TABLE TALK 11

“Shuffling with me I have Michael Slaughter, President and CEO of The United States Playing Card Company. Mike share with us how you use Richard’s fingers in testing your pasteboards.”

“First, Jon, I have to explain, over the last several decades there have been numerous technological changes to the equipment used in the paper making industry, as well as how cards are handled mechanically in casinos. As the industry changed we needed to make adjustments to our product to ensure we could maintain the exacting play and performance characteristics that have set the global standard for high quality playing cards.  

Jon, being that we are the only playing card company in the world that produces its own card stock and have built  a reputation on how our cards feel in one’s hand, we looked to Richard to help with this key attribute. We were not willing to sacrifice the feel of our cards in the hand as this is so critically important to Magicians, Cardists and how players interact with our playing cards.  

We put our cards through rigorous testing in-house but there is no substitute for the hands of Richard Turner.  

Our paper scientist engaged Richard because of his incredible ability to ‘feel the difference.’ Countless times we would send Richard decks of blank cards that were simply numbered as sample 1, 2 or 3.  

On occasion we would even attempt to fool Richard with placebo cards and he would still manage to tell us which ones they were.  

Richard’s input helped us fine tune the critical technical attributes to maximize the feel of our cards in the hand. 

Jon, every time you crack open a fresh pack of Bicycle or Bee brand playing cards you can rest assured that they have been influenced by the hands of Richard Turner.”