Pete Vallee, performing above as Big Elvis at the Barbary Coast in 2003 and as he looks today, below, 395 pounds lighter. Photo by John Gurzinski.

Pete Vallee's weight had ballooned to almost 900 pounds when he needed oxygen to survive for three weeks.

That was two years ago in June. Vallee, who has been performing in Las Vegas for almost 10 years as Big Elvis, arrived at a life-changing crossroads: It's now or never.

"I was looking at it straight in the face. My doctor said, 'I don't think you're going to pull through.' Just a handful come back from that weight," said Vallee, for five years a marquee entertainer at the Barbary Coast (renamed Bill's Gamblin' Hall & Saloon).

Without the help of weight-loss surgery, Vallee has lost 395 pounds after years of Elvis-esque food binges.

"It was terrible. I'd have five cheeseburgers, two fries and milk shake for lunch. I'd have a pizza and a half and Cinnabons. I loved banana cream pudding and jelly doughnuts, Elvis' staples of life."

His $100-a-day eating habits had nothing to do with his Elvis persona. "We all have our inner demons. Mine was food instead of drugs. I had a really screwed-up childhood. I was alienated for a lot of reasons."

What saved his bacon, he said, "was that I became responsible for myself." He cut out the carbohydrates, red meat and fast food.

Vallee, who turned 42 on Feb. 28, can walk again, swim and drive his car.

What hurt most is that Elton John's reps invited him to be part of a filming during "The Red Piano," but Vallee had to turn it down because he couldn't walk.

"It was a scary ride, but the worst is over," he said.

THE SCENE AND HEARD

Denver Post sportswriter Natalie Meisler, in town for the Mountain West Conference basketball tournament, enjoys Las Vegas so much she's named her pets after two resorts. "I got the cat first, a beautiful white kitten, and named her Bellagio because she was such a classic beauty. I rescued a greyhound, and he looked like a carnival dog, so I named him Rio." Her cell phone ring tone is Elvis' "Viva Las Vegas," which didn't go over too well when it "went off in my purse while we were grilling (MWC Commissioner) Craig Thompson about moving the tournament back to Las Vegas." ...

Bellagio chef Jeff Henderson is signing his New York Times best-selling book, "Cooked: From the Streets to the Stove, From Cocaine to Foie Gras," from noon to 4 p.m. today at Tutto at Bellagio. ...

Sahara marketing executive Ron Garrett's last name was misspelled here on Thursday.

MAY I RECOMMEND ...

Country stars Darryl Worley and Deep South perform free concerts Saturday at RaceJam (Fremont Street Experience). Sam's Town hosts the official after-party after the Sam's Town 300 on Saturday, and the free Dale Earnhardt Jr. Racing Experience is open from noon to 8 p.m. today through Sunday on the Sam's Town parking lot.

SIGHTINGS

Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban, dining at Nobu (Hard Rock) on Thursday night. ... Bill Clinton, at Wednesday's book signing party by Terry McAuliffe, former chairman of the Democratic National Committee and chairman of Sen. Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign, at Spago (Forum Shops at Caesars). The party moved to Rao's (Caesars Palace), where Clinton and McAuliffe, whose book is titled "What a Party!" joined a group including Democratic strategist James Carville and wife Mary Matalin and the Greenspun family. ... NASCAR driver Elliot Sadler, going for beef at Stack Restaurant & Bar (Mirage) on Wednesday. ... At the Team Red Bull NASCAR party at the Palms' Hugh Hefner Suite on Thursday night: drivers Jimmy Johnson, Brian Vickers and A.J. Allmendinger, Kasey Kahne, Casey Mears and NASCAR team owner Ray Evernham, Criss Angel and Tommy Lee. ... At separate tables Wednesday at Harry's Bagelmania, 855 E. Twain Ave., film icon Tony Curtis and NFL analyst Joe Theismann.

THE PUNCH LINE

"You know the difference between Washington and Las Vegas? In Vegas, the drunks gamble with their own money." -- Jay Leno

Norm Clarke can be reached at 383-0244 or norm@reviewjournal.com. Find additional sightings and more online at www.normclarke.com.