The rise of America’s entertainment capital: Exploring Las Vegas 60 years after Elvis first graced its stages

• e-mail

At the end of April 60 years ago, Elvis Presley was performing his very first residency in Las Vegas, the city that would one day be nearly synonymous with his name.

Ironically, he utterly bombed during those first concerts at the New Frontier Hotel in 1956. The middle-aged audience sat in stunned silence throughout the young hip-shaker's set, creating an atmosphere so uncomfortable that a Newsweek magazine review from one of the shows described the budding King as 'a jug of corn liquor at a champagne party'.

Though he shot films there, visited on occasion and even wedded Priscilla there in 1967, it would not be until 13 years after that disastrous first residency that Elvis would return to a Vegas stage. But, from there, a strong cultural link was formed.  

Back in the day: This year marked the 60th anniversary of Elvis Presley's first ever residency in Las Vegas. He is pictured at the site of the concerts, the New Frontier Hotel, with Liberace

The old days: Las Vegas, pictured in 1953, has changed massively since those initial days of Elvis, changing from a gangster's paradise to a luxury capital

Hustle and bustle: Today, the landscape of the city - both in entertainment and in physical scale - has grown

It’s an association that has evolved from classy to kitschy to caricature – almost in line with the character of the city itself. But today, Sin City is plenty more than gambling and stage shows. In fact, it’s not even the pure destination for debauchery it had shifted into during the later days of The King.

Among the neon and plastic there has emerged real elegance. Hotels now cater for everyone from families in search of a PG getaway to the gaggle of girls on a bachelorette weekend. The 89 cent shrimp cocktails are shoved aside for haute cuisine from around the world, discount drinks at the slots are traded in for tipples infused with botanicals in glamorous settings. The mythologized mob den is dead, long live the pleasuredome.

In fact, even gambling - the thing that had been a key component of its tourism identity since the state passed legalized gambling in 1931 during the Great Depression to generate taxable income for the state - has proven less important to visitors than ever. 

Today, some may still have an internal vision of the purpose and experience of Vegas, but I can guarantee you, it can actually be whatever you want it to be. Want the full Elvis experience? You can get that. But equally, if not more so, if you want anything else, you can almost certainly have that too.

This is what I discovered on my first visit to Vegas, arriving on a late evening flight and whisked into the thick of the lights in a flash by a cab to the hotel.

Later days: Elvis would eventually return to Vegas 13 years after his first residency, going on to become a name synonymous with the city

Days of gold: The Venetian and The Palazzo together make one of the largest hotel complexes in the world

The real experience: My first few nights were spent at The Venetian in a massive suite boasting a stunning view of the Strip

A bit to add: The city offers top-of-the-line cuisine from all over the world, such as this foie gras stuffed beef wellington found at The Venetian's db Brasserie

My first three nights’ stay were at The Venetian which, along with The Palazzo it is attached to, is one of the largest hotels in the world – and therefore incredibly grand. I spent three hours walking around it on the first day.

Technically, like many hotels in Vegas, you do not need to leave the complex to have a full experience. The Venetian offers a shopping mall, including a canal with gondolas driven by operatically-inclined gondoliers in striped shirts, as well as multiple pools, restaurants, bars and of course a massive gambling floor. Not to mention stately multi-level rooms with lofty views of the Strip.

Neil Miller, the Executive Director of entertainment at The Venetian and Palazzo, told me that the hotel is one of the famous Vegas themed hotels that has truly endured.  

'If you go back to the 50s and 60s, rat pack golden age, it was all about having a big room – a big theater, nightclub would have 500 seats – so that dynamic has changed usually, but also in those days it was not about fine dining and it was not about top of the line world-class retail,' he said.

'It was about the Chuck Wagon buffet and the 89 cent shrimp cocktail. It was a very, very different profile of what attracted people here. '

Neil himself saw Elvis Presley perform in Vegas back during his long run at The International, but today recognizes a changing need for the man and his legacy in the current entertainment landscape of the city.

A different look: In comparison to the family-friendly atmosphere of The Venetian, The Cosmopolitan is a hot spot for the youthful looking to party

All modern: The Cosmo's opulent suites with kitchenettes, and ludicrously large bath tubs, were a treat

'The issue is the age of the customer that comes. Every year they are further and further away from really knowing who people like Elvis and Frank Sinatra are,' he explained. 'They never had occasion to see them, now they’re relegated to old movies or the 60s channel on Sirius Radio. That distance kind of dims their light a little bit.'

Today, Neil said, the Vegas vacationer is after the full package. To get the 'typical' Vegas atmosphere, but without sacrificing their taste for haute cuisine or five-star pampering.  

For example, a plethora of the world's finest food can be sampled within the complexes of the sprawling hotels. In the Venetian I was lucky enough to ironically enjoy a fabulous beef wellington - a dish most associated with English cuisine - stuffed with fois gras in the hotel's French-American db Brasserie. 

