For Fator, getting a headline show was the ultimate, but on top of that, he also won the grand prize of $1 million. He says that winning the money set in when he and his wife drove past a car dealership and saw a car she had always wanted — only this time, the car was something she can have now.    Things have come a long way since his first paid gig years ago.

   “I remember getting my first check July 4, 1976 for $25 after I entertained a crowd with my ventriloquist act,” Fator said. “I was just thinking, 'I can get paid for doing this?'”               

   Fator hopes that winning AGT will raise the bar of ventriloquists. He has a laid-back type of personality, but when it comes to his ventriloquism — it’s down to business. Some characters take years to develop, while others, such as the popular Winston the turtle, formulate instantly.

   “I have more than 100 voices,” Fator said. “If I want to learn how to do a voice — I work at it for however long it takes.”           

   After starting out a bit discouraged on the show when judge David Hasselhoff called him “just another ventriloquist,” Fator is about to show Las Vegas what he can do. And to that, he says the stars really aligned for this.

   “When I’m onstage — I’m the closest thing to being in heaven itself.”