Wow, i feel cheated, I know that its to prevent gambling and everything. BUT seriously, why suggest that you are going to buy a 4D ticket of the winning number when you're not ?

I was really looking forward to seeing a matching ticket and number, that is because the ticket was the crucial factor that would make this effect even more impossible.

I felt like i had been taken for a ride.

Does anyone feel otherwise ?

You are not alone dude. Check out what others think

http://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/showthre...=2649323&page=5

It's a publicity move. Buying a ticket may make people interested in more than just whether they get the prediction right but also whether they will get any prize money from the ticket they bought; in addition, what they'll do with the prize money if they won. Is that a good idea though?

Depends. It seems to me that it's helped to generate a lot of hype over the event. Pre-event, it's a great move. Post-event, I don't know. People who really believe that they bought a winning ticket will certainly feel cheated. But they've already gotten all the publicity that they need. Other than that though, they got the prediction right (duh!) and also donated money to a charity. Still a good outcome and move for them to get even more publicity.

I was quite surprised to see the response in the Hardwarezone Forum.

The Prediction was signed, sealed and revealed in a very fair manner. I think most people will be convinced that they really predicted the 4D numbers.

The last twist is good, but maybe not everyone want the effect to end that way. Btw, if they really want to, they can open the prediction with the winning ticket inside it. They just choose not to.

There is nothing wrong with the effect, just that some people don't like the "no gambling" message behind it. Judging from the response in Hardwarezone forums, they believe that they should go and buy the winning ticket if they have the ability to predict the 4D numbers. They think if you have this ability, you should make use of it to benefit yourself or others.

It is like the potential pitfalls of most Headline Prediction effects. If you can predict that there will be a tsunami next week, why don't you warn the people about it? For this 4D prediction effect, it will be "if you know the 4D results, why don't you buy the ticket and get rich?"

However, while it is good to show people you can save people with your ability, it is definitely not good to show people you can use your ability to gamble and get rich easily.

The main problem is that people don't get the message behind this effect., which is don't gamble.

Perhaps they could have really revealed the winning ticket to the public. After that, invite the people on stage for a game to see if they can win the winning ticket from them. Put the winning tickets in five ang bao packets and ask the four spectators to choose one each. The last ang bao that is not chosen will be destroyed.
End the effect with the ang bao with the winning ticket destroyed and show that you can't rely on chance to get rich. Even if the chance of getting a winning 4D ticket is just 20%, you can still miss it.

I have to agree whole-heartedly with Jlowhy with this! It was really nothing but a huge publicity move! And if this is what they really meant to do right from the very beginning, I feel that they strike the nail right on the head.

However, it seems like this all the time doesn't it?

Great hype and run-up before a HUGE gig or effect, and finally letting the public feel somewhat a little disappointed. Not that the effects were lousy, but I seriously feel it is lacking something. Ermz, perhaps, I feel that what is seriously lacking is MAGIC. But I guess, its a different topic altogether!

Anyway, great publicity stunt and happy children from the charity! A job well done at the end of the day!

dry_gin

P.S. At least I did not have to spent 10K on a magic effect!!

I admit I felt cheated too.

Lottery predictions have been done to death. I thought the only thing exciting and fresh was the fact that they would actually buy a physical ticket with the winning number.

But... :wacko:

It lacked credibility perhaps dry_gin?

I always feel that with mentalism effects, it's no longer about magic but about possibility. Magic is impossible. You either have magic or you don't. But with mentalism, there is a possibility that it can actually be done and that it can actually be true.

So without the winning ticket, they immediately destroyed their credibility and reduced the effect to mere trickery. I mean if they don't want a winning ticket, they can still buy a ticket where the four numbers are made up of the first digits of the top three winning numbers and a zero.

E.g.

1st prize = 5252
2nd prize = 3351
3rd prize = 2595

Their ticket number = 5320

Now, that would make people gasp. Especially right after they thought you bought the wrong ticket and then you make them see how the numbers came about. They'll be slain right there and then.

JC Sum needs to hire me. :lol: :lol:

Ace is spot on of the fact that there is a contradiction with such predictions. If I can make such a prediction, then I should also be able to buy a ticket and win as proof of my ability. Unfortunately, this is most unlikely to happen.

JC then used the ruse of discouraging gambling and thus did not buy a proper ticket. However, I think most people didn't see the connection that way and were more interested in the fact that the bought ticket was a bluff.

On a separate note, I don't quite buy the idea of how such a stunt encourages gambling. Is there any evidence to say that performing such a stunt will encourage gambling? I doubt so. Moreover, gambling is quite part of the Singaporean culture. I think some people are over-reacting.

I personally think that this is one of the lousiest effect ever. Even layman are not convinced, so who do they target to entertain then?

I think Maddened's method is a nice one. They could have come up with something like announcing that the lottery ticket in the red packet consist of 1st, 2nd and 3rd prize.

That will leave audience thinking how can it possibly be to win 3 prizes in a single ticket? Unless all 3 places are of the same number? So when they audience knows that the first 3 places are not of the same number, they would have thought that the effect failed.

In the end, Madden's method kicks in. Little did they know that "This" is how they managed to get all 3 places in a single ticket. That will be more amazing, wouldn't it?

For obvious reason, they couldn't have bought a ticket with the winning number.

And for some reasons, so many people felt let down by that fact. What? Do they really believe there could be REAL magic? So will one feel let down by the fact that David Copperfield didn't walk through the walls of banks and walk off with bags of money? After all, that guy "walked" through the Great Wall didn't he?

All I can say, it was a poorly thought-of act. The method of relevation was not convincing at all, raising many obvious questions and doubts. The worse thing was they tried to get away with a pretty lame excuse.

There is nothing wrong in generating publicity. They are earning a living too.. but perhaps they need to come up with more quality acts to justify all those hype.

I would prefer to do it the Darren Brown way. Admit you are not a psychic, and then just let people speculate whatever they want. The more they think, the more confused they will be.

This has truely spoken out how I felt.

Even if they used other ideas like Maddened's (instead of a 0000 ticket), I'm pretty sure people wont be convinced and threads like this and the one in hardwarezone would also be created as well. It would probably gain an element of surprise for that particular moment, and it would instead become something like a gag/comedy which I'm sure I wouldnt laugh.. <_<

Ace's idea would be a good one, and it would probably be a stronger way to deliver that gambling is bad instead of what they did. But that would be a $10K effect, I guess.

Oh wait it wont be a $10K effect, they can still claim the prizes (If they didnt destroy it like how Ace suggested; but then again, without destroying the ticket, how can the message of "gambling is bad" be delivered?) :lol: Either way, I agree with what AXL said and they could have done something(anything) better..