One of our heroes, United States Supreme Court Justice Benjamin Cardozo said, “Life in all its fullness must provide the answer to the riddle.”  Welch v. Helvering, 290 U.S. 111 (1933).

The Welch case considered whether a taxpayer could deduct as an expense debts he paid on behalf of his bankrupt former employer.  Mr. Welch claimed by paying the debts, he would improve his reputation among his customers.

Reputation is important to individual magicians and to our art as a whole.  Events on Britain’s Got Talent caused magicians and lay commentators concern about our craft’s reputation.

Given that tease, let’s dive into the whirlwind that is the United Kingdom live television series, Britain’s Got Talent.

We understand from the often interesting and occasionally accurate London tabloid, The Sun, that at least one of our ilk remains in the running for the big money and fame.

Merlin Cadogan was photographed betting a cool 50 pounds on himself as the likely winner of the ITV series.  He stands to win a whole bunch of money if he is right.  Ladbrooke’s  pegged his odds at 50-to-1.

So, let’s see: that is 50 times 50 pounds plus the original 50, for a total of something like, approximately, 25 million pounds or 250 or 25,000.  We are never sure where the decimal goes when multiplying two or three digit numbers.   Plus, with the conversion from British Pounds Sterling to U.S. moolah, that is approximately a wad and a half or roughly six standard fistfuls.

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