Magician Mat Franco chatted about the 10th anniversary of his residency at The LINQ in Las Vegas, future plans, and his 2025 “Magician of the Year” win.
The LINQ residency
On his 10th anniversary at The LINQ, he said, “It has been pretty surreal. It is really hard to wrap my head around it because it all goes by so fast.”
“So, I just try not to take it for granted,” he admitted. “You know, I wake up and try to remember that this is what I dreamed about my whole life. So, it’s pretty cool to actually be able to do it.”
2025 ‘Magician of the Year’ win
Regarding his “Magician of the Year” win, he shared, “I won the ‘Magician of the Year’ Award from the Academy of Magical Arts at Magic Castle in Hollywood. It’s very exciting because I had never won that award before.”
“It’s pretty cool to be respected by my peers, and to be kind of a magician’s magician, if you will,” he acknowledged.
“I never expected it, so it was pretty cool. It just kind of came out of the air. I guess now I get lifetime access to the Magic Castle,” he said with a sweet laugh.
‘America’s Got Talent’ performance with Shin Lim and Piff the Magic Dragon
Franco enjoyed going back to “America’s Got Talent” where he performed and collaborated with Piff the Magic Dragon and Shin Lim. “That was a lot of fun,” he admitted.
“The movie people at Lionsgate for ‘Now You See Me’ approached us and said, ‘hey, we’d like to do something with real magicians from AGT,’ and we agreed,” he revealed.
“We worked on a concept and we worked on it for a few months and we got Jesse Eisenberg to be part of it and some of the other cast members from the new movie which comes out next month,” he elaborated.
“So, it was a lot of fun to put together. As a solo act, it’s a lot of fun to collaborate with other magicians and actors,” he added.
Future plans
On his future plans, he remarked, “I try to keep my goals pretty general and big but broad. So, my goal is always to just be able to share what I do with more people. So, I will keep going with the residency.”
“I’m always creating magic for different platforms whether it be for online, television, on stage, or all of the above. I just love what I do,” he said.
“So, for me, it’s an amazing work-life balance with having two kids and doing the residency six nights a week. I really love it and I thrive on it. So, for me, it’s all just a magical future,” he foreshadowed.
“My baby girl is just about eight months old now and my son is about two and a half,” he said.
“So, my hands are full but I’m so thankful to have a residency show as opposed to being on the road constantly doing touring and things like that. It’s great to be able to set up shop in one place,” he explained.
The digital age
On being a part of the digital age, Franco said, “I actually really embrace it and enjoy it. I post on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube pretty much every day and I create content all the time and I have a lot of fun doing it.”
“I think as long as it stays fun and you have fun doing it, I think it’s a great thing,” he observed.
“So I really enjoy having fun with it. I use it as a creative outlet to kind of share ideas and things like that. I really enjoy it and embrace it,” he expressed.
MacKenzie Sol
Franco had kind words about influencer and singer Mackenzie Sol, whom he had the chance to collaborate with on social media reels.
“Mackenzie is great. We have done a couple of things together,” Franco noted. “Mackenzie is a funny guy. He is a singer, h performs in Vegas, and quite a bit in different places. He has such funny ideas, and his character on social media is just hilarious. It just cracks me up.”
“It’s really amazing to watch him work. He really understands the digital age, as you call it,” Franco added.
Greatest lesson that The LINQ residency has taught him
On the greatest lesson that The LINQ residency has taught him, he reflected, “Experience is the best teacher.”
“Five years ago, I was five years in, and I thought I felt comfortable on stage. I thought I felt experienced, and I thought I felt like I knew what I was doing,” he said.
“Now, I look back five years later with a thousand more shows or more under my belt than before. I feel that much more experienced, and that much more comfortable,” he acknowledged.
“I really do still learn things every single show, including last night. It just happens every single night where you learn more and you get better. There is no way you can learn that from a class,” he explained.
“There’s no way you can learn that from a mentor either,” he said. “No one can really do the work for you, not just with magic, but with anything, whether you’re talking about business or hobbies or whatever it is that you are passionate about. Experience is truly the best teacher,” he elaborated.
Remembering the late magic instructor Eugene Burger
Franco fondly remembered the late but great magic instructor Eugene Burger, who mentored so many of his own heroes and mentors (including Jeff McBride).
“Eugene Burger was great. In fact, before I called you, I was actually reviewing one of Eugene’s posthumous books,” Franco noted.
“There were some books of his work published after he passed away. I was actually, coincidentally, just flipping through one of those right before I called,” he said.
“So yeah, I’m always going to be inspired by those who came before me. I am standing on the shoulders of giants, as you know,” he added.
Message for his fans
For his dedicated fans and supporters, Franco said, “Thank you so much for the support over the years. I appreciate you sticking with me through everything.”
For more information on award-winning magician and illusionist Mat Franco, check out his official website, and follow him on Instagram.
