Today I wanted to talk a little bit about Elvis and Las Vegas. The two are practically inseparable. If you were to ask someone to randomly name things associated with Vegas it is inevitable that Elvis would come up.
He is widely known as the most popular entertainer the city has ever seen. But his first attempt at Vegas wouldn't lead to this conclusion.
In April 1956 Elvis played Vegas for the first time. 21 years old and still getting used to his newfound stardom he was booked in the Venus Room and the New Frontier Hotel. He was billed as "the atomic powered singer" but his run was hardly a success. Some might even call it a flop.
But Elvis fell in love with Las Vegas anyway.
It took over a decade for Elvis to return to the Las Vegas stage. But when he did, he was a bigger success than anyone could have imagined. Headlining the brand new International Hotel in August of 1969 he played sold out shows nightly. And now he is a permanent Las Vegas icon.
It just makes me think. What if Elvis had never tried Vegas again? What would the city be like now? I probably would never have had any interest in it at all. That's how much Elvis inspires me.
And I think hey, Elvis's first attempt at Vegas didn't work out like he expected, but look at his second. Sometimes you just have to try things again.
