David roth for his natural hand motion
David stone for his great routine
Shoot ogawa for his sleight
Ponta for his smoothness

My favourites have changed over time but through it all Roth has always been up there. That guy is a living legend and I could probably sit and watch him just flip a coin and still find it riviting. The Dai Vernon of coins. I wonder if he ever gets nerves when he performs cause he always seems so ultra confident and cool.

Pretty simple, in no particular order:

Shoot Ogawa (one of the few that can fool me)
Ponta (in dreams my coin work looks like his)
Gary Kurtz (known for jumbo coins but his regular coin work is amazing)
Mike Gallo (fries me)
...and Roth.

I've never loved David's performance style but his mind is throughout my coin work. He deserves every accolade he's received. Coin work would be years behind if not for him.

Shoot think differently than the rest of us. He has the makings for being the next Roth.

I met Kurtz at a small convention in Tennessee 12+ years ago. He did a triple spellbound routine for me while having beers. It was one of the most magical things I've ever seen. He did more than fool me, he made me feel like a kid again who never read a book on magic. I was astonished (as Paul likes to say).

Check this out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZ0ZNcrYDEA

I would have to say that The Godfather, Vinny Marini is one of my favorites too. Vinny is amazing as was the late, great Werner G. Sietz here...Loved to watch him work.