[jazz music]
♪ ♪
- From the Penn & Teller Theater
at the Rio Hotel in Las Vegas,
here's our host, Alyson Hannigan!
[cheers and applause]
[upbeat music]
♪ ♪
- Welcome to "Fool Us."
Penn and Teller always talk
about how much they love doing this show,
but tonight might change all that.
This show is Penn and Teller's nightmare.
We've got two acts that have already fooled
the boys a record three times,
another act who's fooled them twice
and holds the record for "Fool Us" appearances,
and an old friend of theirs with an ax to grind.
It should be fun for us
but maybe not so much for the stars of our show,
the always magical Penn and Teller!
[cheers and applause]
♪ ♪
Every performer tonight knows this show,
knows the stakes, knows Penn and Teller.
Let the games begin with this familiar three-time Fooler.
- Hi, I'm Jandro from Spain,
and I've won on "Fool Us" three times.
The first time was very fast.
The second was so fun.
I ended on stage running with Penn and Teller.
♪ ♪
For my third one,
I did the biggest effect ever in "Fool Us" history.
[indistinct] Yeah!
So I had three trophies, and my life was perfect.
I wanted to share my happiness,
so I gave one trophy to each member
of my family: One for my son,
one for my daughter,
and the last one for my wife.
So now everyone had one.
Well, not everyone.
♪ ♪
[cheers and applause]
- Joining us once again from Spain,
a three-time Fooler, here's Jandro!
[cheers and applause]
- Hi, Penn! Hi, Teller!
Hola, amigos!
Welcome to my TV show, "Penn and Teller Get Annoyed."
Today, I'm going to try to do something
no one has ever done.
I'm going to outclass David Copperfield.
Someone had to do it.
In 1983, David Copperfield vanished the Statue of Liberty,
great trick, a little bit dark, but a great trick.
Today, I'm going to vanish two Statues of Liberty.
Here they are.
♪ ♪
We are going for quantity, not quality.
But I will vanish them in the middle
of an airplane landing track
in impossible laboratory conditions.
And the statues are going to be held
in midair by a friend of mine.
♪ ♪
Gracias, Jesus.
♪ ♪
And so that we don't have legal problems,
we also have a lawyer.
Gracias, Jennifer.
And so that no one steals those statues,
we also have a policeman.
Gracias, Jose.
♪ ♪
They are going to be guarding the statues here
in this platform, totally isolated from the floor
and totally surrounded, because at the back,
we have two runway controllers.
Hola! both: Hola!
- And at the front, we have the Spanish Penn and Teller!
♪ ♪
They could be your twin brothers.
And from here, you can see,
from the front, you can see above,
you can see beneath, you can see the sides,
and you can see the two runway operators.
Please, if a plane comes, tell us, so we don't die!
both: Okay!
- And Penn and Teller, if you see something strange,
you see how the trick works,
or you see something or someone going in or out,
please stand up and shout,
"Cheater! Cheater! Tramposo! Tramposo!"
And the landing operators, if you see someone going in,
going out, or how the trick works,
please move the banners, like this, yes.
Mueve, mueve, yeah, sí!
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
This is totally true.
If they see something strange,
or they know how the trick is done,
they will start shouting, and they will screw it up.
I give you my word.
I would give you my blood, but you are vegan.
So from now on, we are not going to cut.
It's live, one shot, no edit.
The vanishing two Statues of Liberty,
totally surrounded, and in daylight.
Tres, dos, uno!
[dramatic music]
♪ ♪
Sí, sí, sí!
Ha salido!
Have you seen anyone going? Have you seen?
No?
Have you seen someone? Come here!
Toca, toca!
Toca--sube, sube!
[indistinct] Yay!
Sorry, Copperfield!
Bye!
[cheers and applause]
- Jandro!
[cheers and applause]
Jandro.
- Hello!
- Oh, I love you so much.
- Thank you, thank you. It was very crazy, very crazy.
- Your tricks get bigger every time.
What comes next?
- Next time, I'm going to vanish a planet.