In another hotel, the Aria, we dined on an Italian feast of epic proportions - including a table-sized veal parm and an all-fresh minestrone - at Carbone, the New York fine-dining staple famous for its dedication to red-sauce fare of the highest order.

A different experience: Jaleo, a tapas restaurant within The Cosmo, is a mix of tradition and experimentation, such as their 'liquid olives' (right)

Got the look: The Cosmo also features incredible views of the Bellagio's fountains below

Then there was Jaleo at our second hotel - the extremely modern Cosmopolitan - a tapas restaurant which is, interestingly, also known for its selection of gin and tonics, served with a variety of garnishes in tall wine glasses. While the menu is littered with tapas classics like chorizo and paella, it's the more experimental dishes that excite, including something called 'liquid olives': a pocket of olive juice inside a soft olive green shell that pops in the mouth with a strange sensation.

In comparison with the family friendly atmosphere of The Venetian, the Cosmo is just what the millennial bachelor party planner ordered. An elegant lobby leads into a small-for-Vegas casino floor followed by floor upon floor of shops, restaurants and dance clubs as well the lovely Violet Hour beauty salon. 

The hotel's pair of outdoor pools are primed for daytime dance parties, with space for DJs, pool tables and plenty of beautiful cocktails. In the center of the building there is also a multi-level bar shaped like a chandelier.

And then there are the rooms: opulent suites with kitchenettes, and ludicrously large bath tubs, many of which have a mind-blowing view of the famous Bellagio fountains, such as ours.

Just beyond that is Caesar's Palace, which recently celebrated 50 years of serving the holidaying masses. The complex's Forum Shops dwarf that of the Venetian, with row upon row of designer stores from Dior to Gucci to Louis Vitton underneath its artificially lit sky and lining its faux-cobbled halls.

Under the fake skies: The Forum Shops at Caesars are one of several shopping locations where world-class designer goods can be browsed

The old bones: Despite the revamp of the city, there are still bits of Vegas history that are being dutifully maintained, such as pieces kept by the Neon Musem

The marker: The museum even has a sign from the site of Elvis Presley's fateful first residency

The other side: Another old-school destination in the city is the Golden Steer steakhouse, a favorite of not only Elvis, but the Rat Pack as well

But while the modern amenities seem to be taking over, there are plenty of establishments doing their utmost to preserve the kitschy Vegas of yore.

Vegas insider and expert Jennifer Whitehair told me me: 'I think sometimes people think that Vegas doesn’t have a history – and we certainly have a reputation for imploding our history – but at the same time there are lots of people who are fighting to save parts of Vegas.'

For one, there is the Neon Museum, a sprawling graveyard packed with neon signs dating back right to the 1930s - included one from the New Frontier, the hotel of Elvis' failed first residency, which was closed and demolished in 2007.

For slightly more recent Vegas history you can even still visit the remnants of the Sigfried and Roy legacy at the entertainers' Secret Garden in the Mirage - a spot for petting dolphins and watching giant white cats laze about in the sun. 

Then there is the Golden Steer, a fabled steak house in the city that was not only a favorite of Elvis back in his Vegas years, but also a hang out for the Rat Pack and a few of the more shady members of the entertainment community. Here, you can sit in Elvis' favorite booth, gobble down Frank Sinatra's favorite clams casino and enjoy multiple meals made at your table from Caesar salads to bananas foster. 

Dinner and a show: The waiters make dishes such as Caesar salad or bananas foster right at the tables

For the fans: Elvis Presley aficionados can sit in the singer's favorite booth

Finishing off: Gambling is much less of a draw these days in Vegas, including for Valerie - a conclusion confirmed when she lost $40 in just 10 minutes at the end of her trip

But aside from those old reminders, I saw not one Elvis impersonator roaming the streets, not a single peanut butter and banana sandwich on a menu, nor a note of his music blasting from any bars I passed by. These things are all out there I am sure, but it is clear his presence has dwindled - not least confirmed by the fact that an exhibit about the man staged at Westgate Las Vegas, formerly the International, recently closed less than a year into a 10-year contract.

However, Jennifer explains that while 'the man' may not be here in such a way that he once was, 'the philosophy and the star power of Elvis' still is in the form of the blockbuster shows that have come to the town in the decades since. 

'Once someone would say "Oh when you go to Vegas you have to see Elvis",  now it's "when you go to Vegas, you have to see Celine",' Whitehair said.

She added: 'The great thing about Vegas is that it’s a city of reinvention. Vegas is this Fantasyland that is always looking for the next big thing. It's like a choose-your-own-adventure book.'

As I was collecting my bags from the holding area from the gracious staff at the Cosmo before hopping in my cab to the airport home, it suddenly dawned on me: I hadn’t even gambled on this, my first time in Vegas. I took out 40 dollars from an ATM, sat down at a machine and lost it all in less than 10 minutes on slots - as if to confirm what I had already been feeling: Viva the New Vegas.