The Daily Punctilio says that opening night at Herring Houdini was a success comparable to the Hindenburg. The Hindenburg was a dirigible that exploded, killing 35 people.
As their plot to capture the Baudelaire orphans - in addition to the two remaining Quagmire triplets - seems to be going their way, Olaf and Esmé celebrate by dancing. The Quagmire orphans are named Isadora and Duncan. Isadora Duncan was a famous dancer who, like many characters in this series, met a rather gruesome and untimely end: killed when the scarf she was wearing became entangled in the wheels and axle of the car in which she was riding.
Lot #49 is V.F.D. In the book, V.F.D. is Lot #50, while Lot #49 is an antique stamp collection - a reference to The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon.