Mat Franco, the magician who has headlined at The LINQ for more than a decade, is bringing Netflix cameras into his 600-seat Strip theater this October to film his first-ever streaming special. The tapings are set for October 5 and 6, with the 38-year-old performer scheduled for three shows: 7 p.m. on October 5, then 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. on October 6.
Franco announced the news alongside a cross-promotional campaign with Fantasy Claw Arcade, according to a report from the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Netflix will announce the special's premiere date and other details later, per the same report, but the taping location and dates are locked in at the Mat Franco Theater inside The LINQ Hotel & Casino.
Tickets, Prices, and Who Can Attend
Tickets for the Netflix taping shows run $65 to $190 plus applicable taxes and fees, and are available through matfranco.com and Ticketmaster, the outlet reports. The tapings are open to audience members ages 5 and older, and anyone with questions can call 855-234-7469 for information. The theater itself was designed as an intimate 600-capacity room built specifically to support Franco's close-up sleight of hand and interactive style, according to a Ticketmaster listing for the venue.
That interactive, audience-driven format is central to why filming in this particular room matters. Franco's stage show has always leaned on spontaneous audience participation rather than scripted illusions, and translating that dynamic onto a streaming platform marks new territory for him. Streaming services have leaned into that kind of interactive magic content in recent years — Netflix's own unscripted catalog already includes Justin Willman's Magic for Humans and mentalism specials from Derren Brown, according to VODzilla.co.
A Claw Machine Tie-In With a Magic Twist
Franco also unveiled a cross-promotional partnership with Fantasy Claw Arcade, which is expanding its skill-based games beyond its existing locations at Area15 and Miracle Mile Shops at Planet Hollywood. The arcade brand's flagship, a 4,500-square-foot space inside Fashion Show Mall on the Strip featuring more than 120 Japanese-inspired claw prize machines, opened in May 2024, according to Fantasy Claw Arcade.
Visitors to Fantasy Claw Arcade locations can now win Mat Franco merchandise, tickets, and VIP experiences through the machines. “You never know what's waiting for you inside the machine. And this time, the prize might just be a little piece of my magic,” Franco said of the promotion, per the Review-Journal's report.
A Decade-Plus Run That Just Got Longer
Franco started his LINQ residency in 2015 and has since surpassed 3,000 performances there, a milestone that underscores just how entrenched he has become on the Strip. He reached his 1,000th show at the venue in July 2018, less than three years after opening his residency in August 2015, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal's earlier reporting.
In March 2026, Franco added five years to his Caesars Entertainment headlining contract, extending his residency at The LINQ through 2030. That stability traces back to his rapid rise: Franco won Season 9 of America's Got Talent on September 17, 2014, taking home a $1 million prize and becoming the first magician in the show's history to win the competition, per a report from Niagara Frontier Publications. A year later to the day, he starred in his own NBC special, Mat Franco's Got Magic, which premiered September 17, 2015.
The Strip's Magic Scene Is Shifting
Franco's expanding footprint arrives as the Strip's magic landscape undergoes a broader shake-up. David Copperfield ended his 25-year residency at MGM Grand on April 30, 2026, prompting resorts to negotiate new headlining magic shows, Hoodline previously reported on the MGM shakeup. Around the same time, Clark County has continued honoring its long-tenured magicians in other ways: Penn & Teller had a stretch of West Viking Road near the Rio Hotel & Casino renamed Penn & Teller Court in October 2025 to mark their 50-year career, and Franco himself once received a Key to the Strip and an official Mat Franco Day declaration from Clark County in July 2017, the same year Caesars renamed the venue in his honor.
The Review-Journal's report, written by columnist John Katsilometes for the paper's Kats! section, does not specify how Franco's live show will be edited or adapted for the streaming format, nor does it detail how the Netflix release might affect future ticket demand for his now-extended residency. Those specifics are expected to come later, once Netflix shares premiere dates and other details for the special.
