Congratulations, Neal E. Boyd! After an agonizing hour of filler and manufactured suspense Wednesday night, our guy Neal was announced as the $1 million winner of “America’s Got Talent.”

It came down to him and Eli Mattson, with just one-half of 1 percent separating the two in the voting; the closest result ever, host Jerry Springer said.

Neal cried, as he always does; his friends from Sikeston and St. Louis and even Mizzou were in the audience, cheering and hugging. The Las Vegas gig that’s part of the prize is Oct. 17; the $1 million isn’t as much as it sounds like, since it’s delivered as a 40-year annuity (just $25,000 a year?)

But hey, he’s the winner, and his hero Placido Domingo sent him a message of congratulations. So yay Neal!