One of the features offered by ELVIS-A-RAMA is a free courtesy bus that shuttles fans from the major hotels on the Las Vegas strip to the museum.  During my visit two weeks ago, there were only eight passengers, so we all sat up front, and the bus driver shared a several good stories with us.  Since you haven’t seen this on any of the other Elvis websites, here are two Elvisblog exclusives.

Two years ago, thieves broke into ELVIS-A-RAMA and stole nine articles valued at $300,000.  In addition to a gold-plated Smith & Wesson .38 special, the haul included Elvis’ Humes High School ring, a Louisiana hayride “E. Presley” ring, a watch, a bracelet, a 41-carat star ruby and diamond ring worth $77,000, a $65,000 gold and black onyx medallion that spells “Elvis” in diamonds, and an 18-carat gold and diamond medallion with the initials “E P” on it.

The museum owner, Chris Davidson, assumed they were gone for good.  After many months, the police and FBI could not track down the thieves, so he accepted the insurance settlement.  Recently, the bumbling thief tried to sell the hot merchandise to a retired Elvis impersonator while he stood in line at a Las Vegas pharmacy.  He convinced the thief to come back in 24 hours to his employment agency office, at which time the police made the bust.

All the stolen goods except a scarf were recovered.  In the time between the robbery and the recovery, Davidson sold ELVIS-A-RAMA to CKX Inc, the folks now in charge of the Elvis Presley Estate.  So who got the recovered Elvis jewelry and gun?  Not CKX Inc. – they bought only the inventory at the time of the sale.  Not Chris Davidson – he accepted the insurance settlement.  According to the bus driver, it looks like the insurance company is now the proud owner of eight excellent Elvis collectibles.  You can bet they will show up in some future auction.

The other story regaled by the bus driver has to do with the plans CKX has to create an Elvis-themed attraction in Las Vegas (as covered in an Oct 2, 2005 Elvisblog article).  According to the driver, CKX has purchased a two-block long property on the strip between the Harley-Davidson Store & Restaurant and the MGM Grand Hotel/Casino.  My wife and I took a walk up to look at that property, and it’s obvious that sooner-or-later somebody was going to buy it and build something big on it.  It’s like throwback to earlier simpler times, much as you would find in a beach town:  mini-marts, McDonalds, a tattoo parlor, T-shirt shops, an ear-piercing studio, and a two-story Travel Lodge Motel.

These modest establishments, in the shadow of huge hotel/casinos like the Aladdin and the Monte Carlo, seem so out of place.  I think many folks will miss this little island of normalcy when it is gone, but I will certainly look forward to enjoying whatever Elvis attraction takes its place.  For sure, there will be a restaurant, full of memorabilia on the walls.  Of course, a big gift shop.  Maybe a theater, like those in Branson, MO.  The big question is whether there will be a hotel and casino, but don’t rule it out.  Hooters and Planet Hollywood just got into the hotel/casino business in Las Vegas, so why not Elvis World?

©  2006   Philip R Arnold   www.elvisblog.net

Thanks to my company’s annual trade show in Las Vegas, I finally got to see ELVIS-A-RAMA.  None too soon, either.  The museum will shut down for good on August 15 this year.  Do you think there’s any significance that the death of ELVIS-A-RAMA will come one day before the anniversary of Elvis’ death?  The good news is that the memorabilia will not be permanently lost to us fans.  It will be sent to Memphis, added to the extensive EPE collection, and ultimately will be part of Elvis-themed attractions in Las Vegas and other major cities.

I’m glad I took in ELVIS-A-RAMA, and I got my money’s worth for the $13 admission cost.  Visitors with only a casual interest in Elvis could probably blow through the exhibits in 30 minutes, but I stayed there for over two hours.  The 4 cars, 3 rings, 9 pendants, 4 guitars, 9 layman badges, 4 guns, 2 jumpsuits, and dozens of other clothes items catch every visitor’s eyes.  Plus, there were brass plaques that gave the history of nearly every significant item.

Some folks barely noticed the wall covered with every Elvis 45 and album released during his lifetime.  Not me.  I loved the year-by-year approach, each with a plaque telling that year’s highlights in record rankings and sales figures.  Below the plaques were the releases.  I learned that Elvis’ five Sun Records singles came with printed picture sleeves.  I had never seen them before.

I spent a lot of time with all the paper documents contained in eleven, tall, freestanding, two-sided display panels.  There were tickets, contracts, letters, receipts, photos and all kinds of other stuff.  I took time to read all the descriptive plaques and really studied the items on display.  Now I know that Elvis’ phone bill for the entire month of May 1963 was only $6.84, for example.  I do have one complaint.  Each side of the displays had three framed sections.  The top one was a little high for comfortable reading.  The middle one was perfect, but the bottom one was only 6 inches off the ground.  My knees were so sore after squatting up-and-down to read everything.  Several times I wished I had a flashlight, because it was tough to read the plaques when they were at the very bottom.

The sources for much of the museum’s collection were revealed in the various plaques.  As mentioned in a previous Elvisbog article, some key items came form Jimmy Velvet.  Norman Taurog, who directed eight Elvis movies, provided much of the movie memorabilia.  A lot of Elvis’ personal items were purchased from Trish Henley, who was his nurse for eleven years and lived behind Graceland with husband, a guard for the mansion.

