlin buyers have never won any other trophy. Isn't that a tell tale sign?" Well, I don't know. There are a LOT of competitions in magic to compete and win trophies - and many are EASY to win considering the competition (some not...FISM). So a guy COULD have a LOT of trophies but that still doesn't mean he's any good. But the opposite is also true. There are guys who don't compete but are FANTASTIC performers. Just because they do (or don't) have trophies is no indication of how good someone is. Merlin IS part of a competition, so if you "won" the Merlin by competing, I'd be a little surprised if you had no other trophies - because competition guys usually compete in many more than just one. But if the Merlin was awarded to you, I wouldn't be surprised at all if you had NO trophies. You may just not be a "competition guy."

BUT - in closing - I do see how it can have the appearance of being "bought" if Tony "follows the money." I hope that's not the case - but instead of complaining about the award, I'm going to try to earn one and let you guys complain about me next.

This is totally ridiculous, you are all making assumptions on your opinions. It is not up to you! Do you really think when they give an award like the Miss America Award to Miss New York, they whole viewing audience agreed with the decision. Everyone had their favorite, and thought their selection for a winner had the qualities to be chosen. There are 50 states that all had their favorite.

It is becoming like you guys are all jealous of the winners. If you want one, work for it like all the other winners.

*clap clap*

Any donkey can kick down a barn but it takes a skilled carpentar to build one. I want to be the "carpentar!"

*Carpenter

Bill, are you saying magicians are jealous of each other? LOL

Of course they are. That is very clear to those on the outside looking in.

Go for it Matt. And if you do end up with one, be proud of it. Good luck.


Tom

I agree with bill on diferent tastes , and go for it Matt be a carpenter .
on the other hand even with different tastes all fism wining acts are exelent .
so if you want to be a skilled carpenter go build a fism level magic act and win.
that might make jealous magicians Tom
not a scatered Merlin
some day you might be able to get it from Ebay for a better price .

...maybe one day! But while I have a small desire (and obviously that's not going to be enough...) to try to win FISM, it's not really my main goal because that only achieves me notoriety within our community. I have other goals I want to accomplish with my magic although no one would disagree that winning FISM would be amazing. But I want to do some other things instead of devoting that amount of time to create a single hopefully-winning act.

But my first goal would probably be to at least go WATCH FISM. haha. Never been, but I imagine it'd be a blast!

I have changed my mind , I want to win a Merlin so that my name will be included among the big names like DC and other as SU HU BIN , AHMED , CU LU SIN , DI MU HIN , TORRA, AND DORA THE EXPLORER , TOM AND JERRYAND MANY OTHERS ... I ll start saving right away.

Wait, Su Hu Bin has one?

He has two one for back up.

Yes, and also his father Has Bin!

Use it for your PR. Whatever it is, however you get it Merlin's are great PR everywhere. Just don't focus on it being an award but focus on what the Merlin does. And it does that perfectly. Hassini is one of the nicest guys around in the magic scene and he knows what he is doing. He helped a lot of now famous magicians to become those famous magicians. The tv specials he produces for magicians all over the planet are excellent quality. If you can get a Merlin go for it and use the buzz that comes with it. You will not regret it. In this case just believe in the mystery that is attached to our business. Use it. Don't tear it down. Don't make all those famous illusionists who received it angry at you and don't put them in an awkward situation because it will turn back on you. Use it. Don't question the Merlin just get one and go surfing along with all the others who got great PR from it. I know about the controversy, everybody in the magic business knows the stories. But seriously leave it. There is more behind the Merlin than it being an award. So for the sake of all who got an award do not bash on this one. It's just magic. Please.
EVI

Magic erik you are a believer

I got 4 !!

I wrote a little piece about the Merlin "Award" and its originator here:

https://www.tomstone.se/en/magic-world/the-merlin-award

Wow Tom!

you have done some in depth research... it's a great read and much appreciated! Thank you!

Thank you Tom Stone! Fascinating and informative article.

Lou

It seems a little crazy that you resurrect a thread that is almost a decade old. (Although I think I may have done it myself) Honestly it sounds a bit like some kind of sour grapes thing... I've never heard of Tom Stone before so I just need to take you at your word. (I did punch up a few of your videos after reading your article) IMHO most awards are used as self promotion in one way or another just like any Hollywood award would be. Of course I am Bias since I developed several fun magic effects that could be done over the phone and performed them on dozens of radio shows before Tony gave me my Merlin Award for "Radio Magic". David Copperfield now owns the rights to one of them and performs it nightly via email. To call the award "Fake" is a pretty strong accusation. Before you write your next article I suggest you read the ten rules of logical thought and apply them to your thinking and argumentative processes before you make such a bold claim, because in the end you must PROVE it. I don't know of anyone who actually paid Tony a red cent to get the award... Doesn't mean it didn't happen but can you actually PROVE it did? It took me about 10 years to develop the effects that I perform over the radio and internet. So you may see that I find it a bit insulting for you to call my award a "Fake" ....
Bottom line, I think Tony is a great hustler who has helped hundreds of Magicians promote their talents and advance in the entertainment industry.