- Do you have one in mind?
- I will vanish Pluto
because it's a very small planet.
- Aww.
They're actually surprisingly quiet.
They're not really talking. They're thinking.
- Oh, I've never seen them thinking.
That's a miracle.
- Well, they're thinking, but they've got smiles
on their face, so they are enjoying,
even if they hate you.
- You know, they are getting a bit old,
so they have to talk more, you know?
- Okay, Jandro,
let's see if you can run away with trophy number four.
- Hola, mi amigo!
- Hola, amigos!
- My dear friend, I talk to you at least every week.
We talk in Spanish.
We talk in English. We laugh.
You're a very, very close friend.
We know how you think.
We are not gonna give you the trophy
that easily this time.
- Okay.
- We have, this time,
a guess on how you did it.
We think--and I'm just gonna say it outright,
that you masked the bottom of that with mirrors,
and that there actually was a hole in the runway,
and they went down through a trapdoor.
Did we get you?
- You know what's the problem?
- What? - You know how I think.
But I know how you think I think.
- Oh!
- So, this time,
this time I have not thought as I usually think.
- Maybe you wrapped them up in the cloth.
They're in the cloth that you threw down afterwards.
- So, so,
I want to see your reaction
when you see the actual method.
There's an envelope in the table with the real method.
I wanted you to read it just for yourselves,
and I want to see your reaction,
and you decide if I have fooled you or not.
- Ah!
- I know it's crazy.
- Ah.
- This is the craziest thing we've ever seen!
No one would ever do something like that.
It's genius and devilish.
But--this is the first time
I'll be saying this like this--nos engañaste.
- Thank you.
- What's that mean? - Thank you.
- What's that mean?
- We are fooled!
- Yay! Four times!
- Thank you! - Whoo, Jandro!
- Four times!
- Four-time Fooler Jandro!
Yay!
Whoo!
[sighs]
Penn and Teller just got duped, deceived, and delighted.
But they've got three more "Fool Us" veterans
to take on, as "Fool Us" continues.
[jazz music]
- Welcome back to Penn and Teller's worst nightmare.
Boys, I bet you didn't see this coming.
Take a look.
- Hello, my name's Piff the Magic Dragon.
Did you know that it all started for me ten years ago,
when I was on the very first season
of "Penn & Teller: Fool Us"?
That single appearance lit my career on fire,
got to America.
I became BFFs with Penn and Teller.
But when the pages of history are written,
only one question will remain--did I,
Piff the Magic Dragon, fool Penn and Teller?
The answer, of course, is no.
Otherwise, I'd be on my yacht, like Shim Lin.
Today, I'm here to make that right.
I want that trophy. It haunts me.
It's all I can think about. I see it everywhere I go.
No matter the fame and the fortune,
it means nothing till that trophy is mine.
But to get it, I'm gonna have to perform my best trick yet,
convincing Penn and Teller we've never met.
[cheers and applause]
- Performing on "Fool Us" for the first time,
here's Claude the Regular Dragon.
[upbeat music]
- Good evening, my name is Claude the Regular Dragon.
Penn, Teller, have you ever met Claude the Regular Dragon?
- No.
- Consider yourself fooled
because it's actually me, Piff the Magic Dragon!
Now I'm the champion! Let's lower the trophy!
Well, fine, plan B.
Standing beside me is the Penn and Teller Chamber of Sorrows,
containing the one thing guaranteed to fool
Penn and Teller.
I'll be right back.
Where did I put it? [cat meows]
It's in here somewhere.
Oh, is it behind this--oh, there it is.
I've got it. I'm coming out.
A card trick, your Achilles heel.
You might as well just lower that trophy right now, boys.
Let's just lower the trophy. Fine.
Before we go any further, I have a plan.
Last time, I went home empty-handed,
not tonight.
Penn, do you have $20?
- I do happen to, yes.
- Whip it out, Penn. Whip it out.
Hey Penn, do you have a pen, Penn?
- I do. - I got one, too.
Let's use mine because mine is magic.
