Elvis at the International was a very interesting event Dick! I read an excerpt from Albert Goldman's book, Elvis about it. Elvis had played in Las Vegas when he was 21. The audiences in Vegas at the time didn't "get" Elvis and he didn't get them either. A real blow to the kid, a failure that bugged him big time. Col. Parker seized upon the opportunity to book Elvis into the brand new International some years later with an eye to making big bucks which he would use to pay down the markers he had incurred in Vegas with the $ he'd made off Elvis. Elvis hated the idea of returning to LV. To make matters worse the showroom was a proformers nightmare. The whole house was low and wide, great for The Rockettes but death to a solo act. Off the stage for years making movies, Elvis figured he was going to die again but resentment of the Col. treatment drove him to try for success. He found what he was looking for in Welsh singer Tom Jones. They became quite friendly and Jones turned out to be the perfect model for a modern Vegas act. The first singer in the International showroom, Babs, was putting folks to sleep in Vegas even at the height of her career in the weeks leading up to Elvis's opening. Her simple no-opening acts microphone and a spotlight gig was all wrong . Elvis got his revenge on the controlling Col. that booked him into that crummy place by spending $$$ on his upcoming show in spite Parkers protests. The Elvis that killed them at the International wasn't the "All Shook Up" swivel-hipped kid but the older "Suspicious Minds" singer. Outfits that fortold the caped jumpsuits were Elvis' choice, stiking statue poses and a huge orchestrial backing made The King... The King on 26 July, 1969!