Looks like Elvis really is dead this time, folks, as reports of his visage are declining (even among the masters of black velvet paintings) and he failed to retain his throne with readers as the best of the late great. The King was edged out by none other than Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel, the famed gangster who opened the Flamingo hotel (with a little help from some friends). He quickly turned it into a money loser that eventually cost him a lot more than his reputation. His death from, uh, lead poisoning turned him into a legend before his time.
Our Pick: FRANK SINATRA
A (fitting) no-brainer really as the death of the Chairman of the Board May 14 signaled the official end of a vintage Vegas era in which fedoras, cheesecake photos for worldwide distribution and handshake deals were part of a simpler time. Sinatra had the only show that hip visitors viewed as a must-see when the saloon singer was at his peak. Sure, he often was difficult to deal with and the Rat Pack era is becoming as mythical as John F. Kennedy's Camelot. But when it came to energizing an entire city; killing a crowd with vocal nuance and hip phrasing; and effortlessly projecting an air of semihumble royalty, no one could match Sinatra and odds are no one ever will.
