Some performers seem made for the Las Vegas Strip even if they did not get their start in Sin City.
Many of the biggest name residencies on the Strip have set up shop there because it's convenient. Adele, Bruno Mars, Garth Brooks, Lady Gaga, Luke Bryan. and other big-name performers could sell out venues wherever they go.
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By performing a residency, however, they don't have to travel and have much lower costs. Moving a set, crew, band members, and the other things needed to perform costs a lot of money. By playing a residency at one venue, these top-tier performers get big paydays for much less work.
But in addition to the megastars who headline at Caesars Entertainment (CZR) , MGM Resorts International, Wynn Resorts, and at other Las Vegas Strip properties, there are numerous "only in Las Vegas" headliners. It's hard to picture Carrot Top, Wayne Newton or Donny Osmond steadily playing to sold-out crowds in much of the country.
The same logic applies to novelty acts like magicians. Las Vegas has had countless magic acts that have had long headline runs at a time when it's hard to picture attending a magic show anyplace else on Earth.
Las Vegas has also given a home to ventriloquists, impressionists and other acts that have gained renown on reality TV. One of the biggest names from that world has now shared that his longtime residency will be ending.
"America's Got Talent" became a Las Vegas hit
"America's Got Talent" makes people famous, but many of the acts that win never find fame beyond the show. That's because many of the performers on that program do things that don't generally draw an audience.
That easily could have happened to Season 2 winner, Terry Fator, because aside from performing on cruise ships, there's very little market for ventriloquism. Fator, however, has a modern take on that form, which includes celebrity impressions, comedy, singing, and ventriloquism in a show that is "perfect for fans of every age," according to his website.
You might not go see an act like Fator's if it visits your town for a night, but for the Las Vegas Strip it's a perfect match. The performer, who's arguably the most famous person to emerge from "America's Got Talent," uses a variety of puppets to impersonate "everyone from Garth Brooks to Stevie Wonder, Lady Gaga to Elvis ... and he manages to do it all without moving his lips," his website says.
Fator has been in residency at various MGM Resorts International properties for 15 years, but that's coming to an end.
'America's Got Talent' star closing his Las Vegas residency
Fator's current show has been the Liberty Loft at New York, New York after moving from the former Zumanity Theater at the same property. The performer abruptly said that his residency would be closing down relatively soon,
“I can confirm that I will be leaving New York-New York Hotel & Casino as of March 26, 2024. I look forward to continuing to entertain audiences both in Las Vegas and around the world, and am excited to share new updates with my fans very soon. I would like to thank MGM Resorts for a wonderful 15-year partnership," the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.
Fator has not disclosed his next Las Vegas Strip destination or whether he would seek another residency, but the newspaper implied that he might move to The Palms, an off-Strip resort casino.
"America's Got Talent" continues to run a live show at MGM's Luxor, which features multiple past winners of the long-running television program as well as some fan-favorite acts.
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