Of course, there is a gift shop as part of the ELVIS-A-RAMA experience, but it’s pretty cool.  In addition to the usual coffee mugs, pocketbooks, and T-shirts, there is actual memorabilia for sale.  One of the most expensive was a shirt owned by Elvis going for $4,000.  The price includes two 1973 photos of him wearing the shirt.  I was impressed with the presentation of a ticket from Elvis’ 1956 concert in Tupelo ($1.50 face value).   For $99 you can buy it in a large framed and matted collection of photos and other mementos of the event.  A similar framed presentation was used to offer a set of five Sun Records colored-vinyl 45’s.  It is an impressive sight, but the price was $875.  That seems pretty steep for bootlegs. 

All in all, I’m glad I finally got to visit ELVIS-A-RAMA.  If you travel to Las Vegas in the next seven months, be sure to see it.

My credentials as an Elvis fan have taken a severe blow.  I’ve been to Las Vegas four times since the Elvis-A-Rama museum opened in 1999, and I’ve never been to see it.  Now it’s going to close, maybe before I can correct my mistake.

In fairness, these trips to Vegas were all on business.  My employer puts on a huge annual trade show at the Paris Hotel, and the schedule of mandatory events and meetings each year is killer.  But, if I had really wanted to see Elvis-A-Rama badly enough, I could have skipped dinner with a vendor or spent a little less time at the slots in the hotel.

To be honest, I believe the reason I didn’t visit Elvis-A-Rama was because the name made me think it was just some tacky little tourist trap.  However, the research for last week’s Elvisblog article produced a startling revelation – this is a large, high-quality exhibit not to be missed by Elvis fans.  Here’s what I found on the internet about Elvis-A-Rama.

It was named one of the “Top 3 Attractions” in Las Vegas by The Travel Channel and was voted “The Best Museum” in the city by the Las Vegas Review Journal.  Elvis-A-Rama has been on the cover of USA Today, People, and Forbes magazines.

It contains over 2000 artifacts valued at over $6 million.  Some of the key exhibits are:

            Elvis’ 8-passenger 1955 Cadillac Fleetwood limo

            The “Peacock” and “Cisco Kid” jumpsuits

            A pair of blue suede shoes autographed by Elvis and

                   valued at $1 million

            The famous gold lame’ suit

            Elvis’ 1962 Glastron powerboat

            A 1975 purple Lincoln Mark IV

            Every commercially released 45, EP and LP ever recorded

                    by Elvis

In addition there are guitars, a piano, handwritten lyrics, personal clothes, outfits from the movies, furniture, army stuff, various papers, and lots more.

Here is some history about Elvis-A-Rama, that name I didn’t like.  It comes from the largest display, a magnificent 10-foot tall, 85-foot long mural that celebrates Elvis’ life and career.  It incorporates Elvis’ music, synchronized to clips of his television appearances, scenes from his movies, and concert footage.  It also contains a signature board with thousands of personal notes to Elvis, many of them by famous celebrities.

Now I get it.  Elvis-A-Rama is a perfect name for this spectacular mural.  The reason why this name was used for the museum itself is an interesting story.  Also intriguing are Chris Davidson, who sold the museum, and Jimmy Velvet, the man who sold him the mural and many other goodies.  More on all this in future articles.

© 2005  Philip R Arnold

If you plan to go to Las Vegas during the next few months, be sure to take in ELVIS-A-RAMA.  It will be the last opportunity to see this substantial collection of Elvis goodies.

A news release this week announced the sale of ELVIS-A-RAMA to CKX Inc., who plan to close it and retire the name.  In case CKX doesn’t ring a bell, it is the company run by media genius Robert F X Sillerman, who purchased 85% of Elvis Presley Enterprises from Lisa Marie earlier this year.

Mr. Sillerman also announced his intention to place a world-class Elvis-themed attraction on the Las Vegas strip within a few years.  This is very exciting news.  When all the memorabilia from ELVIS-A-RAMA is added to the huge collection at Graceland, this combined inventory could be sufficient to stock the Las Vegas facility on a rotating basis.  Think about it.  Maybe someday we’ll be able take yearly trips to Vegas and see a new Elvis exhibit every time.  My wife would gladly sit alone at the slots for four hours while I do my annual "Elvis thing".

Mr. Sillerman has previously expressed his interest in establishing Elvis as a worldwide marketing brand.  So, it’s pretty obvious what might follow if the operation in Las Vegas is successful: Graceland-Lite attractions in Tokyo, Toronto, and the great capitals of Europe.  And all getting their chance to exhibit the marvelous rotating Elvis memorabilia shows.  Sort of like how Hard-Rock Café has done it, except hopefully all the Elvis displays will be mounted down low enough you can actually see them.

So, as we say good-bye to ELVIS-A-RAMA, we can look forward to saying hello to some exciting new Elvis attractions.

Elvisblog contained another article on Robert Sillerman and CKX Inc. back in March.  At that time, the company’s stock (ticker symbol CKXE) was selling at $26.73.  It is now $12.57.  My record at picking stocks is pretty bad, but it sure seems like now would be a good time to buy CKX Inc.  Elvis and CKX are going to be big winners.

© 2005  Philip R Arnold