It'll be a con the same as his living in ice thing. Eskimoes live in igloos that are pure ice and are nice and toastie. And during the "icing" breaks where men spray the ice to keep it cool, he slides into an underground hidie hole with food and TV and a body double takes his place for the next shift.
One of the Secrets of Magic shows on Sky showed how this was done so I suppose in time the secrets of this one will come to light as well.
hes just an attention seeker. a very good one though, his tricks on the street are incredibly believable, he makes it so there is no other option than for the card to have been "magic" because he does the tricks with no stage or secret places, and even more amazingly he does the tricks with no sleeves, nearly all magicians have sleeves
He's doing something that a few people in hospital do as well, only they don't get paid millions to do it.
But he's a good street entertainer, and I don't object to him. He makes a living playing tricks on people - tells them he's playing tricks on them, and they still love him. It's not as though he's not honest.
Still just a fakir, however you like your entertainment.
Agree with Duncan above, he's going to get liquids, and they will probably be doctored with all sorts of luvverly nutrients, just like people on life support .
Who knows, he'll probably even put on a few pounds!