You're gonna write your name on the money.
In fact, I'd like you to write something
very specific, "To Piff, love, Penn."
That's me. - L-U-V or L-O-V-E?
- Just a heart. - Okay.
- I'm gonna take the pen back, please.
- Oh, certainly.
- Vanish.
I'm gonna take the money. Vanish.
Don't look at my pocket.
Now, Penn, if I fool you, you'll get your money back.
But if I fail, the money's mine to keep.
Fair?
Teller, I haven't forgotten you.
Should I fool you, you get this sweet, sweet trophy.
♪ ♪
Look at that.
Imagine that on your mantelpiece there, Teller.
♪ ♪
The stage is set.
Alyson, please join me over here at the table.
- Yes.
- Alyson, I'm gonna deal these cards before you.
Anytime you like, you're gonna call out "stop."
Happy? - Yeah.
- Vanish.
- Amazing. - Here we go.
- Stop. - Just here?
- Yeah.
- Are you happy just there, Alyson?
- Yeah.
- Or would you like me to continue?
- All right, one more. - One more?
- One more.
- Alyson, you're gonna take the three.
That is your card. I'm gonna slide it towards you.
Do you have a pen? - No.
- This show is getting expensive.
Alyson, you're gonna write your name on the front
of the playing card for me, please.
- Like--on the face? - That's a good idea, yeah.
- That's okay? - Yeah, you nailed it.
It's almost like you've done this show for however
many seasons it's been.
Once you've done that, Alyson,
I'd like you to place the card anywhere back in the deck.
Could be literally anywhere back in the deck.
I'm gonna show the card to the camera,
so that everyone gets to see it.
Just there, the three of clubs, with Alyson's name upon it.
Now Alyson, roughly speaking, how many cards down in the deck
do you think that was?
Just roughly. - 20.
- 20 cards, I'm gonna give the cards another shuffle.
Or did I?
I'm gonna cut the cards.
- Whoa.
- Or did I?
I'm gonna eat one of these delicious nachos.
Or did I?
Now, Penn, Teller,
if you're fooled, this whole thing can end now
'cause what follows next is a convoluted hot mess.
- We'd like the hot mess. - Oh, you want to continue.
Fine, well, you've only got yourselves to blame.
Here's what's gonna happen next, Alyson.
You're gonna start dealing the cards.
As you deal the cards, you're gonna count the cards.
One, elephant, elephant, elephant.
Two, elephant, elephant, elephant.
Three, elephant, elephant, elephant, etc.
Three elephants per card.
- Okay. - That's very important.
When you get to your card, you're gonna stop.
You're gonna remember your total number of elephants.
Pro tip: Multiply your number by three elephants.
Is that clear? - Not at all.
- Great. This should be interesting.
Alyson, start dealing.
- Okay.
One, elephant, elephant, elephant.
Two, elephant, elephant, elephant.
Three, elephant, elephant, elephant.
Four, elephant, elephant, elephant.
Five, elephant, elephant, elephant.
I forgot my card now.
Six, elephant, elephant, elephant.
Seven, elephant, elephant-- - Chip?
- Wait, hold on.
one, two, three, four, five, six, seven,
[phone beeps] - What?
Oh, hang on a second. Hello?
Yes, it is Piff the Magic Dragon.
Yes, I did order a pizza.
Yes, Alyson is still counting playing cards.
Yes, that is you walking on stage.
Yep, keep going, Alyson.
- Okay, 21. - Off you go.
- 22. - All right, hello.
Thank you very much.
Hey, I got something special for you, buddy.
Oh, a crispy $20 bill.
- There we go, you're welcome. Thank you very much.
- 27, elephant, elephant, elephant.
28, elephant, elephant, elephant.
- Mmm. - 29.
- Just the way I like it, extra bananas.
- 30--ahh! - No pizza.
- Penn, Teller, how about a snack?
It feels like we're gonna be here quite a long time.
- 32, elephant, elephant, elephant.
33, elephant, elephant, elephant.
