Magician reveals card cheating secrets in intimate Chicago show

CHICAGO - They say a magician never reveals his secrets. But a card counter — well that’s another story.

Harry Milas is a magician and a card counter, the kind casinos would like to keep out. In Milas’ show "Unfair Advantage", he shares some of the secrets of card cheating, promising to take the audience on a journey of deception.

You may be wondering if he uses his special talents to beat the house?

"Certainly there was a short period of time when I was younger that I was thinking maybe I could get away with this kind of stuff," said Milas. "But I learned early on that maybe it's much better to use this to enforce good play and fair play, so the casinos actually like me quite a lot."

The show at Steppenwolf’s Merle Reskin Garage Space is an intimate affair, just 35 people sitting across the table from Milas as he reveals tricks of the trade.

"I think a lot of people when they see magic on TV, or maybe on a big stage like that, it still can be wonderful," Milas said.  "But close-up like this, you really get to see the stuff. We talk about how to cheat at cards. We talk about how magic works. We talk a bit about poker. And we make room to answer questions after the show."

He says other magicians would approve of these revelations.

"We're sharing gambling secrets here," said Milas. "Not magic secrets. Because magic secrets are private. The gambling secrets are there for everyone to know."

Milas is considered a "leading sleight of hand artist" in Australia. His trademark show "Unfair Advantage" is playing in Chicago through April 21. For tickets, visit unfairadvantage.show.