Magician Mahdi Moudini, who won his third Merlin recently, tells Faisal Asyraf about his win and future endeavours in the New Straights Times..

MAGICIAN and illusionist Mahdi Moudini’s sleight of hand is amazing. Watch as he folds a RM1 note and turns it into US$1.

A member of the audience was so impressed that he handed over RM100 note, hoping to make a quick buck.

Mahdi, 35, was no stranger to such requests, so he took the money and told the person he would turn the RM100 into RM1 since he does not fulfil get-rich-quick requests. Later, he returns the RM100 which appears from his mouth.

The Iranian-born Mahdi has a lot of tricks up his sleeve. Standing on the small stage in the Renaissance Hotel Kuala Lumpur ballroom, he continued to amaze the audience.

He opened a book and set fire to the pages, from which a pair of white doves appeared and flew around the hall before landing on the shoulders of one of the audience. In another trick, he made a white dove appear from toilet paper in his hands.

“It’s not black magic, just a magic trick that confuses your mind,” said Mahdi, who has called Malaysia home for the past 16 years.

Read more: SHOWBIZ: It’s sheer magic – Sunday Life & Times – New Straits Times