34, elephant, elephant, elephant.
- Cheers. - Eight--is that 38?
39, elephant, elephant, elephant.
40, elephant, elephant, elephant.
42, elephant, elephant, elephant.
43, elephant...
- We're into the final stretch.
- Elephant.
44, elephant, elephant, elephant.
45--wait, 45.
- We'll do these next ones together.
- 46, elephant, elephant.
- 46, elephant, elephant, elephant.
- 47.
both: Elephant, elephant, elephant.
- 48.
both: Elephant, elephant, elephant.
- 49.
both: Elephant, elephant, elephant.
- I must have miscounted, but--
- What? - 51.
I don't know, but it's not in there.
- Where's your card? - It's not in there.
- You probably just missed it. - No.
- Let's start again.
Oh, you'd like that,
wouldn't you, Penn and Teller,
Alyson endlessly counting cards
while I slowly poison myself with potassium.
Well, not on my watch
because the cards were smoke and mirrors.
It's nothing to do with the cards.
It's all about the elephants.
Alyson, what number did you end up with?
What number of elephants?
- Uh, 153.
- 153 elephants? - Possibly.
- Inside the Penn and Teller Chamber of Sorrows,
Jade, let's take a look.
♪ ♪
Oh, ladies and gentlemen!
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9,
10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17,
18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25,
26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32,
149, 150, 153 elephants!
Lower the trophy!
Is there a problem?
You understand what's happening, right?
You're holding 153 elephants, right?
And Alyson stopped at 153 elephants.
So you understand? Yeah?
Well, guess what, it's 152 elephants,
so it's a technical fool, but I'll take it.
Ladies and gentlemen, let's lower the trophy!
Lower the trophy!
Okay.
You know what, I thought it might come to this.
Sure, you're holding 152 elephants.
But there is still one elephant in the room.
Alyson, would you please join me over here
with the playing cards?
Bring the playing cards over here, Alyson.
- All right.
- That's right, one elephant in the room.
Oh, Elfie? Oh, look who it is!
it's Elfie the Magic Performing Elephant!
That's right, I've got my own magic performing elephant,
and it's not some pigmy spotted [bleep].
No, it's a genuine baby elephant
who does magic tricks.
I traded in the dog for an upgrade.
All right, Alyson, give me those playing cards.
Now just focus on your card. You ready?
On the count of three. One, two, three.
Oh, would you look at that?
It's the three of clubs!
Give it up for Alyson, ladies and gentlemen, Alyson!
How about a round of applause for Miss Jade Simone!
- Whoo! - Yeah!
- But of course, the true star of the evening...
It's Elfie, the baby elephant!
- Whoa.
- Lower the trophy.
Lower--you understand this is a genuine baby elephant here.
Okay. Is this what it's come down to?
Is it just gonna take just a bribe?
Is that what it's gonna be?
I've been after this trophy for ten years.
So if it's about money, then I think I can help.
Jade.
Alyson, that is no regular playing card.
That is in fact a gift card, Alyson.
Examine the card, Alyson. - Yeah.
- The card you're holding, does it appear to have a lump,
a bump, a lovely little hump?
- It is a lovely hump. - Yeah?
- Yeah. - But look at it.
Does it look like a standard regulation card
with something growing, living, breathing inside the card?
Would you do me a favor?
Would you tear the corner of the card?
Just tear the corner of the card.
Just tear the corner, just the corner.
- Okay, I hear what you're saying.
- That's it, yep, Keep going all the way down.
All the way down, keep tearing, all the way down.
- Okay, all the way. - All the way down.
- Inside Alyson's card,
I believe we should find
a $20 bill signed
by Penn
from the beginning of the show.
- Wow!
[laughs]
Piff the Magic Dragon!
Oh!
That was fabulous.
- Thanks, Alyson. Thanks for your help.
- Yeah, I'm so glad I got to be a part of it.
- You nailed it with the math, didn't you?
- That was the hardest part.
So are you disappointed your disguise didn't fool them?
