Las Vegas has it all: exclusive hotels, inspiring people, top casinos, being the ultimate dream of online casino players, and amazing live music. Over the decades, the biggest names in entertainment have played the Las Vegas Strip. But who are the greatest of the great? Here is the top realized by Culture Trip.
1. Frank Sinatra
Elvis may be the King, but Frank Sinatra was the Chairman and Las Vegas. And in many ways, he still is. When people think of Las Vegas, they still think of Frank and the Rat Pack, striding through the Sands like they owned the place (which, in Frank’s case, he at least had a piece). As the director Billy Wilder once said, “Wherever Frank is, electricity permeates the air. It’s like Mack the Knife is in town, and the action is starting.” That electricity was focused onstage, from the Sands to Caesars Palace, for over three decades.
Las Vegas is still offering Sinatra shows, tributes and impersonators! So don’t miss Vegas, Sinatra fans, for exquisite music, casinos and betting sports!
2. Elvis
Elvis Presley was a flop at the New Frontier in 1956, but when he opened at the International Hotel in 1969, he was an unmitigated smash. Even the new kings of rock n’ roll were impressed; after seeing the show, Led Zeppelin’s Robert Plant said, “From time to time, everyone says Elvis is rubbish, Elvis is no good, but they all have to own up in the end.” During his seven years in Vegas, Elvis Presley played more than 800 shows at the International Hotel—and ran up a half-million dollar tab at the pharmacy across the street. Vegas may have been the beginning of the end for Elvis, but it also included some of his greatest moments.
3. Liberace
Before Elton and RuPaul, before Bowie and Gaga, there was Liberace, who brought flamboyance to the stage like no one else before, earning the title “Mr. Showmanship” and becoming the highest-paid entertainer in the world. He started with a candelabra and lame lapels and worked his way up to making his entrance in a rhinestone-studded Rolls-Royce while wearing 40 pounds of ostrich feathers and $50,000 in jewelry to grin through “Rhapsody in Blue” on a gold-leaf piano. While revered as a gay icon today, Liberace never came out, allowing the legion of small-town grandmothers who were his fans to believe he just hadn’t found the right girl yet.
4. Sammy Davis, Jr.
In showbiz, the phrase “triple threat” describes someone who can sing, act and dance. To encompass the talent of Sammy Davis Jr., one might need to conceive of the quadruple or sextuple threat. Davis first stepped onstage not long after he learned to walk and performed with a family act before going solo. He may be best known as a member of the Rat Pack, but Davis was a formidable talent in his own right, who starred on Broadway and had his own TV show, along with headlining venues around the world.
5. Siegfried & Roy
Las Vegas may have always been magical, but Siegfried & Roy made it the town for magicians. The duo began as part of a show at the New Frontier in 1981 but became headliners in their own right with a mix of big-scale illusions and breathtaking animal acts. The Mirage even created Siegfried & Roy’s Secret Garden & Dolphin Habitat attraction, full of exotic creatures. The duo’s run ended in 2003 when a white tiger mauled Roy during a show. He survived, but the pair has remained in retirement ever since.
