Tahoe, Reno celebrate Elvis Presley’s birthday
By Mel Shields, Sacramento Bee
A celebration next weekend of Elvis Presley’s birthday allows a few lucky and select people to recall when the King performed in northern Nevada.
His live appearances at the Las Vegas International (now the Las Vegas Hilton) are the most famous, but his concerts at Del Webb’s Sahara Tahoe (now the Horizon) between 1971 and 1976 were equally as noteworthy, selling out at fantastic speeds for the time.
Long lines awaited what few seats may have become available after the show’s start, featuring an Elvis not in the best physical shape – but few cared. Depending on the concert, he could be extremely dynamic or strangely detached.
The showroom where he performed is no longer – replaced by a movie multiplex. The suite where he stayed is still available but little remains of the ephemera of the concerts. Menus can be found on auction sites and a book has been published with some photos, but the Horizon itself lacks practically any vestiges of the High Sierra Theater where not only Elvis but also the likes of Liberace, Ann-Margret, Shirley MacLaine performed, as well as hundreds of the formidable entertainers of the era.