Elvis has left the building, and slowly is leaving Las Vegas, as the once wildly popular entertainer’s clout no longer is what it used to be in Sin City.
At one time, Las Vegas had an Elvis Cirque Show, numerous Elvis impersonator shows, scores of Elvis impersonators and the city streets and sidewalks, and an Elvis exhibit at the Westgate Resort.
But the Westgate has closed its ELVIS: The Exhibit, after a tenant-landlord dispute that has spurred at least two lawsuits and results in the casino seizing priceless Elvis artifacts, which Memphis-based Elvis Presley Enterprises badly want returned to Graceland.
Elvis still holds many attendance records in Las Vegas and remains its all-time top entertainer. But with the millennial generation growing in prominent, and Baby Boomers gradually departing this Earth, Elvis no longer is the draw he was for decades.
The Cirque du Soleil Elvis show closed years ago, and casino operators say they are getting fewer requests for Elvis-themed activities.
Elvis remains one of the nation’s most recognized names, and his estate is second only to Michael Jackson’s for continued earnings, taking in some $55 million per year.
But in Las Vegas, it would appear the King is dying a slow death.