- It did fool them, clearly. It's just--
- Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- It would have been the quickest fool in history.
- Definitely, I mean, for my count--and you know,
the counting was the rough part for me,
but I feel like you got, like, five or six trophies tonight.
- I think so.
And I could just have them pre-packaged in one sort of,
like, champagne crate, that would be great.
- Okay.
What do you think they're talking about?
- Maybe how not to break my heart.
- That would be nice.
Okay, Piff, let's go to Penn and Teller
and see if you get that trophy you so desperately deserve.
- Piff!
- Yes. - How are you?
- I'm very good. How are you, Penn?
- Good to see you. It's been ten years, Piff.
We first met you over in England.
And since then, since your first appearance on "Fool Us,"
you've gone on "America's Got Talent"
and did fabulously, although you didn't win.
You've gotten your own theater in Las Vegas.
You've been filling it up all the time.
You play all over the country, all over the world.
You've done shows everywhere.
You've accomplished so much!
And the one thing you haven't accomplished,
the big drag in your life--and I use the word "drag"
very carefully--the big drag in your life
is you have not won a "Fool Us" trophy.
The first time on "Fool Us," you killed us.
We loved you. You did not win a trophy.
During those ten years we've been on stage together,
you and I have worked here in Vegas together,
we have become really, really close true friends,
and we love you, Piff.
But you did not win a [bleep] trophy!
See you in ten years!
- Oh. - You bitch.
[laughter]
- Piff the Magic Dragon!
[cheers and applause]
- Ten years, baby. - See you in ten years, Piff.
- I'll see you in another ten, boys.
- We'll also have dinner tomorrow night, okay?
- Yep, great. I'm free.
[laughter]
- Penn and Teller were surprised
to see their old friend Piff.
But they weren't fooled by him.
More surprises to come, so don't go anywhere.
[jazz music]
- Welcome back.
Penn and Teller have already given up more
than one "Fool Us" trophy to our next magician.
Sorry, boys. Look who's back.
- When you live in Australia and you compete
against two American icons like Penn and Teller,
people take notice.
Dad designs and builds all the magic right here
in his secret workshop.
All our secrets are right here in this shed.
They're just waiting to be used.
We fooled Penn and Teller once.
Then we fooled them again.
And then the last time I came on...
- We have a three-time Fooler, Helen Coghlan!
- I became the first magician in history to fool
Penn and Teller three times on their own show.
And it's always been with one of Dad's tricks.
We'd have to be crazy to mess with a record like that.
And with Australia's national honor on the line,
we're gonna pull out all stops.
So, Penn and Teller, here's another one for you.
♪ ♪
[cheers and applause]
- She's so good she doesn't even need to be in Las Vegas
to try to fool you guys.
Joining from Australia
is three-time Fooler Helen Coghlan!
[cheers and applause]
- Hello, Penn. Hello, Teller.
I'm on the beach
on the beautiful Gold Coast, Australia.
Now, I knew if I wanted to try and fool you guys
for the fourth time,
I was going to have to come up with something truly special.
So Dad has created the most difficult escape yet.
I want you to be able to see all the way around,
so here's the 360-degree view.
I know sometimes magicians are known for lying.
I'll admit that.
But we know each other well enough at this point, don't we?
So I think you'll trust me when I tell you
that this is a 100% metal box.
The bolts, they're welded on the inside.
It's completely solid and impenetrable.
The only way out is magic.
All that's left to do is attach the heavy metal door,
and the solid metal latch, and solid metal pin
that's gonna seal me in tight.
And I've got four volunteers helping me out today.
What makes this escape especially difficult is
that I'm barely able to move.
I'm completely trapped
at my legs...
My arms, and my waist...
And also my head.
I've never had to escape from anything like this before.
Gee, thanks, Dad.
Now, of course, I have the home court advantage.
But I like to play fair.
You should have a little gift in front of you that I've sent.
Take the cover off and have a look.
It's a scale model of the escape I'm in now.
And it comes complete with a little me inside.
