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Of Hustlers and Con Men by David Groves The Shakespeare of Magic |
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July 4, 2001
Los Angeles, California
Chef Anton isn't a chef. Instead, he's a pool trick-shot artist (two-time
national champion) and former con man. He's a thirtysomething guy with an
honest face, and from his straightforward answers to things, you'd never
guess that he's made his living throwing the 3-card monte, and that his
mother and even his grandmother threw the monte. Needless to say, he comes
from gypsy heritage.
"Don't you worry about confessing to that?" I asked when I met him recently
at the Magic Castle. "That maybe somebody will arrest you? Other guys who
have been con men keep it a secret."
"No," Chef said. "Grandma threw the monte during the Depression to put
food on the table. Mom just did it for fun every now and then."
For several years, Chef made his entire living running con games. But in
recent years, he's gone completely legit. Today, he makes half of his
living as one of the top trick-shot pool players in the world, and half as
a magician. He performs his trick shots as a demonstration at conventions,
sales meetings, and other high-paying venues. He has no need anymore for
the con.
Several years ago, Chef told me, he and his partner took on a couple of
guys. Chef was at the pool table and his friend was at a chess board right
next to the pool table, kinda like doubles tennis but kinda not.
Chef won game after game. After the eighth winning game, Chef went over to
check on his partner's progress. His opponent had gone to the bathroom, so
his partner spoke frankly.
"I'm hurting," the partner said. "The guy took my queen early on, and I've
been limping along ever since."
"I got just the thing," Chef said. "Listen, when you hear my next game
start, you just lean back far in your chair and act like you're thinking
about your next move, don't do anything."
"Okay."
As soon as the next game started, the partner did as he was told, leaning
back and contemplating the table. And right on cue, Chef took a shot and -
- bam! - - the cue ball jumped off the table and smashed right across the
chess board, scattering the pieces all across the floor.
Oops. Game over.
You may have seen Chef's name mentioned in the magic magazines lately
because he's the co-author (with Whit Haydn) of NOTES ON FAST AND LOOSE, a
treatise on the age-old con game that is making a comeback.
If you've never heard of Fast and Loose, it's a con game played with a loop
of chain. It originally started in Shakespearean times, when it was played
with a thick cloth garter that men used to hold up their stockings.
"The operator would fold the strap in half," according to NOTES ON FAST AND
LOOSE, "and then wind it into a coil, forming two identical loops in the
center of the coil [roughly like a figure eight]….these loops looked
identical.
"The swindler would then challenge a spectator to place a finger or a stick
in the true center loop, the one that held FAST when the ends of the strap
are pulled. If the operator pulled and the strap came loose, the spectator
lost his bet. Since the operator could secretly change how the ends were
pulled away, he could always win."
Whit originally wrote the notes in 1982, but four years ago, Whit and Chef
began researching and developing other methods, and last March, published a
"compleat version." (If you're interested in a copy, call H & R Books in
Humble, Texas.)