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THE DAILY ASTORIAN FRIDAY, MARCH 18, 2016
PARTING SHOT FROM JOSHUA BESSEX
A weekly snapshot from The Daily Astorian and Chinook Observer photographers
A trip to Cannon Beach in February.
ODDITY
Kingdom done?
‘Viva Las
Vegas’ for
Elvis? Less
so lately
By SALLY HO
Associated Press
LAS VEGAS — For
decades, Las Vegas has loved
Elvis Presley tender — and
loved him true — but the
King’s presence in modern day
Sin City has lately been dimin-
ishing, one impersonator at a
time.
“Vegas really is, ironi-
cally, a challenging market for
Elvis,” said Jack Soden, CEO
of Elvis Presley Enterprises,
which runs the Graceland
attraction in Memphis, Ten-
nessee, and manages many of
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behalf of the estate.
The group had loaned hun-
dreds of artifacts to a much-
hyped, months-old Elvis
attraction at the Westgate Las
Vegas Resort and Casino.
“Graceland Presents Elvis”
closed in February after fail-
ing to draw in many visitors to
the museum exhibit, wedding
chapel and theater.
The off-Strip property is
now holding the valuables
against the will of the estate,
as Westgate battles with the
attraction’s third-party opera-
tor over a leasing dispute. The
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to get those items back.
Left the building
The fallout at Westgate is
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tacle in Las Vegas to leave the
building too soon. Low atten-
dance numbers were also to
blame when the Viva Elvis
Cirque du Soleil show at the
Aria casino-hotel was can-
celed in 2012 after a two-year
run. That’s a much shorter
shelf life than most of its sis-
ter shows. The longest-running
one, Myste’re, started on the
Strip more than two decades
ago.
It’s left the Strip’s larg-
est casino operator, MGM
Resorts International, with-
out any Elvis-themed shows,
attractions or weddings. Rival
Caesars Entertainment Corpo-
ration still hosts tribute acts
and weddings, but a spokes-
woman said few of those get-
ting hitched ever choose the
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It’s a stark turn for a city
that has for so long thrived
in its association with “The
King.” The rise of Elvis coin-
cided with the rise of Las
Vegas as an entertainment cap-
ital, said Cory Cooper, an Elvis
historian.
‘Glitzy persona’
Elvis played here more
than anywhere else, selling out
hundreds of shows, year after
year. Cementing his ties to Sin
City were his hits, the “Viva
Las Vegas” song that gave
the town its anthem, and the
movie by the same name that
showcased its glitzy persona.
There was a time when
Elvis fans across the country
made the pilgrimage to Las
Vegas to see his concerts, and
following his death in 1977,
to indulge in the many trib-
ute shows, impersonators and
nostalgic memories from his
heyday.
It also became a staple of
Las Vegas kitsch to see Elvis
impersonators — though they
prefer to be known as “tribute
artists” — on the many tour-
ist-friendly corners of town and
at the quickie wedding ceremo-
nies Vegas was known for.
Elvis impersonator Ted
Payne, 54, said business has
slowed dramatically since
he started taking photos with
Photos by John Locher/AP Photo
Ted Payne rests as he works for tips dressed as Elvis at the “Welcome to Las Vegas” sign in Las Vegas in March. For de-
cades, Las Vegas has loved Elvis Presley. But the King’s presence in modern day Sin City has lately been diminishing.
tourists for tips just six years
ago.
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I wouldn’t get out of a bed
unless I (could) make at least
$150,” he said. “Now, these
days, $50 is a great day.”
These days, Elvis regis-
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sciousness of Melanie Casas,
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trip to Las Vegas recently, she
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“Hound Dog” who was also
featured as a character in the
“Forrest Gump” movie.
A restored neon sign from the defunct Normandie Motel
“I know of him but I don’t glows along Las Vegas Boulevard in Las Vegas.
know anything about him,”
Casas said, shrugging.
grows internationally.
sion, where Elvis lived, sees
The Elvis brand is one of a growing number of visitors
Generational divide
the most active and successful and is expanding with a new
This generational divide entertainment estates. Forbes Elvis-themed hotel nearby.
could be blamed for the appar- magazine, in its annual list of
Elvis fans are not aging out,
ent lull in interest in the iconic earnings by dead entertainers, he said, because nearly 40 per-
performer. Others say the mar- said Presley’s estate earned cent of Graceland visitors were
ket was oversaturated by Elvis $55 million for the year end- born after Elvis’ death. Soden
impersonators for so long ing October 2014 — second to also said the estate has been
that the appeal burned itself Michael Jackson.
successful in many of its busi-
out here, even as Elvis’ reach
Soden said Graceland man- ness deals, particularly in the
Middle East, U.K., Asia and
Australia.
He in large part blamed the
Westgate closure on Vegas’
lack of interest in exhibits
overall. “Vegas hasn’t seen the
last of Elvis. Giving it a rest is
not all that bad,” Soden said of
a future comeback.
‘Escape from itself’
Meanwhile, Vegas tour-
ism only continues to rein-
vent itself. Once focused as an
entertainment capital, it veered
momentarily in an attempt to
be a family-friendly destina-
tion before settling on its lat-
est persona: the overindulgent
playground of the young and
wealthy.
“I think the problem with
Vegas is Las Vegas is trying
to escape from itself, either
rewrite history or make new
history,” Cooper, the historian,
said. “All these properties that
started Las Vegas, nothing’s
there anymore.”
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