In June this year a group of 6 of us Martin and Simone, Paul and Carol and Chris and Steve travelled to Las Vegas from Manchester, a flight to Philadelphia first and then onto Las Vegas.
We stayed at the Stratosphere Hotel and a trip to the top of the tower to view Vegas (both day and night) from the viewing platform is not to be missed, and check out those crazy rides at the top.
From the top of the Stratosphere tower you get a great view of the Hilton Hotel ( formerly The International ) and I will tell you about that visit later.
At the Stratosphere Hotel is a great show ' American Superstars ' and we saw it on our Saturday evening, the show opens with Elvis performed by Darren Lee, who we met and turned out to be a great friendly ETA. also performing were tributes to Brittany Spears, Tim McGraw, Trisha Yearwood and a fantastic performance of a Michael Jackson Tribute, I am sure this show will become even more popular now due to the sad death of Michael Jackson
Another good Free Elvis show we saw is the daily weekday performances of Pete Valee ( Big Elvis ) at Bill's Gambling Hall Casino right in the middle of the strip. Pete is a great Elvis singer and everyone has a good time.
Up on the strip you will find all the Hotel Casino resorts you have seen and heard about. We did go through the Mirage Hotel and into the Secret gardens at the rear, but these are not just any gardens they are home to Dolphins, and a variety of Big Cats, White Tigers etc, dont worry they are in enclosures.
We also saw the Gondelers at the Venetian, the Volcano erupting outside the Mirage, and another sight not to be missed is the Bellagio fountains especially at night, check out the You Tube Video.
Dont forget there is also famous Downtown Las Vegas, so another ride on the efficient Bus service and we were at Freemont Street, this is a great area for a visit because it is free of traffic and everything is quite close together. here you will find a taste of the original Vegas with all those Iconic Neon signs and older style Hotel casinos, we visited the Golden Nugget the original Vegas Hotel and had a tour of the Hotel and later had a meal there, as it got darker it was time for the Freemont Experience !! and what can you say other than wow, as with everything Vegas you have to see it yourself.
For 4 of us this was our first trip to Vegas and we felt we had to fit in a Day trip to the Grand Canyon, it is an early start and a long day travelling but well worth it to pass over The Hoover Dam ( checkout the new Bridge being built next to it ) and out to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, words are not enough to describe it again you need to see it yourself.
Well it sounds like we had agreat time didnt we ? but what about that visit to the Hilton Hotel.
On Sunday 7th June on a very hoy and sunny Vegas day we walked from the Stratosphere Hotel to the Hilton Hotel, this was going to be a visit to remember.
In 1969 Elvis performed his first show at the International to a sold-out crowd and he went on to perform regular engagements at the property for seven years – a total of 837 consecutive sold-out performances in front of 2.5 million people.
The sheer numbers from these performances are mind-boggling. In one 29-day period Elvis entertained 101,509 guests, bringing in $1.5 million in ticket sales. In the course of his 800-plus performances in Vegas, Elvis sold $43.7 million in show tickets, about $250 million in 2007 dollars. In the months when Elvis was performing, 1 in 2 visitors to Las Vegas saw his show.
The hotel became the Hilton in 1971 and over the years more people saw Elvis perform there than anywhere else in the world.
At the Hilton Hotel alongside the Elvis statue we met Sue the President of the Viva Las Vegas fan club, Sue had offered to take us on a tour of the Hilton and had great knowledge of Elvis performing live there as she had the privalige of being in the audience many times.
The Hilton Hotel is still an impressive site and is built off and apart from the major strip Hotels, as with all Las Vegas hotels the Hilton has undergone many refubishments over the years but there is still a great feel of the original Hilton Hotel and what it felt like to be there when Elvis was performing. There are many Elvis photos on the walls of the Hotel and a great Elvis gift shop, you can also go up to the floor below the suite that Elvis stayed in so many times. The one place every fan wants to see is the Hilton showroom, you can get up to the doors of the showroom which are still the same as when Elvis was there, and if you are very lucky and the friendly security guard is on duty you may get into the showroom and even to stand on that very stage you have seen Elvis perform so many times on ' Thats The Way It Is '
We thought that this was the highlight of our trip to Vegas but there was still another fantastic event to take place.
You may be aware that Joe Esposito lives and works out of Las Vegas and naturally he is in great demand and travels the world giving his insights into working and being around Elvis.
Before our visit in June we made contact with Joe and explained who we were and that if he was in town when we were it would be an honour to meet up with him and tell him our plans for a convention, well another stroke of luck for us was Joe was in town and we were able to meet up, below is a photo of Martin Fox, Joe Esposito and myself Paul Smith.
Joe was very interested in all our Elvis plans and hoped he would be able to meet up with us all again next time.
Aquote from Joe
'Through the 17 years I worked with Elvis, I found his greatest strength his personality. He could make people laugh and he was a very warm person. Whether it was on the road or on a movie set, we always found time to have fun'.
A photo on the wall of the Hilton hotel showing Joe alongside Elvis
Viva Las Vegas !!
