What little light we can shed on this recent situation is gleaned from unofficial sources, social media outlets, and the like, so forgive us for any inaccuracies (Mr Carlini, if we're erroneous in regard to anything that follows, please drop us a line ASAP and put us straight!). For now, all we can do is our best to join what few dots we have.
A fan of Elvis Presley since he was a kid, Trent Carlini first started performing The King’s music at parties and functions back in the late '70s, when he was around 10 years old, an act which he went on to develop into one of the most respected tribute shows in Las Vegas. Although Carlini dresses like Elvis on stage, and projects the "essence" of The King, his is not strictly an impersonator show, but more of a classic tribute to the legendary performer, which co-stars his wife, dancer Ashley Belle.
Carlini's show evolved over time and went by various monikers, including The Musical History of the King (at the Sahara) and The Dream King (at Suncoast, and off and on at the Las Vegas Hilton) for longer than we care to recall (i.e., more than a decade). Prior to this, Carlini was the "Elvis" in Legends in Concert and in 2007 he earned the top spot on ABC’s "The Next Best Thing" talent competition.
In 2010, Carlini was back in the Hilton's Shimmer Cabaret, performing in what was by then called The King -- Starring Trent Carlini. His rise was not without the odd bump in the road, however, including being arrested and jailed in October of that year, just as he was about to hit the stage for that night's performance. The unfortunate incident was the result of a bench warrant issued in 2009 for failure to make child-support payments, for which he was apparently $76,037 in arrears. The jailhouse rocker was not behind bars for long, however, and resumed his regular performance schedule after a couple of days (and a payment). He responded at the time to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, explaining that he's a loving parent and an entertainer struggling to make ends meet. "I'm not Elvis, I'm an Elvis impersonator," he observed.
From then until February of this year, we weren't aware of any Trent Carlini "news," aside from the odd increase in ticket prices, which peaked at $63.15 back in 2014. But changes were afoot at the Las Vegas Hilton/LVH/Westgate Las Vegas, and the day after the press premiere of SEXXY at the property, we happened to run into a local entertainment/gossip columnist who dropped the bombshell that Carlini had been abruptly "fired" that same night!
From what we can surmise, it's nothing to do with the act or the performer, per se, but all to do with the stipulations (and financial interests, no doubt) of the Graceland estate, which is very controlling when it comes to the portrayal of the deceased legend -- witness the surprise cancellation of this year's annual Vegas Elvis Festival, due to the fact that it didn't fit with what the estate has in mind for Elvis' image in Vegas. This apparently excludes any kind of "impersonators" act -- presumably the grounds on which Carlini's show was ousted, in order to make way for The Elvis Experience, which is sanctioned by Graceland, Priscilla, and Lisa Marie, although it's currently only slated to run through May 30, which doesn't sound like too strong of a vote of confidence.
We have had no communication whatever with the performer himself, so what follows is pure speculation/informed guesswork, but from his social media sites we get the impression that his departure from the Westgate was even more of a shock for Robert Trentacarlini than it was to us. He hasn't tweeted for more than a year, but on one of his last Facebook entries, from March 20 of this year, the performer posted a photograph of himself, hunkering down on a beach, at sunset, somewhere in his native Hawaii, accompanied by the following message: "Dear friends, I truly needed to kneel down in front of so much beauty, a horizon so much wanted but still pushed away for an every day commitment. This view is now gifting me with courage, strength, true love and a bigger path to follow before my comeback to you."
From this, it sounds very much as if Trent Carlini is reacting to this unexpected blow to his career by grounding himself and getting back to his roots. In another post, from around the same time, the performer promises he will be back, and "stronger than ever," and we truly hope that's the case. In the meantime, we wish Trent Carlini all the best and would welcome any additional information from him, or any other authoritative source, about what went down and when and where we can expect to see his popular act performing again on a Las Vegas stage.
