The Amazing Kreskin has predicted the outcome for the NFL Super Bowl four times, including this year. On the Friday before the game between the Denver Broncos and the Carolina Panthers, Kreskin was on Fox Business Network on “After The Bell,” and his predictions for the game were sealed in a safe. He predicted the Broncos would win, the first quarter would be the deciding quarter and the number 24 would be a big number in the game, he recounted in a telephone interview Feb. 11. In the safe he also placed a $10,000 check to be made out to “whoever” should Kreskin’s predictions be wrong. But he didn’t have to worry about losing the ten grand as all his predictions came true – the Broncos won 24-10 over the Panthers and the first quarter was the “definitive” one in the game. “No more betting $10,000. That’s too much stress,” he joked. Kreskin is a famous mentalist who has appeared on numerous television shows from “The Tonight Show” with Johnny Carson to “The Tonight Show” with Jimmy Fallon. He’s done guest appearances on everything from Fox News to CNN. The famous mentalist – who cracks a joke at every opportunity – will perform at the Wagon Wheel Center for the Arts at 2 and 7 p.m. March 19. Part of his 90-minute show is a trick he’s known for all around the world: He finds his own paycheck during each live performance. He instructs the audience to hide it as he is escorted into seclusion by other members of the audience. If he is unable to find the check by the end of the performance, he does not get paid. According to Kreskin Feb. 11, this has only happened 10 times during his career, and one time he lost a $51,000 check. But he’s found checks in all kinds of places, including underneath the upper part of a man’s dentures. During the telephone interview, Kreskin also said, “I’m not politically correct. I have a sign in my office that says if I’m ever politically correct, kick me in the ass.” He’s also a big newspaper reader. “I read four newspapers a day – a national one, a large New Jersey one and two New York tabloids,” he said. “I have a philosophy I give in business seminars and that is to make sure the people who work for you are capable of reading a newspaper.” In reading a newspaper, Kreskin said when you turn a page you can see a story you never would have thought about or read before. Kreskin is a writer himself, with his 20th book, “In Real Time,” released this month. “In my book I comment on how I think the world is changing,” he said. He said comedians can’t make the same jokes they used to at college campuses for fear of offending someone. He’s performed at over 1,000 university shows in the United States and Canada. Kreskin suggested that if we can’t make fun of ourselves anymore, there’s something wrong. Being Polish, he says he loves a good Polish joke and he and his family makes them all the time. Talk show and game show host Regis Philbin wrote the introduction for Kreskin’s latest book. Kreskin said he didn’t tell Philbin what to write, but he did 105 shows with Philbin. “Regis is exactly the same in person as you see on camera,” Kreskin said. Kreskin turned 81 on Jan. 12. Last year his 80th birthday was made into a big deal with over 100 people at his birthday party in New York. Kreskin said he probably won’t celebrate any more birthday parties because all the people wanted to talk to him so much he didn’t get to eat or drink. Kreskin, who has been performing for 67 years, also commented on how he’s only home four days a month. “I have my picture up so people recognize me,” he joked. In one year’s time, Kreskin made 364 appearances last year around the world, he said. He’ll probably do that again this year. “I’m not really a workaholic, I just have a passion for what I do,” he said. While some say that Kreskin did 61 shows with Carson, Kreskin said that’s not true. He’s done 88 shows, but NBC destroyed the first two years of “The Tonight Show” recordings because at that time there wasn’t much value put into shows. Carson never forgave NBC for that, Kreskin stated. Tickets for Kreskin’s show at the Wagon Wheel March 19 are $30 and can be ordered online at www.wagonwheelcenter.org or through the box office at 574-267-8041. Due to the nature of Kreskin’s performance, children under 10 are not admitted.