So if you can figure out
how to get little me out of the little cage,
you'll know how the trick's done
because you know I'm not gonna let you see me do it.
After all, we all need a little mystery.
Let's do it.
[tense music]
♪ ♪
For those of you at home trying to figure out what I'm doing
at just this moment, good luck.
And to you two, Penn and Teller,
I hope this escape has you both scratching your heads.
As for why I'm on the beach, well, that's to prove
there's no trapdoor funny business going on.
Tunneling my way out of this cage is
completely out of the question.
Geez, I don't even like getting sand in my shoes.
And the last thing I want is
to be buried headfirst under it
with a 300-pound steel cage on top of me.
But hang on, I don't need a trap door.
I think I've got this figured out.
Penn, Teller,
you'll see the cage is still completely locked,
and the restraining shelves are still in place.
It's as if I've walked through solid steel.
And maybe I did.
[cheers and applause]
- Helen Coghlan!
[cheers and applause]
Hi, I miss you!
- Hi, Alyson. I've missed you as well.
- So fooling them three times.
You must be a hero in Australia.
- I wouldn't go that far. I haven't saved anyone.
But I'm quite excited about the third trophy.
And obviously, Dad is as well.
- Yeah, is it fun to be working with your dad,
or is he a tough partner?
- It's fantastic.
It really is good. I love it.
- Do you think you've fooled them again?
- Honestly, Alyson, I couldn't say.
But I'm really--I'm hoping I have.
- Okay, Helen, let's see
if you can escape with a fourth trophy.
- Hello, Helen.
- Hello, Penn. Hello, Teller.
- Here we are again. - Have you missed me?
- You know, you and your dad work on these things.
You prepare yourself for these.
But this time, we prepared for you
because Teller, unbeknownst to you...
- Ooh, okay.
- He bought your dad's book.
- Uh-oh. - He bought your dad's book.
And he studied it. And he read it.
And he came down with--thinking about the way
you've done stuff in the past, the way your dad does stuff,
he had a way with hinges and stuff like that,
but he didn't have every single detail on how you get out that.
I thought--and I couldn't
figure out exactly how to do it,
but I thought that the whole front was
all just misdirection,
and you actually went out the back.
We don't get two bites at the apple,
so we had to pick one.
So since Teller didn't have all the details,
and I didn't have all the details,
we decided to come down to one question.
And that is--we're just,
you know, holding you to your word.
You're out on a beach in Australia.
We're back here in Vegas.
Did you go out the back?
That's all we're giving you.
If you went out the back,
you don't get your fourth trophy,
and we win this time.
Did you go out the back, Helen?
- Start lowering that trophy, boys.
- Oh! - Yay!
- I did not go out the back. - Whoo!
- Four times, Helen!
- We have a four-time Fooler! - Four times.
- Fool me once, well, never mind.
Fool me four times, it's shame on everybody.
But next time, you're not gonna fool us.
We're gonna prepare even more. - That's a challenge.
That's a challenge. - That is a challenge.
- We have another four-time Fooler!
Congratulations, Helen Coghlan.
Penn and Teller will keep your trophy tucked away
until you join them in Vegas.
Yay!
- Say hi to Australia for us, Helen.
Love you. Peace.
- Bye. - Bye.
[cheers and applause]
We've got a Fooler in the house.
And we could have another.
More "Fool Us" after this.
[jazz music]
♪ ♪
- Welcome back.
This next magician already has a "Fool Us" trophy,
but he wants to mess with Penn and Teller one more time.
Take a look.
- Surprise. I'm back again.
- Paul Gertner!
- For those that are keeping score,
I've been on "Fool Us" four times.
I'm pretty sure that's a "Fool Us" record.
And I've fooled Penn and Teller twice.
My wife Catherine gets really nervous
when she watches me perform.
After my last appearance, I promised her I'm done.
I won't be back on "Fool Us" again.
But then, I thought of a new trick, and it's a good one.
My show in Boston is my testing ground.
Every trick I do here,
I've done there hundreds of times.
