Elvis Presley performed at the Sahara Tahoe hotel and casino in Stateline, Nevada, during the years 1971-76, ultimately giving a total of 98 sold-out performances in the resort’s High Sierra Theatre.

For fans living near or around the Lake Tahoe area, it was a rare opportunity to see their idol up close. This menu, with its fabulous fonts and colors, was from the opening shows in 1971 when dinner was served before the performance.

During this era, Elvis was experiencing a dip in chart success, partly due to his appearance in lightweight film musicals in the 60s and his growing aversion to studio recordings, but in live shows he was as magnetic as ever.

According to a review in Variety magazine: ‘He arrives catlike—slowly, yet majestically confident and domineering. He remains that way throughout, talking little, always maintaining a distance … that allows him to remain an idol to be worshipped.’

Elvis’s biographer Peter Guralnick noted that the king of rock n roll seemed to enjoy the Sahara residencies because they were more intimate and less high-pressure than his Las Vegas shows.

This was despite crowds in the 1,500-seat capacity High Sierra Theatre being pushed to nearly 2,000 thanks to Elvis’s manager Colonel Tom Parker shrewdly insisting that eight people could be seated at some tables meant for four.

The Variety article also described the determined Col Parker’s publicity push: ‘It’s wall-to-wall throughout the hotel as proof the hip-swinger’s fortune still goes beyond his talent and abilities into splendid promotion. Posters of his torso line the walls. Employees wear Elvis buttons and straw hats. His name greets onlookers from other mountain tops as it glitters atop the hotel roof. Tablers are handed Elvis souvenir kits upon being shown to their seats, bearing Elvis records, teddy bears, books and buttons, while souvenir stand barkers sell still more.’

Elvis returned in 1973, 1974 and 1976 and critics noted that he performed with ‘an engaging air of humor and self-deprecation,’ but his increasing dependence on prescription drugs which caused weight problems and memory lapses was clearly taking its toll.

Elvis died the following year, in August 1977, at the age of 42.