They
came from in and out of town. Some brought their own decks, confident
Carrado was aiming at the impossible, but no one walked out with the jackpot.
Here are a few articles, advertisements and press releases about the
contest...
For Immediate Release
$5,000.00 Cash can be yours... that is, if Carrado, The Playing Card
Detective, fails to tell you the playing card you selected. You can
even use your own deck, old or new. One never knows if Carrado is
going to blindfold himself and have you select a card, or place the deck
behind his back or over his head, or spread the cards out on his arm, or
in a variety of ways. He always performs in short sleeves so he cannot
be accused of having cards go up his sleeve.
The unusual place is owned by a chimpanzee, Kokomo Jr., who named it after himself and calls it the Kokomo Jr. Sandwich Tree. The eatery is decorated with pictures of Kokomo Jr. with celebrities that he has appeared with on TV and in the movies, including Jack Benny, Tony Bennett, Julie Newmar, Dick Cavett, Jack Paar, Jimmy Durante, Bob Hope and many more.
I wonder what will happen if Carrado misses. Will the chimp go ape, or bananas?
Date of Event: February 28th, March 1st, 2nd and 3rd.
Time: 6 to 9 PM Evening and 2 to 4 PM on Saturday afternoon.
Place: Kokomo Jr. Sandwich Tree, 104 W. South Street, Aberdeen, NC
ABERDEEN - There's nothing bashful about Nick Carrado. He likes to describe himself as the "Playing Card Detective," and well he should, since few people have better command of a deck of pasteboards.
That was evident last week at the Kokomo Jr. Sandwich Tree, a miniscule eating place in the heart of downtown Aberdeen.
The heroes and the subs, piled high with cheese and cold cuts, were great, but the major attraction was the brash, upstate New Yorker and his wizardry with a deck of cards.
At stake was an unqualified offer of $2,000 to the man, woman or child who could stump the master by picking a card he couldn't identify.
They
came from in and out of town. Some brought their own decks, confident
Carrado was aiming at the impossible, but no one walked out with the jackpot.
Time after time the man, whose life style as wrapped around a highly trained chimpanzee named Kokomo Jr., left his audience blinking as he correctly named cards that came from everywhere.
It made no difference how the selection was made, or what the card. From ace to deuce, Carrado hit the nail on the head every time, and, for the sake of variety, occasionally pulled the right spot out of his pocket or from thin air.
The close, intimate air of the sandwich shop, with its handful of tables and tiny bar, made a perfect backdrop for the display of card magic, and the man with the bag of tricks made the most of every minute.
His patter was smooth, directed straight at those who believed they could stump the expert, and his hands were never still as they lovingly toyed with a new deck.
"Why not?" Carrado said as he baffled yet another customer, "I've been at it ever since I was nine or ten years old. Every time I make a move with a deck of cards I'm practicing and developing new techniques."
From the dexterity of a one-handed shuffle, which required countless hours to master, to a slick double deal that defied detection, Carrado kept the customers well entertained, and held on tightly to his alter ego's money.
"You see," he said, "Kokomo Jr. would have to write a check out of his account if we had a winner. I'm human and could miss, but it's just that I never do."
The Sandwich Tree represents a novel experiment for the New York native, who settled at nearby Carthage several years ago with his Nancy and Kokomo Jr., a chimp whose talents are well known to television and shopping center audiences across the country.
"If things work out," he said, "we hope to open a chain of Sandwich Trees in shopping centers," and judging from last weekend's reaction to Carrado's magic and Kokomo's charm, a new fast food career may be in the making.
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