Kreskin teaches blackjack
The Amazing Kreskin

At the age of 75 in a storied career as the world’s leading mentalist, you would think The Amazing Kreskin (his legal name) had done it all – particularly when it comes to Las Vegas, a favorite professional haunt of his. Believe it or not, though, Kreskin will be achieving a first when he teaches seminars at the Sahara Hotel and Casino on poker and blackjack strategy.

Kreskin will be holding the seminars as a sideshow to his act running at the Sahara now through October. The offer was a bit ironic since Kreskin is banned from the blackjack tables at most casinos worldwide and all tables in Las Vegas.

Kreskin claims “he’s not a gambler” and instead will accentuate “help[ing] the players control their thinking while playing,” according to the Las Vegas Weekly. Robin Leach’s celebrity column in the newspaper also went on to quote some enviable stories of Kreskin’s blackjack skills, however.

“Once I’d just finished two weeks of [performing] in Aruba, and the night I closed, I had to kill time before a 4 a.m. departure,” said Kreskin, “So I sat down and pulled out $37 to play blackjack, and by 4 a.m. it had become $22,400!” And on two other occasions, he set the known record for consecutive hands without busting; his high mark is currently 22.

Kreskin’s show consists of feats of mental prowess and culminates in the famous “$1 million challenge”: At the end of every show, Kreskin invites the audience to hide his paycheck for the show anywhere in the auditorium. He claims to have missed his payday only nine times out of approximately 6,000 shows for a success rate of 99.85%.

Think you can beat Kreskin’s 22 in a row? Try your luck (and apply the tricks he taught you if you catch him in Las Vegas) by playing some blackjack card games online today!