Las Vegas, Nevada, April 23, 2026 — Las Vegas magician Mat Franco was inducted into the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) College of Fine Arts Hall of Fame Tuesday at the 21st annual Hall of Fame Gala at Wynn Las Vegas, joining a distinguished roster of past honorees that includes Penn & Teller, David Copperfield, Mac King, Lance Burton, and Siegfried & Roy.
Franco acknowledged the honor with the wit that has made him one of the Strip’s most beloved performers. “I didn’t have the privilege of studying at UNLV,” he said, “so I may be the only inductee who got in solely on a record of perfect attendance at a nearby casino. I always imagined that to get into any kind of Hall of Fame it would require lots of studying, maybe a master’s degree or a doctorate — but it turns out you can get in if you’re willing to get really good at card tricks and willing to avoid getting a real job at all costs.”
The road to that nearby casino began a long way from Las Vegas. Franco was born in Johnston, Rhode Island, where, at age four, a magic performance on television set the course of his life. He begged his parents for a magic set and began performing tricks in his kindergarten class. His grandmother — the first of many collaborators — would read magic instructions aloud to him when he was too young to read for himself. By age 12, he had saved enough money from local shows to fly to Las Vegas to study performance with some of his idols, including master magician Jeff McBride.
That childhood pilgrimage foreshadowed a lifelong obsession. “I have the great opportunity to tell my audiences here in the great city of Las Vegas that it has always been my dream to be exactly right here,” Franco told the Wynn crowd Tuesday night. “When I was a little kid I begged my parents — I passed on Disney World. I was like, no, no, take me to Vegas.”
Franco went on to earn a marketing degree from the University of Rhode Island in 2010, but magic was always the destination. He became the first magician to win America’s Got Talent, a breakthrough that launched his LINQ residency — now in its second decade and recently extended for another five years, cementing his place as a proven audience favorite on the Las Vegas Strip.
The honor of introducing Franco fell to fellow Hall of Fame inductees Penn & Teller, who were themselves inducted into the UNLV College of Fine Arts Hall of Fame in 2012.
Even in the spotlight of the honor, Franco remained grounded. “When a kid from Rhode Island that does card tricks for a living gets any kind of recognition,” he said, “it’s kind of a big deal.”
Also inducted at the gala were entertainment luminary Cindy Doumani and filmmaker and longtime UNLV professor Francisco Menéndez, honored posthumously. Menéndez spent more than three decades building the college’s film program and earned the CILECT Teaching Award in 2020, a prestigious honor from the global association of major film and television schools.
The evening also featured the UNLV Hall of Fame’s inaugural Global Impact Award, presented to Sphere Entertainment and accepted by executive chairman and CEO James Dolan.
The Hall of Fame was founded in 2003 to recognize those who have made a significant impact in the visual arts, performing arts, and architecture. This year’s ceremony additionally marked the 25th anniversary of Nevada Conservatory Theatre.
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