Las Vegas Weekly

February 16, 2009 · 10:27 AM

$100 million man Terry Fator begins his five-year run at The Mirage

By Robin Leach

Terry Fator and Donald Braswell.

Photo: TVT

It was an America’s Got Talent reunion for the opening night of Terry Fator’s monthlong run of previews for his new $100 million, five-year contract at The Mirage. Teenager Julienne Irwin, who placed fourth behind Terry in Season 2, and tenor Donald Braswell, who finished fourth this past Season 3, showed up to wish Terry well. Also there was actress Dee Wallace, and backstage The Tonight Show host Jay Leno, who was appearing in a comedy show in the same showroom after Terry's performance, added to the congratulations.

Terry’s packed first-night house gave him a near five-minute standing ovation, and he told the audience that it was a dream he’d waited more than 20 years for to come true. Moments after the curtain came down, he told me: “I can’t believe it actually happened. But I couldn’t be happier.” He went out into the lobby where more than 300 fans waited to get his autograph and have their photos taken with him! Click HERE for our exclusive interview with Terry last week.

Last night, Terry made a surprise appearance at his former Hilton showroom, where he’d played guest shows monthly for the past year. He wanted to support Donald, his fellow Texan who was performing.

While touring in London in 1995 with the Welsh National Opera, Donald was badly injured in a car crash that wrecked his throat tissues. Doctors told him he would never sing or speak normally again. He was devastated and stayed indoors for one year! Then he decided he’d fight his way back, and now the opera man can sing in Italian, Spanish and Russian, and his arias amaze fans.

I sat alongside him during Terry’s show, and he told me: “If half of what happened to him could happen to me, it would be another amazing miracle. The TV show has been incredible for all us as a way to showcase our talents that we might never have ever gotten.”

Said Terry: “I’m feeling good. My first show went beautifully. Yes, we’ve got some tiny things to tweak with lighting and camera zooms, but we’re ready. Hopefully we’ll last 20 years here in Vegas. Our big gala premiere is March 14, and I’ve got some seats reserved for all those talent agents who told me over the years that my act would never work here and I’d never land a Strip headline gig. To work in Vegas and to live in Vegas just 10 minutes from my theater after traveling on the road for 27 years nonstop trying to get a lucky break really is a dream come true.”

Share This