It's been expected for some time, but the New
Frontier Hotel in Las Vegas is to be imploded at
2.30 am on November 13, to make way for The
Plaza, a multi-billion dollar resort which will
open in 2011. Elvis made his Las Vegas debut at
the New Frontier in 1956 in the futuristic new
showroom - the Venus Room. From the
Western-themed hotel that had opened as the
Frontier in 1942, the resort was re-modelled in
1955 and renamed the New Frontier with a d�cor
that encompassed the nations growing curiosity
with space travel, featuring planets and flying
saucers in the Cloud Nine dining room and
celestial chandeliers hovering over the casino,
where six alien figures headed towards its
entrance.
The Venus Room, where Elvis appeared, was a
circular showroom and could seat up to 972
people, who surrounded the revolving stage, but
Elvis' appearance did little to excite the
stuffy Vegas clientele, when he was used to
performing to screaming teenagers. Elvis was
reportedly paid $12,500 a week, during an era
when headline acts could command double that
amount in other resorts.
So, at the close of the next decade as the
booking agent for Kirk Kerkorian�s International
Hotel, Bill Miller booked Elvis for his famed
Las Vegas comeback in 1969 and the rest, they
say, is history.
Posted: 9th. November 2007