Thursday, January 01, 2004
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Psychics foretell prosperous '04 for many in LV

Fortunetellers: Goodman should relish new year, but Dion will have problems

Las Vegas psychic Patricia Marks talks about some of her predictions for 2004 at her Charleston Boulevard office. One: Michael Jackson will become very ill. Photo by John Locher. Margo Piper, right, and Pam Knouse of the Psychic Eye Book Store in Henderson predict Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman will have a banner year in 2004. Photo by Gary Thompson.

Two out of three psychics agree: 2004 will be a good year, especially in Las Vegas.

A decidedly unscientific survey of local psychics revealed mostly guarded optimism for 2004, at least from the few fortunetellers who agreed to make predictions.

The new year looks especially promising for Mayor Oscar Goodman and President Bush, while other prominent figures such as Celine Dion and Michael Jackson might want to watch their steps.

First the bad news, courtesy of Margo Piper from the Psychic Eye Book Store in Henderson: "It's going to be a year from hell for Mother Nature," said Piper, who envisions chaos worldwide as a series of natural disasters serve to humble humanity and remind us of "what's important."

"I have a really bad outlook for (the new) year," said Piper, who has been reading tarot cards for the past 15 years and working at Psychic Eye for about a year. "I didn't realize it until I started talking to you."

But Pamela Knouse, who works just a few feet away from Piper at Psychic Eye, sees good things in 2004. "I think it will be a good year," she said. "The people are going to start doing better."

Some people more than others.

Both Knouse and Piper predict a banner year for Oscar Goodman. So does Patricia Marks, owner and head psychic at Palm & Tarot Card Reader, a small business with bars on the windows at Charleston and Las Vegas boulevards.

Marks said Goodman is "going to do something a little provocative that will help a lot of people." Whether those people will be prostitutes and supporters of a downtown red-light district, Marks couldn't say.

Whatever it is that Goodman has up his sleeve, Marks said the mayor will use his new-found popularity to seek a higher office in Nevada.

All three psychics also predict a good year, culminating with an election win, for President Bush. Marks said the vote will be "very close," and Piper predicted that the election will produce a strong independent candidate backed by fervent supporters clamoring for change.

When it came to local politics, the psychics were noncommittal. All three stared blankly when asked about the fallout from the Galardi political corruption indictments that snared current and former county commissioners. After being prompted with a few key details, both Piper and Knouse said they thought only one of the figures in the scandal would suffer anything more than a slap on the wrist: former Clark County Commissioner Dario Herrera.

In the entertainment field, all three predicted a year of improvement for magician Roy Horn, though none of them expect him to return to the stage in 2004. "He's going to be better, but I don't think the show will go on -- at least not this year," Marks said. "But he will do better, thank God."

The future is clouded for Dion, according to the psychics. Marks said that Dion or someone very close to her is going to be involved in an accident, "though it can be prevented."

Piper said she saw personal problems, maybe of the marital variety. Knouse predicted a mostly successful year for Dion, but she said some sort of illness would prompt the singer to cancel some shows in August.

Meanwhile, another celebrity with ties to Las Vegas will see his bad luck get worse in 2004, Marks said. "Michael Jackson is going to become very ill ... bedridden," she said.

As for the rest of us, the three psychics said terrorism is one thing Las Vegas residents won't have to worry much about in 2004. The psychics said any plans for an attack here will be thwarted, though Marks said she sees something small happening in Las Vegas. "It's not just going to be a scare."

And commuters take heed: "There's going to be some kind of crack in one of our freeways," Marks said. "I see a ramp going up."

But there will be "no big major collapse," she said, "more like a boo-boo or a no-no will be done."

Overall, though, Las Vegas will be a safe and prosperous place to be in 2004.

"Our economy in Las Vegas, our books will be up," Marks said. "Las Vegas will have more money coming into it."

Specifically, Marks sees a large new industry for the valley, something involving the manufacturing of furniture.

The economic recovery won't happen all at once, Knouse said, but after March or April the housing market will take off and "people are really going to be happy with the flow of money."

Despite her gloomy vision for 2004, not even Piper would argue with that. "Locally, this town thrives," she said. "It always will."