First magician winner headlines ‘America’s Got Talent’ Live

Mat Franco’s fall is booked with shows on college campuses, except for a little detour to Planet Hollywood Resort this weekend as the winning headliner of “America’s Got Talent” Live.

The 25-year-old became the first magician to win the NBC talent show in its nine seasons on the air. Friday and Saturday’s Axis theater shows with the other five finalists fulfill the “Talent” promise to make a Las Vegas headliner of the winner, but fans around the country won’t otherwise see this season’s contestants on tour.

And don’t assume, if you’re busy this weekend, that Franco is sure to be back on the Strip as a full-time alternative to Criss Angel or David Copperfield. “I don’t know what opportunities will present themselves,” he said last week, the day after winning the TV contest. “I do love Las Vegas (but) it’s really too soon. It hasn’t sunk in yet even.”

Franco did a crafty job of customizing his prediction-based, sleight-of-hand magic to make maximum use of “Talent” judges Howard Stern and Mel B. And he displayed a personality and sense of humor that other magicians were not able to convey in their limited camera time.

For that, Franco credits his time on the college circuit. “When I finished college I made a conscious decision to do college work,” he says.

“I wanted to be consistent because I think that’s what makes you better. It was tough going from a college to a corporate show the next day, to a family show and then to an elementary school. You really are never practicing the same thing twice.”

By sticking to colleges, “You really refine it, in the same way David Copperfield refines his show in Las Vegas. You start really finding that voice that belongs to you, because you’re not altering it based on who is in the audience.”

Franco doesn’t argue the theory that four musical acts that also made the “Talent” Top 6 may have split the vote, allowing him to emerge as the winner of public voting. “I knew it was a possibility the singers could cancel each other out, but at the same time I knew they all had very different fan bases,” he says.

The final night of competition was so close, “Every time I looked on the monitor backstage it looked like the judges were on their feet, because it was just such a strong night. I didn’t know what to feel. There was no sense of overconfidence or ‘Oh, I don’t belong here.’ It was just even keel.”

Now he will be reunited with the acrobatic troupe AcroArmy, cellists Emil &Dariel, singers Emily West, Miguel Dakota, Quintavious Johnson and the vocal-instrumental group Sons of Serendip. “Talent” judge Mel B will host.

Contact reporter Mike Weatherford at mweatherford@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0288.