Elvis Presley in Vegas: The Icon’s Wild Years in Sin City

Elvis Presley is one of the celebrities who shaped the history of Las Vegas. He is one of the city’s most enduring attractions because he spent a lot of his glory days here. Others include Steve Wynn, Howard Hughes, Kirk Kerkorian, Frank Sinatra, and Bugsy Siegel.

But he did more than shape Vegas’ history. He was also one of the greatest headliners. Elvis was the master of Rock n Roll, and caused a stir with his music. He used to be compared to Sinatra, but a slogan popular in the 70s went, “Sinatra is a show. Elvis is a happening.”

The First Act

We can define Elvis’ life in three acts. The first was the beginning of his career, the second his glory days when he peaked, and the third his decline. Notably, each of them had a sort of wildness that characterized them.

Las Vegas played a central role in all three Acts of Elvis Presley’s short yet larger-than-life story.

The first act was his debut on April 23, 1956. It was on this day that he made his Vegas debut as the closing act of a show that was taking place at the New Frontier Hotel and Casino. He had been billed as “The Atomic Powered Singer,” and was a rising star.

He had just delivered his first national No. 1 single, “Heartbreak Hotel.” His performances had been filled with frenzy and fawning crowds of teenagers, mostly in the Midwest and the South.

He took the stage with Scotty Moore, a guitarist, and D. J. Fontana, a drummer. However, he did not receive the kind of reception that he was used to. The audience was stone-faced, primarily because they were an older generation and not the teenagers that made the majority of his fans. Eventually, he got better.

The Second Act

The second Act occurred as he tested the mainstream waters, made bad movies, and even got married in Sin City. This was in the 60s and 70s.

By the end of the 60s, his career was in disrepair. He had made a lot of bad movies, one of which was “Viva Las Vegas,” made in 1963. He starred in it with Ann-Margret.

Something good happened to him when he got married to Priscilla Presley in 1967 in an eight-minute ceremony at the Aladdin Hotel. They later had their only daughter, Lisa Marie Presley. However, the couple got separated in 1972 and finalized their divorce in 1973.

But the King of Pop continued to experience problems.

His records were no longer making the charts, and he had suffered from a decade-long irrelevance in the world of Rock n Roll. He tried a splashy comeback in an NBC Special in 1968, but it flopped. He had not performed on stage for over eight years.

Eventually, he got a break on July 31, 1969, with a four-week engagement at the International Hotel, which was then new. It was a career gamble for him, but he tried to make it work. Although it is argued that Vegas contributed to the star’s decline, others hold a contrary view.

It was after this that Elvis Presley’s wild years in Las Vegas were clearly defined. After the first performance at the International Hotel, he became a resident and would wreck his hotel room every time and even shot at the TV once.

So perhaps, it’s true that Vegas may have contributed to his decline.

But the icon’s wild years in Sin City remain documented. He performed 636 shows at the International Hotel; two a night for a month. He was a night owl who would rely on uppers and downers to get through. It was an energized and hectic schedule that he had to adhere to.



His ex-girlfriend, Joanie Shoofey, stated in an interview that he would mess up his suit so badly that it had to be redone while he was wearing it. He also used to dye his hair with black dye, which would remain all over the walls.

So Elvis Presley was wild in the 70s.

Sometimes he got so tired that he could not meet his fans, and only his girlfriend had access to him. He peaked during this period. But the king also began to decline.

The Third Act

The third act, which marked the beginning of his great decline, really commenced in 1973 following his divorce. Despite the obvious role he played in the ending of his marriage, he was devastated.

Citing pneumonia, he canceled his Hilton Show for the first time. Before that, he had missed only five show dates in his career. He canceled most of his Hilton engagements the next summer as well, and flew back to Memphis, and got hospitalized for “fatigue.” He then gained weight, and his attitude changed.

But by 1975, he had shown many signs of boredom. He insulted and wisecracked his band members and cut shows short. His attitude became terrible. It was said that he needed a long break from his Vegas tours. But debts began to accumulate as he was spending excessively.

His audiences began to avoid shows. Yes, he still filled the house, but only die-hards came to watch him. Eventually, he stopped performing in Vegas as problems amounted and audiences dwindled.

He performed his last show on June 26, 1977, at Market Square Arena in Indianapolis. He died two months later.