Magician Does the Trick for Bored Customers at Innovative Omaha Coin Laundry

OMAHA, Neb. — “The Amazin’ Silko” stepped in front of his audience and greeted them. Neatly dressed in a midnight-blue tuxedo, he proceeded to pull cigarettes out of the air.

Facing the attentive audience, he raised his right arm and turned over his empty hand, and the cigarettes appeared from behind his fingers.

Around him, the washers were spinning through their cycles. The dryers were whirling the bath towels and shirts.

Silko’s real name is Bill Brown, and though he is comfortable working in the world of shadows and illusions, his audience thinks he has a clean act.

Brown is the house magician at the Triangle Coin Laundry.

Periodic Shows

Every few months, Brown does a half-hour show in the middle of the laundry room.

Why have a magician perform in a laundry?

“Basically, doing laundry is boring,” said Steven Chasen, 35, the manager of the business, which is family owned. “Anything to get people to enjoy it is worth trying.”

The response of the customers runs the gamut. There are those who freeze-frame while folding their underwear or pouring the fabric softener.

“Others are nonchalant and try not to act surprised,” said Chasen.

Square Dance Experiment

Chasen said he got the idea of bringing entertainment into the Triangle from a trade magazine. About six years ago he read about a business in Texas that held square dances, so he tried out the idea in Omaha.

One of his customers, he learned, was a square dance caller and he brought in a band. After six months Chasen had to stop because the dancers’ heels made a mess of his floor.

Then he brought in a rock ‘n’ roll band but a music union wanted him to pay them for having the band play. He gave up that idea.

Chasen found out that Brown, who works at the laundry as a steam presser, was a retired magician, and the performances began.

Brown, 59, had been a performing magician for 25 years before retiring. He did nightclub acts throughout the Midwest and on the West Coast.

Looks of Amazement

“I love the applause, no matter where it is,” said Brown. “The main thing I look for is to see the amazement.”

Roberta Hartford, 24, a pharmacy student at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, enjoyed the show.

“I think it was a great idea,” Hartford said. “There are not a lot of laundries that have a magician.”

“I liked it, it was fun to watch,” said Pat Hernandez, a housewife, as she sorted her clothes. “He was really good.”

Hernandez’s 5-year-old daughter, Makayla, assisted Brown during one of his tricks.

Brown does his performances at the laundry for free on his days off. He says he does not get paid for his performances and loves to do benefits, especially for children. “I love people,” Brown said.