Newport's Magic Man Performs in AGT Finals Tonight

Newporter Mat Franco will take the stage yet again tonight on America’s Got Talent as one of 12 finalists in the popular NBC talent show fighting for the million-dollar prize.

So far, the magician and entrepreneur has wowed both the judges and audiences with dazzling tricks that reveal little more than his remarkable talent and mastery of craft. And he’s made it look so easy.

Displaying skill that could fool Pen and Teller, Franco has dunked Judge Mel B’s iPhone in water only to cut it out of a seat at Radio City Music Hall moments later, dry as a bone. He’s transported a playing card into Howie Mandell’s back pocket -- after a mind boggling display of eerie prediction.

“I’ve been dedicating my whole life to magic and it’s unreal to see people be receptive to it like this,” Franco said on stage last week moments after it was announced he was moving on to the next step of the competition. “It’s beyond my craziest dreams.”

Mel B told Franco that she was “this close” to punching his lights out when she watched him plunk her iPhone in her drink cup.

But when she reached into that seat cushion and pulled out her working phone -- complete with the photo he just took at the judge’s table to prove it was the same phone-- she lost the desire to give the magician a shiner.

“It helps that you’re pretty cute,” Mel B said.

“You are a very talented magician,” she said. “You captivate all of us.”

Franco is a graduate of the University of Rhode Island and has been performing for freshman orientation classes since he was a student.

Judges also said they were impressed by Franco’s work ethics, noting that he hit the road between rounds on AGT to perform in front of college crowds, including at URI just last week.

Franco has been obsessed with magic since his boyhood, studying magicians he watched on TV and recording shows for repeated study. By the age of 12, he was in Las Vegas to learn from the masters and in no time he was hired to perform at the Riviera Hotel and Casino, eventually winning awards in competition after competition.

Franco has tapped into college-aged audiences since the day he appeared on campus as a freshman. He has developed a wild and dazzling show that blends classic as well as innovative magic and illusion with a solid dose of college humor.

Franco is also the founder of Franco Talent, a speciality talent agency featuring a slate of top college performers.

America’s Got Talent airs on NBC at 8 p.m, Eastern Time.

After the show, phone voting open begins but only for a few hours. There will also be online voting opportunities. For more info, watch the show or visit http://www.nbc.com/americas-got-talent.

Photo Courtesy: Mat Franco via Twitter.