It's curtains for "The Sopranos."

There is only one question that matters tonight: Does Tony Soprano get whacked?

After more than eight years and 86 episodes, HBO's The Sopranos ends this evening with an enticing, multi-entendre-titled installment, "Made in America."

The object of weeks of speculation, it follows the penultimate episode, which closed with Tony lying in bed, cuddling an automatic rifle like a security blanket.

Is creator David Chase - who likes to offer homage to mob stories past - about to bow to Scarface and have Tony go out in a blaze of glory with his "little friend"?

If Tony lives, it matters less to diehard fans whether he does so as a tattered mobster, sans some of his soldiers, or as the newest member of the FBI's witness protection program, fleeing North Jersey for North Dakota. Their favorite sociopath will have triumphed just by surviving.

Everybody, it seems, has an opinion on how the series should end. In a Fairleigh Dickinson PublicMind poll, Sopranos viewers both nationally and in New Jersey - by a 2-1 ratio - said they preferred that Tony survive.

In the last week, we asked several prominent local fans of the acclaimed show how they expect the final curtain to fall.

Bob Brady,

U.S. representative, unsuccessful mayoral candidate, and city Democratic Party boss: "Tony is going to flip and go with the feds. They're going to say to him, 'Give us what you got on the New York mob.' The feds are going to protect the family, and they will go into the witness protection program."

Steve Sweeney, New Jersey state senator: "I'm hoping Tony Soprano wins. After all, he's the Jersey guy. The other guy is from New York. I watch it every weekend and have since the beginning. I think Tony will kill Phil at the end. I'll be sorry to see Phil go, though. I loved his hairpiece."

Joseph Roberts, New Jersey Assembly speaker: "I think there is a chance that Tony flips and becomes a government witness against Phil and others . . . which is possible now that so many people close to Tony have been whacked. He has little to lose at this point.

"But I think that would represent a very unsatisfying ending. So I am predicting that Tony will die in the final episode, and maybe take Phil with him. Tony Soprano will be sleeping with the fishes, and I don't mean he will be visiting the Camden aquarium."

Jerry Blavat,

disc jockey: "He either goes into the witness protection program or sees the light and goes into the seminary."

Larry Mendte, CBS3 anchor: "Tony Soprano is killed! He is double-crossed by his own men, led by Paulie Walnuts, who will be the new boss. He should have killed Paulie on the boat when he had the chance."

Michael Smerconish, WPHT-AM (1210) radio host and Inquirer columnist: "A.J. and Meadow die. I hope not, but I think so."

Lynn Berry, NBC10 reporter: "I think Paulie is a mole and working for Phil Leotardo. Back when Tony was in the hospital he was pitting for head of the family and was overlooked, which made him bitter and thus turning on the family. I think [this] will be the end for Tony Soprano, betrayed by a close confidant."

Kerri-Lee Halkett, Fox29 anchor: "I could be in the camp that believes Tony will be killed. But if that doesn't happen, my second theory goes along with what a friend of mine came up with. . . . He believes Tony leaves N.J. under the witness protection program, and we see Tony in his bathrobe and slippers opening his front door, picking up his newspaper, only this time it says the Sacramento Bee."

Sue Serio, weather anchor, Fox29's Good Day Philadelphia: "I'm still not over what happened to 'Chris-to-pha,' and now that Bobby has bought it, anyone is fair game for the finale. Without Dr. Melfi to talk to, Tony's sleep is sure to be haunted by dozens of dead folks. Somehow, I feel that A.J. is going to end up inheriting the family legacy in the end. Maybe he'll whack Phil, become a made man, and end up back in the swimming pool . . . with the bird from the first episode."

Monique Braxton, NBC10 reporter and anchor: "I think Phil from N.Y. will die. Tony will live. Paulie will also live. The ending will be a cliff-hanger for a possible return or Sopranos movie with Tony in a witness-protection program in Philadelphia."

Chris Booker, morning host of Q-102: "After a few seasons ago when David Chase had that strange obsession with dream sequences, I am getting the feeling that Tony is going to wake up and it was all a bad dream. He is probably a salesman or something of the sort!"

Pat Croce, entrepreneur: "Tony rats out and seeks protective custody from the FBI!"

Sharon Pinkenson, executive director, Greater Philadelphia Film Office: "Everyone in Tony's family dies except for Tony in a big massacre."

Billy King,

76ers president and general manager: "I think Tony will survive and the other leader - is it Phil? - will be taken out. I have watched every one throughout the whole time. And they have to leave Tony there so they can have a movie."

Hugh Douglas, former Eagles defensive lineman now on WIP-AM (610): "Looking like Tony's going to die. I hope that's not the case."

Lynne M. Abraham,

Philadelphia district attorney: "I don't know, but here are three possible scenarios: One, the Arab connection. I don't know if that's a red herring. Is Tony going to be killed by them or will he be going into witness protection? Another, and this is Freudian: A.J. may kill his father. And I'm curious to know who in Phil's family is a turncoat. Maybe Tony and Phil will die in a shoot-out."

Joseph Fox, chief inspector, Philadelphia Police Department Detective Bureau: "I think Paulie's the traitor here. . . . I think he's going to be whacked by his own."

Lou Pichini, former prosecutor for the federal Organized Crime Strike Force that took down mob boss Nicodemo "Little Nicky" Scarfo and his crime family: "If they want to end it with a real flourish, Tony will pull off some kind of triple-cross and outsmart everyone. But it depends on which Tony. If it's the depressed Tony, he'll end up with the ducks. If it's the mob Tony, he'll figure a way out. There's no way he gets out of this with firepower. He doesn't have enough people and Paulie may be a traitor. He could go out in a blaze of glory and take Phil and Paulie with him. Or he could call the FBI."

Bruce L. Castor Jr., Montgomery County district attorney: "I always believe in a happy ending. Tony gets locked up by the local police for murder and racketeering, and the district attorney handles the case personally."

Ted Kirsch,

president of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers: "Tony Soprano gets whacked. It can't end any other way. They say they're not going to make any more. If he lives, they're going to come back and make more. The big question is who is going to do it. That's where they probably are going to surprise us."

Seth Williams, Philadelphia's inspector general: "(a) Tony Soprano is wearing his white terry-cloth robe, and he's walking out to pick up the newspaper. The Crown Vic with the FBI agent Tony knows pulls up and says, 'Tony, we need to talk.' (b) Tony Soprano walks out in his white terry-cloth robe and wife-beater T-shirt with his gut spilling over his boxers, and has his slippers on. He walks out the rear sliding doors, from the kitchen to the pool area. He sits down in a lawn chair with a magazine and cigar. Ducks are flying overhead and land in the pool. And he sits there, looking at the ducks in the pool."

Charles Isdell, director of aviation at Philadelphia International Airport: "I think the feds will smuggle Tony and family to an undisclosed location by flying them out of PHL instead of Newark. Great shot of the airport and its friendly employees and attractive shops will help generate tourism for the Philly region."

Read Jonathan Storm's review online after tonight's series finale at http://go.philly.com/sopranos

And tomorrow at noon, join Storm, Karen Heller, and crime writer George Anastasia for a final "Sopranos" chat at http://go.philly.com/chat

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