Comments on: The Events – How to win the National Lottery

By: Lee J

Lee J — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 19:11:56 +0000

Shouldnt Derren be recieving some kind of mention in the Guiness book of records for doing the largest most televised prediction trick ever ?

By: Cat

Cat — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 06:57:03 +0000

I’m with the split-screeners, and I think I know when you can see it change…
The wobbly camera would make it virtually impossible to pull a split screen stunt however there are around 2 seconds as Derren reads out the numbers in numerical order where the screen is totally still – as if the camera has been placed on a stand. Check it out. It’s as he reads out the numbers in the 20’s. Once you see it, it stands out like a sore thumb.
Tonight’s show I hope he’ll explain all that but pull something out of the hat that will have us all scratching our heads – like the numbers being on plain view somewhere in advance of the Lotto draw – in the trailer or in the show itself. A great trick if he can do it and one that we may never find out the answer to….

By: Jenny

Jenny — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 14:08:45 +0000

We need to remember that you CANNOT predict the lottery/future.

I very much doubt it involves split-screen, mirrors or ‘magic-balls’

I think the big pointer is when Derren writes the numbers on the piece of card, it is entirely unnecessary and is simply buying time…the numbers could be put on the screen just as the BBC do with the Aston graphics.

So, he buys time – draws our eyes to the card, at which point I believe that someone swaps the balls…its still damned slick though!

By: Catriona

Catriona — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 10:59:38 +0000

I really don’t think it would take Derren or anyone else a year to come up with that one…! It’s gotta be something that takes an hour to explain on friday! lol

By: Bob from High Wycombe

Bob from High Wycombe — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 10:30:13 +0000

I think I may know how this was done… Split Screen

Split screen, vertically between Darren with the TV on the right, and the “prediction” balls on the left.
When Darren is looking at the TV making a note of the numbers, the left half of the screen is frozen.(freeze frame).
This allows an assistant to load the ball holder, unseen, with the correctly numbered balls.
Assistant then quickly leaves.
As Darren moves back towards the “prediction” balls, the left half of the screen is un-frozen.
This allows Darren to reveal balls that were placed there by the assistant.

Job Done… but it looked good, and was entertaining.

Now if Darren had predicted the numbers 15 seconds before the draw was made, then that would be Brilliant!!!

By: Paul Id

Paul Id — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 09:50:47 +0000

What a crooked moderator ! Why was my original post deleted, becauase I guaranteed that he would not be saying the numbers first and then the result would be shown after, thats what the word predict means. Heres a guess how it was done.
The balls are made of heat material, the same material that certain printer paper is made from, when it contacts heat then it goes black.
On the stand there is a dot matrix of heat emitters, and they can easily be programmed so once a number is known then the heat emitters print the number onto each ball. With todays technology theres hundreds of ways it can be done. Whatever way it was done, the fact remains that the balls were manipulated only after the result was know, anyone who beleives otherwise is completely deluded, as its impossible.

Msg from Abeo: I don’t appriciate being called crooked, It was deleted not due to it’s content, but the tone of voice it was written in (similar to how you started this post).

By: Stuart

Stuart — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 08:56:55 +0000

On Derren’s into to the Events video he is sitting in front of a screen with an unnecessary split in it. The split screen is immediately behind his right arm – the same arm he juggled the lottery balls without looking at them in the ad.

Now, he is an extremely accomplished magician who has demonstrated an obsessive level of expertise in card manipulation, but I have seen Cirque Du Soleil jugglers at work on a nightly basis and even they need to watch what they are doing…

The podium with the lottery balls was to his right.

By: dave f

dave f — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 08:24:59 +0000

I’m not saying this is it but…..
So the advert was a rather cool video of Derren juggling in on had qiuite rapidly the lottery balls explaining that he’s going to predict the numbers right. So his recent adverts have been littered with clues to his upcoming project right? The juggling advert was a split of someone juggling in one hand and the Derren pasted over the top. Perhaps this was a little clue that the live feed was going to be split (The left from the right) and the numbers replaced before he went and turned around the stand.

I hope it wasn’t and he did work out a system as this would be more interesting than “smoke and mirrors”

By: Calum

Calum — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 19:05:15 +0000

Thats what i don’t get, the draw is never going to be that late, so it’s not predicting atall as he can just get told the draw

By: Floppy

Floppy — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 17:26:20 +0000

The draw is made at 8pm. (I think) Events in the past when it has to move. Euro 96 (one draw took place at 9:30pm), Eurovision Song Contest (It has to start at 8pm BST time, 9pm CET), Guinevere broke down (no ones fault, draw was started at around 9pm), Diana, Princess of Wales Death and the World Cup France 98. The latest it has been drawn is 9:30pm. He is only saying that he will predict the results announcement. There is plenty of time to receive the results from lottery HQ before results announcement.

Will be watching with great interest anyway!