On a recent night at the Waldorf Towers Hotel in Manhattan,
Steve Cohen was casting a spell over the room. Primped up in a tux and hornrim glasses, Cohen, 34, sidled up to a few people
and asked if they'd lend him some one-dollar bills. After teasing the guys and flirting with the girls, he crumpled up the
bills in his fist and, when he opened his hands, out came a few hundreds. He calls the trick "Instant ROI."
Cohen made $1 million last year turning trick like this
at the homes and corporate events of America's richest people. He's been flown in private jets around the country, from Aspen
to Cape Cod, playing at the homes of Forbes 400 members Martha Stewart (where he made three spools of thread pop out of a
loaf of bread), New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Reebok founder Paul Fireman (where he miraculously pulled some fresh
torn-up $20 bills- intact- from the toe of a speaker. His fee: (contact Promenade for quote).
Cohen was raised in the posh Westchester County town of
Chappaqua, N.Y., where he was taught the secret arts by his great-uncle, who had studied under none other than Harry Houdini.
When he was 10, Cohen performed his first paying gig, working a kid's birthday party. After he studied psychology at Cornell,
"there were some lean years, just like every entertainer getting their start."
In 2001, Cohen persuaded the Waldorf to give him a suite
to perform in every Saturday night. The shows created word of mouth among the well-off who frequent the grandiose hotel, and
Cohen's career began to flourish. People still pay $55 each to see him perform weekly at the Waldorf. "Event planners come
and immediately book me for their corporate entertainment," he says. He spends one week per month on the road.
Cohen is putting together a new show that highlights some
of the custom tricks he has performed privately for the ultrarich and powerful. The only catch: "Don't aske me how I do it."
We wouldn't think of it.
Bureau note: we recently attended one of Steve's
show and were truly mezmerized by the originality, versatility and entertainment value of his illusions. So was the audience
who was hanging on his every word and action. No matter how jaded your group may be, they've never experienced anything
like his "Think A Drink", "The Book Test" or his many other mind over matter "conjurings".
