Elvis Presley is once again a star on Las Vegas Boulevard.
In a ceremony Friday that featured three of his old pals, the Las Vegas Walk of Stars honored The King with a celebrity star that will go in front of the Riviera near those of fellow icons Liberace and Sammy Davis Jr.
"Elvis has come home to stay," Elvis fan club president Sue Laurenz told a cheering crowd. Her group, the Viva Las Vegas Club, raised most of the $15,000 needed for the star, the 27th to go on The Strip.
With that mission accomplished, the next step should be getting a street named after Elvis, said Joe Esposito, one of the three members of Elvis' Memphis Mafia who attended the ceremony in the Riviera's Le Bistro Lounge.
"I don't understand why there isn't a street named after Elvis," said Esposito, Elvis' road manager and best man at Presley's wedding to Priscilla. That brought down the house, too.
It's become a sore point to Elvis fans, after seeing a half dozen other entertainers get streets named in their honor.
Elvis, said Riviera president Bob Vannucci, didn't just fill the showroom, "he filled the city."
Also attending was Sammy Shore, Elvis' opening act for years during his long run at The International (now the Las Vegas Hilton), and Sonny West, Presley's bodyguard and close friend, and Pete "Big Elvis" Valle, who played a big part in getting Elvis his star.
it's been a long day, but i will say IT WAS FANTASTIC!! the star ceremony was WONDERFUL, we had fun celebrating at the Pete Vallee show paying tribute to Elvis, and the Hilton dinner was a lovely way to end the day. i am EXHAUSTED, but so proud ... i and my club and the donors had a great day celebrating our accomplishment! we are so happy for elvis! elvis' star will be ready for viewing in the sidewalk on tues sep 30. many took pictures, and i hope they will be posted here. a dvd and picture show will be available in the future for all to experience this magnificent day. WELCOME HOME TO LAS VEGAS, ELVIS! (i hope to post updates to the star website in the near future... i m gonna go collapse now!)
the article said 'most'. we raised it all and then some! we donated $1000 to st jude's ranch for children during the ceremony. about the street name, there IS a street named after Elvis. you need to visit the viva las vegas club website and click on Where IS elvis? correction at the end, the word start, should be star! ;)
Joe Esposito and Sonny West together?? I bet they had alot to talk about ; )
What a cool thing for a fan club to do! Kuddos to the club and it's members. Hopefully, the Elvis themed attraction in Vegas planned by Sillerman will bring even greater attention to the man and his legacy.
Ponygirl, Sue, the entire club, etc. deserves much praise! If you want something done & want it done right, ask Elvis fans! I can hardly wait to see his star in a few weeks!
the beautiful star for elvis was installed this morning at 10am. many donors were there. it was quite emotional. ***what a proud and happy day for us!*** if you have any questions (or comments) about the star, please visit our website. do a search for A STAR FOR ELVIS and you'll find the site. we had great support during our campaign from Sonny West and from local ETA Pete Vallee (aka Big Elvis). I can't thank them enough. - and for you regular negative people that like to post here at elvis news, all i can say is: WE GOT IT DONE. whatever negativity you have = it just doesn't matter. it didn't before and it certainly doesn't matter now.= many fans all over believed in the vision and the goal. and THAT's what matters.
Elvis Is Now a Star on Las Vegas Blvd!
the website, a star for elvis, has been updated. you can now see pictures of the star. donors, you have a right to feel very proud!
A well deserved honor & about time too. As far as having a street named after him,wasn't Elvis Presley Boulevard named after him or was that another Elvis Presley? Or did you just mean in Vegas?
I hope I will be answering the questions I think were asked: There is an Elvis Presley Ct in the northern end of Las Vegas. That is all we have. It was approved for a cul de sac in 1989, instead of reserving the name for a future major street. The emergency system does not allow for duplicate street names. Therefore, that place with only 5 houses on it has the best name to live on. If you want to learn more, I have it explained at the viva las vegas club website.
the star for Elvis is on Las Vegas Blvd. that is nicknamed 'the strip' here because most of the hotels and casinos are on that street. back in 1969, the International broke tradition by building on Paradise Road, a city block away. They are not on the strip. I hope that answers some questions. More reading can be done at the viva las vegas club website and also the a star for elvis website. and i realize, this can be confusing if you have never been here, or haven't been here in a long time. there sometimes are no simple answers.