The Strat Hotel & Casino & Tower is a hotel and casino located in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. It includes a 1,149 ft (350.2 m) observation tower, the tallest in the United States. It is also the second-tallest observation tower in the Western Hemisphere, surpassed only by the CN Tower in Toronto, Ontario. The tower is topped by a skypod which includes a revolving restaurant, lounges, and observation decks. The top of the tower also has several thrill rides. The hotel and casino facilities are situated at the base of the tower, and the resort also includes a showroom and a shopping mall. The Stratosphere is located within city limits on Las Vegas Boulevard, just north of the Las Vegas Strip. The resort is sometimes considered to be a Strip property, although Clark County does not officially recognize it as such, stating that the Strip does not extend into city limits.
America's Got Talent is a televised American talent show competition, and is part of the global Got Talent franchise created by Simon Cowell. The program is produced by Fremantle USA and Syco Entertainment, and broadcasts on the NBC television network. It premiered on June 21, 2006, after plans for a British edition in 2005 were suspended, following a dispute within the British broadcaster ITV. Production would later resume in 2007, following the success of the first season. Each season is mainly run during the network's summer schedule, and has featured various hosts over the course of the program's history. The current host is Terry Crews.
Sam Wills is a New Zealand prop comic, busker, clown, and mime artist residing in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. He performs under the name The Boy With Tape On His Face and, more recently, as Tape Face. He was also half of the two-person act Spitroast and sometimes performed under his own name, Sam Wills. He has been featured in the New Zealand International Comedy Festival, the World Buskers Festival, and was a finalist on Season 11 of America's Got Talent.
Terry Wayne Fator is an American ventriloquist, impressionist, stand-up comedian, and singer. Born in Dallas, Texas, he developed an interest in ventriloquism from a young age, developing both this and a talent for singing. After initially performing with two bands, Fator eventually conducted solo performances, combining ventriloquism and singing with comedy. He gained national recognition for his talent when he won the second season of America's Got Talent, which helped to boost his career.
India's Got Talent is a televised Indian Hindi language talent show series and is part of the Got Talent franchise. The program is produced and distributed by Fremantle and Syco Entertainment. The show aired on Colors TV till season 8. Since season 9 the show is airing on Sony Entertainment Television.
The fourth season of American talent show competition series America's Got Talent was broadcast on NBC from June 23 to September 16, 2009. Following the previous season, Jerry Springer left the show due to other commitments, and was replaced as host by Nick Cannon. A number of changes were also made to the program before filming commenced, which included replacing the "boot camp" stage with a round similar in format to that used by Britain's Got Talent, and changing the buzzer format to match that being used by the Got Talent franchise. In addition, the episodes for results in each live round of the competition were also modified. They were broadcast over a one-hour period, and would feature performances by guest stars.
Recycled Percussion is a Laconia, New Hampshire-based band. The group was originally formed in Goffstown, New Hampshire.
Michael Joseph Grimm is an American singer-songwriter and winner of the fifth season of America's Got Talent.
Hassan El Hajjami, also known as Haspop, is a French stage director, choreographer and dancer.
The sixth season of American talent show competition series America's Got Talent was broadcast on NBC from May 31 to September 14, 2011. No major changes were made in the program's format, although a number of participants who auditioned later dropped out due to obligations outside the competition. However, the season attracted media attention after one of its participants established a world record during their performance on the program.
Canada's Got Talent is a Canadian television reality talent show, which debuted on the Citytv network on March 4, 2012. It is part of the global Got Talent franchise.
The first season of Canada's Got Talent, a reality television series, premiered on City in 2012. Unlike America's Got Talent, the show only had the audition round, Top 37, semi-finals and a finale. The premiere episode aired on March 4, 2012. It had a viewership of 2 million on average, throughout the night, which was a record for Citytv. The season ended on May 14, 2012.
Landau Eugene Murphy Jr. is an American jazz singer from Logan County, West Virginia. He received national attention for winning the sixth season of the NBC reality show America's Got Talent. Landau has released a total of 4 albums since his victory in 2011. Landau used his free time during the COVID-19 pandemic to earn his high school diploma and serves as an advocate for adult education in the state of West Virginia with the West Virginia Department of Education's "It's Never Too Late to Graduate" campaign. Landau continues to advocate for adult education, offering the official Landau Eugene Murphy Jr. Scholarship at Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College in his hometown of Logan, West Virginia. Following his time on America's Got Talent, Landau has continued to host a series of charity events around the state of West Virginia. Landau has since performed around the world, having played in Shanghai, China in 2013 and at the World Expo in Dubai in 2022. Landau continues to perform around the country annually and wraps up every year with a Holiday tour across his home state. In 2014 Landau was listed in the Jaycees Ten Outstanding Young Americans list.
Murray John Sawchuck is a stage illusionist, magician, comedian, actor, and host. Based in Las Vegas, SawChuck has dubbed himself "The 'Dennis the Menace' of Magic," and his shows often consist of a blend of "comical mishaps" that result in illusions and magic tricks. He was featured in the fifth season of America's Got Talent, and is the resident magic historian on Pawn Stars. SawChuck has also appeared as a magic coach on five episodes of the VH1 series Celebracadabra, and has been a guest star on shows such as Reno 911!, Last Comic Standing, Celebrity Blind Date, War of the Worlds 2: The Next Wave, and Ring of Darkness.
A concert residency is a series of concerts, similar to a concert tour, but only performed at one location. Pollstar Awards defined residency as a run of 10 or more shows at a single venue. An artist who performs on a concert residency is called a resident performer. Concert residencies have been the staple of the Las Vegas Strip for decades, pioneered by singer-pianist Liberace in the 1940s and Frank Sinatra with the Rat Pack in the 1950s.
Mat Franco is an American magician best known for his personality driven, skill-based sleight of hand magic. He gained fame as the first magician to win America's Got Talent, in the show’s ninth season. Franco went on to produce and star in his own primetime TV specials on NBC, Mat Franco’s Got Magic. In 2015 he created and debuted his live stage show in Las Vegas, Mat Franco - Magic Reinvented Nightly, and he is currently headlining at The LINQ Hotel + Experience at the Mat Franco Theater. In addition to winning "Best Magic Show" at the Best of Vegas Awards, Franco's live production was the top-rated magic show in Las Vegas according to Billboard.com in 2021. Mat Franco - Magic Reinvented Nightly was awarded Best Show on the Las Vegas Strip again in 2022.
Light Balance are a Ukrainian LED dance troupe formed in 2012 and based in Dnipro, Ukraine. They are best known for television appearances in competition shows.
Liang-Shun Lim, known professionally as Shin Lim, is a Canadian-American magician, recognized for his use of card manipulation and sleight of hand. He is known for elaborate close-up card magic routines, during which he remains silent with the tricks set to music. He is self-taught, having learned most of his skills from watching YouTube, and has in turn shared some of his own techniques in videos on the site.
Xavier Mortimer, is a French magician and variety performer. A winner of multiple awards, he has appeared on television shows Penn & Teller: Fool Us, America's Got Talent, Masters of Illusion, Plus Grand Cabaret du Monde, and The Next Great Magician on ITV. Mortimer lives in Las Vegas and performs his resident show at the Strat.
Dustin Tavella is an American magician and singer. He is best known for being the season 16 winner of the NBC show America's Got Talent as a magician.