But I haven't been doing shows lately,
so I'll be facing Penn and Teller
with a trick I think will work,
but it's a little scary.
Catherine, I'm sorry, but this is the last time.
And we'll finally see how I make out
in this best of five series.
It's tied two-to-two. Cross your fingers.
[cheers and applause]
- Making his record-breaking fifth appearance on "Fool Us,"
please welcome Paul Gertner!
- Thank you, thank you.
Well, Penn, Teller, it is a pleasure
to be back here on "Fool Us" again.
And I realized,
since I'm going for my third "Fool Us" trophy,
tonight I have to perform a hat trick.
- Yeah.
- And it's a very simple trick.
It uses three objects.
It uses three dice, a hat,
and it uses a magic wand.
Now, the dice will stay here
on the table by Penn.
The hat will stay over here on the table by Teller.
And the wand is going to stay in my hand.
And if you watch the three dice,
I'll take them one at a time.
Die number one, I take it in the hand,
I give it a tap,
and it disappears, and travels through the air,
across the table, over by Teller,
under the hat.
Now, that's the first time.
I'll do it again.
See, if you watch die number two, and, Penn,
if you watch very carefully, I'm gonna place it in my hand.
I'll ask you a question. You can be honest.
You're not gonna hurt my feelings.
Do you think it's still there? Or you think it's gone already?
- I think it's in the hand. - You're right.
I didn't do anything yet, but this is die number two,
which means I have to tap it twice.
And then it disappears,
travels through the air, across the table,
over by Teller, under the hat.
Now, I'll do it one more time, but this time, Teller,
I'm going to reveal part of the secret to the trick,
not the whole secret, just part of the secret.
You see, when I pick up the die
and I place it in my hand,
it only stays here for a few seconds.
And when I tap it, I don't just tap it,
I give it what we call in the trade a tap and take.
You're familiar with that, of course.
It's something magicians use all the time.
You see, I tap and take it at the same time.
Now, let me explain.
When I did this the first few times, you didn't see it,
because my hands were moving so fast,
even if you watched this in slow-motion video,
you wouldn't see the tap and take done at fast speed.
But watch what happens when I slow down the process.
You can see the tap and the take separated
by about half a second.
I take it from here over to here.
I pretend to place it in my pocket.
But of course, in reality, I'm going to take this die,
and I'm going to flick it under the hat,
and it looks like it was there all the while.
Now, we'll do it one last time, though.
You see, if I take two in the hand,
one in the pocket--Penn, how many in the hand?
- Two.
- But if I give it a tap, there's one, two, three.
I'll do it again, here, Teller, so you can see.
Two in the hand, one stays in the pocket.
Yeah.
But if I give it a tap,
now there's one, two, and three.
Penn, Teller, this is your last chance
to see how they get in the pocket or the hand.
Slow-motion. That's one.
That's two.
This one stays in the pocket.
And Penn, if you watch very closely, take a guess.
Where do you think the dice are?
♪ ♪
- In the hat. - The hat?
You know, those three dice have combined under the hat
to form--let me check--yep, the big one.
Hey, but I know where this one comes from.
And I know where this one comes from.
But you know what I can't figure out?
♪ ♪
Where in the world did that one come from?
Thank you.
Hey, I don't know if these two surprised you.
But I'm kind of hoping this one this one will
because we're in Las Vegas.
And in Las Vegas, dice always come
in pairs.
Hey, Penn, Teller, I just produced three jumbo dice,
but that's not the hat trick I promised.
This is the hat trick.
- Very nice.
- And Penn, you get the hat.
Teller, you get the die.
And I thank you very much.
- Thank you so much. - Thank you!
Thank you.
- Paul Gertner!
[cheers and applause]
I mean, this is your fifth time here.
And so far, you fool them every other time.
- That's true. I have every other time.
- Yeah. - You're right, you're right.
- Is this a trick they'd be familiar with?
- Well, actually, I've been doing the bulk
of the trick for about 40 years.
But that ending,
it's the premiere here for that ending.
- Oh, my goodness.
