Las Vegas Strip headliner abruptly closes 16-year show

Fator’s foray as a Las Vegas residency headliner is over. The 2007 “America’s Got Talent” champ announced abruptly Tuesday morning that his ventriloquial production at The Strat Theater is ending, and soon.

His final performance will be Tuesday night.

Thus ends Fator’s 16½-year run as a Strip performer.

“Las Vegas will always be my home, and I’ve loved every moment performing at The Strat for fans from all over the globe,” Fator said in a statement issued by a PR rep at 4 a.m. “I can’t wait to bring my characters, comedy, and music to symphony stages, share some brand-new television projects, and expand my touring schedule with an all-new road show.”

Fator has not announced the closing on his social-media platforms. He has not returned a text for further comment.

In June, Fator performed his first show with the Las Vegas Philharmonic at Reynolds Hall at The Smith Center. He used his figures sparingly in that show.

Fator moved into The Strat in May 2024, first taking the 5 p.m. slot and later moving to 7 p.m. after the dance show “iLuminate” closed this past May.

SPI Entertainment founder Adam Steck said: “It has been an absolute honor to produce Terry’s show at The Strat,” and wished Fator well in continuing to perform his show to audiences on the road.

Fator’s show reportedly did not find its audience at The Strat, undercut by slow 2025 ticket sales. The headliner had performed 200 shows at the theater, and more than 3,500 overall in Las Vegas.

Last month, Steck assessed the ticket-buying climate, saying all of his shows were suffering except for “Thunder From Down Under,” which seemed to be “holding its own” in ’25.

“We look at all of our shows, year over year. It’s pretty brutal out there,” said Steck, who operates the Strat Theater and the Thunderland Showroom at Excalibur. “I would say most of the shows under our umbrella are about maybe 15 to 20 percent down as far as attendance goes, across the board.”

Steck’s rooms present psychic medium Matt Fraser and “Rouge” at The Strat, and “The Australian Bee Gees Show,” Mac King and “Thunder” at ExCal.

Fator arrived in Las Vegas amid ample fanfare and a pair of sold-out shows at the Las Vegas Hilton in 2007, just after winning “America’s Got Talent.” In February 2009, he opened a hit residency production at The Mirage, in a theater that would later be named for him, headlining until 2020.

He then headlined at New York-New York at the upper-level Liberty Loft, after a temporary run at the former Zumanity Theater through the pandemic reopening.

Finally, he moved to The Strat, hoping to catch on at the resort that positions itself as the Strip’s northernmost property. Ever congenial and confident, Fator will pack up Julius, Duggie Scott Walker, Fernando, Vickie the Cougar and Winston the Impersonating Turtle and hit the road.

John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.