Whatever Happened To AGT Winner Mat Franco
Fans of America's Got Talent may remember magician Mat Franco from his winning appearance on the NBC talent show back in 2014 (via Franco's official site). And the season nine champion has enjoyed a packed schedule since first wowing the AGT judges with his signature close-up magic all those years ago.
According to Broadway World, Franco became a household name on the Las Vegas strip in the year following his America's Got Talent victory, with the hugely-successful debut of his 2015 show Mat Franco: Magic Reinvented Nightly at The LINQ Hotel & Casino. Following a string of rave reviews from critics and fans alike, the LINQ Theater was officially renamed The Mat Franco Theater in 2017, Talent Recap reports.
Franco also starred in his very own two-hour magic TV special, titled Mat Franco's Got Magic, which aired on NBC back in 2015. More recently, the AGT winner signed a new deal with Caesars Entertainment in 2020 that included a five-year extension of his popular Las Vegas residency show.
Mat Franco returned to the America's Got Talent stage
In August 2020, Franco revealed to fans on Instagram that he had been invited perform on America's Got Talent season 15 with a caption that read: "A quick stop on our way to the set of America's Got Talent. People keep complimenting our stylish masks." As Talent Recap reported, he appeared on the live results show a couple of days later, surprising AGT judges Heidi Klum, Modern Family's Sofia Vergara, and guest-judge Kelly Clarkson with some truly mind-blowing tricks.
Franco's signature magic skills can also be enjoyed on the magician's very own official Youtube channel, and the AGT star recently began wowing fans on TikTok after the coronavirus pandemic forced him to postpone many of his scheduled live Vegas shows. As reported by the Las Vegas Sun, Franco made his hotly anticipated return to the Vegas strip in December 2020 following an eight-month hiatus. "To say I'm excited to get back to work is an understatement," Franco said in a statement, adding: "I do magic to bring people happiness, laughter and amazement. I think we all could use more of that right now."