Do you try to get into their headspace of, like,
what are they gonna be looking for?
- Completely. - Oh.
- Completely, yeah.
There's a number of elements
designed in this trick just for that purpose.
- So do they have a blind spot?
- Hmm, that's a good question.
'Cause I don't know, but I'm hoping I found it.
- Yeah, all right, Paul, well,
let's see if your hat trick gives you a hat trick.
- Okay.
- Hey, Paul, we love having you on the show,
for all sorts of reasons.
First of all, we love you, and you're great.
But also, even if you do classic stuff,
you do it better than anyone else.
And for anybody who's studying magic,
you got a ball routine here,
you've got two in the hand, one in the pocket,
you've got a Max Malini big ending with big things.
And a lot of people are very, very happy to do one big finish
or two big finishes,
or rarely three, but you did, like--all nested,
one in the other, like four.
And then if you add all the dice together, you did,
like, dozens,
maybe a hundred big endings there.
It's really great.
And when you fool us, I always get a little angry,
and I've called you a lot of things, Paul,
not all to your face, some to Teller here.
But the one we haven't called you is a cockroach.
I've never called you a cockroach.
But I wanted to call you a cockroach.
It reminded us of when we were on David Letterman's program.
And on David Letterman's program,
we had a top hat that we brought away from the desk
and then put back on the desk, and then opened it up,
and it had--or pulled it off--and it had,
like, hundreds, hundreds of cockroaches.
- Ew.
- And I think the way
we loaded those final cockroaches
was very similar to the way you did the dice there.
And when I did all the cockroaches on David Letterman,
and they covered David Letterman,
I called my mother and told her what we had done
to David Letterman, and she said to me,
"You will never work in show business again.
You'll never be on that show again."
And I want to say to you, Paul, I don't think you fooled us,
but I really, really hope you're on this show
a lot more in the future.
- Well... - Well?
- I think you definitely nailed that cockroach thing.
- Aww, so they know how you did the trick?
- I think they got me.
- Aww.
Well, Paul, we love you so much.
Paul Gertner!
- Thank you!
- Thanks, Paul.
[cheers and applause]
- Stay right where you are because up next,
it's time for Penn and Teller to take center stage
with a trick of their own.
[jazz music]
- We couldn't say goodbye without seeing
a signature trick from our amazing duo.
Take it away, Penn and Teller.
- Stay right here, Alyson. I want to show you something.
You know, there's still some people that have trouble
accepting evolution as fact.
I think their problem is they can't imagine--no matter
what the time period is--one species
turning into another.
But I am uniquely gifted to give them a demonstration
how that can happen 'cause I can turn
from this species into another.
Let me show you.
Step over there on the other side of my gorillas gas.
Teller created this gorilla gas,
which helps my DNA reformulate.
I just have to take a hit of it,
and already I start to change.
See, Alyson, already I feel different.
And--ahh! I'm turning into a gorilla.
The species is actually changing.
But I don't want to hurt you, Alyson.
And I will as I become more animal.
So lock me in this cage. Lock me in this cage, Alyson.
I don't want to hurt you, but I will.
Lock it, and then go in the chair.
- Okay. - Alyson, go in the chair.
- Okay, okay, I'm trying! - Protect yourself, Alyson!
- I'm trying! - Protect yourself!
- Okay! - Better go--I'm changing!
I'm changing! Teller, the drums!
I feel it, I feel it!
Teller, the drums! Teller, the drums!
I feel it! I feel it!
I can feel myself--
[gorilla noises]
[dramatic music]
♪ ♪
Argh!
♪ ♪
- Get--ahh!
- It's okay, Alyson! I'm right here!
I'm right here, Alyson. Only my hand changed.
I'm all right.
That's just Teller.
Don't worry about anything there.
Alyson, that was just Teller.
Just my hand. It's just a glove, Alyson.
- Okay, all right. Well, we gotta go.
But we'll have another amazing night of magic
for you all when "Fool Us" returns.
Good night! - Good night!
[cheers and applause]