‘Big Elvis’ sighting on Las Vegas Strip as King of Kings back at Harrah’s

He’s been off-stage since an unlucky Friday the 13th. But the man in the black jumpsuit, white scarf and matching face mask can still fire up a crowd.

“This place hasn’t been open in three months!” Pete Vallee, Vegas’s beloved “Big Elvis,” said Friday afternoon at Harrah’s Piano bar. “So, how about ‘Viva Las Vegas?’ Everybody!”

The socially distant, small but but mighty crowd swayed and sang as the Strip mainstay returned to Harrah’s for the first time since March 13. Vallee’s purely Elvis, all-request, no-cover show runs 2 p.m., 3:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

Just before Vallee’s first set, Caesars Entertainment entertainment exec Damian Costa said “Big Elvis” was the first live entertainment on the Strip in his company’s COVID-19 reopening.

I have no problem with that.

“The vibe is a little weird, but it feels good to be back,” said Vallee, wearing a silk Elvis/TCB face mask between sets. “It’s not what I’m used to, but the people seem to like it and are glad that I’m here. That, I love.”

Big Elvis has loomed large in Vegas since arriving in 1997 for a gig at the since-closed Roadhouse saloon on Boulder Highway. Station Casinos heard about Vallee’s growing locals following and booked him at Sunset Station and Fiesta Rancho.

In 2002, then-Coast Casinos owner and Vegas gaming icon Michael Gaughan pulled Vallee into the lounge at Barbary Coast. The hotel switched to Bill’s Gamblin’ Hall & Saloon under Boyd Gaming, and is today the Caesars Entertainment-owned Cromwell. Vallee moved to the Piano Bar at Harrah’s in 2012.

The 54-year-old singer with the resonant, Presley-esque voice has outlasted just about every Elvis show in Vegas in the past 25 years. That includes such hefty productions as Cirque’s “Viva Elvis” at Aria eight years ago, and “Elvis Experience” at Westgate Las Vegas, which faltered in 2015.

Big Elvis also survived beyond “Elvis Presley’s Heartbreak Hotel In Concert,” which closed in December, after an eight-month run just up the escalators at Harrah’s Showroom. The only other Elvis production standing on the Strip is “All Shook Up” at V Theater at Miracle Mile Shops. Steve Connolly continues to kick it up in “Spirit of the King” at Four Queens on Fremont Street.

As the longest-running Elvis in Vegas, Vallee is grooving more than in years past, attempting to get his weight down to 280 from his current 400. Fifteen years ago, Big Elvis checked in at 960 pounds.

“I’m on may way down,” Vallee said. “I’m taking better care of myself and trying to be healthy.”

There’s no doubt Vallee’s position as a free show has helped generate a following. The Piano Bar sits just off the Strip, where even in pandemic times pedestrians file into the room to check out the commotion. He says his longevity is carried by Elvis’s catalogue.

“All this music is timeless,” Vallee says. He also says he’s been divinely guided throughout his career.

“I believe in God,” Big Elvis says. “He’s blessed me, and the people — what can I say? They’re awesome.” Even that mask can’t hide the smile.

Hold that court

Costa estimates Caesars Entertainment has currently booked nearly 70 hours of live entertainment at the non-ticketed, outdoor Carnaval Court, between Harrah’s and Linq Hotel. Rock cover band Mr. $ Mrs. Smith kick off the return from 8 p.m.-midnight Friday and Saturday. These guys have been cranking it out at Carnaval Court for more than a decade.

Also, The Twins dueling pianos act of Kimberley and Tamara Pinegar also returns to the Piano Bar this weekend and runs Tuesdays through Wednesdays beginning at 9 p.m., running to 1 a.m. Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and 2 a.m. Thursdays through Saturdays.

You can actually perform a live-entertainment hopscotch from Big Elvis, across to Petrossian Bar & Lounge at Bellagio (for great piano artistry led by David Osborne), come back to the The Twins and close it out at Carnaval Court. Wear comfortable shoes, and thank me later.

Groove triumvirate

Mayfair Supper Club is gradually returning its dancers to its production at Bellagio. Not quite the full treatment, three members of the original team in in select numbers. Show co-producer Kim Willecke of No Ceilings Entertainment calls it “the light light” version. OK. Nonetheless, Mayfair remains the most extensive live-entertainment amenity in the Strip’s COVID reopening.

No drag here

The second weekend of drag shows at Dreamland Drive-In at FreshWata Studios, starring Christopher Kenny, who plays Edie in “Zumanity,” are being rescheduled. DreamlandXR CEO Chris Crescitelli is developing a documentary about Las Vegas entertainment in the face of COVID-19, and is closing venue to the public this weekend to record numbers for that project.

Live entertainment returns to the site Thusday through June 20 with the Tickle Me Comedy Club. The venue is drawing attention from other shows, or at least one other show, from a prominent Vegas resort. More shall be revealed, as it were.

John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. His PodKats podcast can be found at reviewjournal.com/podcasts. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on Twitter, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.