His father bought him a book about Houdini and Munari was hooked. His love for magic came at 12 when he was sidelined with a broken right leg. With close to 100 people in his employ, Munari still is passionate about his craft. It didn’t used to be that way,” Munari said. “There’s much more competition now and everybody wants to be a Sunday magic shop owner (online). He’s also added video shorts with the sale of his tricks, which can be accessed with a code online. Today, his magic empire is housed in 10,000 square feet of office and warehouse space in Las Vegas.

“I looked like ‘I Love Lucy’ on the assembly line,” Munari recalled. Munari’s differentiation plan then snowballed into a second venture, Houdini Publishing.

Concerned about his investment, Munari said he figured if he could make his tricks more valuable by explaining 50 different things to do with them, he could price his a little higher and stay in business.Įventually he purchased a printing press to make the pamphlets himself. At the time he found out that magic tricks were being sold at a counter elsewhere in the theme park at cheaper prices. In 1993 the magic man began printing instruction booklets to sell with his tricks in an effort to differentiate himself. We’re one of the few brick-and-mortar shops left in the whole world,” Munari said. Today, he owns five Las Vegas locations, plus one in San Francisco and one in Disneyland. Geno Munari opened the first Houdini’s Magic Shop in 1992 at the MGM Grand Adventure Theme Park after thinking the former Las Vegas haunt would be a good place to sell magic. Picking out just the right magic trick can be difficult with so many options, but with any luck, the resident magician can help - after he or she performs for the waiting crowd. Memorabilia for sale and for viewing are pictured in the museum area.Īt Houdini’s Magic Shop, shelves are jam packed with the unusual.

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