Steve Cohen & David Berglas at the Waldorf-Astoria, NYC

I lost track of time at my dinner with David Berglas. So did he, apparently, as he shared wonderful stories of his lifetime of experiences in magic, and also several amazing card tricks. I had brought my own deck of Tally-ho cards, and David performed a rapid-fire series of think-a-card tricks, the likes of which I hadn’t seen before. We stayed at the restaurant until after-closing time, close to midnight.

David drove me in his Jaguar to the train station in north London. As we approached the station, I drew up the courage to say, “Thank you for showing me your card magic at dinner. Next time we see each other, I’d love to see your ‘any card at any number.’”

Moments later we arrived at the station, and David parked the car. He suddenly became serious. While at dinner he had been lively and chatty, he was now quite intense and, dare I say, powerful.

He turned to me and said, “I want you to remember the sequence of events that happen from this point forward. And remember, also, that you were the one who initiated this – you asked for me to show this to you. I need you to remember everything that happens, since you will remember this for the rest of your life.

“If I were to ask you to name a card, what card would you say?”

I answered, “The three of diamonds.”

He continued, “I’m going to get out of the car and walk to the rear. Follow me with your eyes to be sure that I don’t do anything. Once I’ve arrived there, I would like you to get out and join me.”

David walked out and stood about 8 feet from the back of his car. I then opened the car door and walked to join him.

He said, “Look in the back of the car, through the window. You will see my jacket draped across the back seat.”

I had seen the jacket before, but did as instructed – yes, his gray wool jacket was laying across the back seat.

“Open the back door and pick up the jacket.”

Again, I did as instructed, and handed him the jacket as he extended his hand.

“Reach inside of the inside pocket and remove what you find.”
I pulled out the contents: a leather card holder that was just large enough for a deck of cards. The leather case was snapped shut.

David asked me to open up the snap and slide the deck face down into my hands. He asked me my card, and I replied, “The three of diamonds.” He stared at me intently, and then told me to turn the deck of cards face up and look at the bottom card. There it was, the three of diamonds, staring me in the face.

My mind churning, I spread through the deck to see if there was any apparent order, or any duplicate cards. He chuckled at me and said, “They always want to look. I don’t know what you expect to find…”

It was a magical moment, and a story I’ll enjoy sharing to help others understand how amazing a man David Berglas is.