Family was with Elvis tribute artist Trent Carlini when he died in Las Vegas

Trent Carlini, the long-running Elvis tribute artist who played several Las Vegas hotels, was surrounded by his family when he died on Sunday.

Carlini’s sister Laura Trent confirmed Tuesday that Carlini suffered a serious stroke on Nov. 23 (correcting an earlier report that the stroke was Saturday) and had been hospitalized up until his death at 1:20 p.m. Sunday at Centennial Hills Hospital. Carlini, whose legal name was Roberto Romolo Sfasciapagliari Trentacarlini, was 57. Clark County officials said Tuesday it would be six and eight weeks to determine the cause of death.

Carlini is survived by daughters Thalia, Isabella and Sophia Trentacarlini from his first marriage to Claudia Noriega-Bernstein; and his son, Gabriel, from his second marriage; his father, Lorenzo T. Carlini; his sisters, Laura and Lori Trentacarlini (Sergio DeCarolis); his brother, Michael Trentacarlini; and his niece, Ilaria DeCarolis.

Carlini was a headliner at many Las Vegas resorts, chiefly the Las Vegas Hilton/LVH/Westgate Las Vegas. Of his career, he once remarked, “It’s not really about how many changes you can make, and it’s really, really not about how many eras you can perform. It’s about when you open your mouth. I just open my mouth and God does the rest. I’m just going to let God be the one to cut me off.”

There are no plans for a funeral in Las Vegas. He had wished to be cremated and buried with his mother, Aloisia Sfasciapagliari, in the family’s original hometown of Porto San Giorgio, Italy. However, Carlini’s family is planning a tribute to be held for him on Jan. 8 — Elvis’ birthday — with details to be announced via social media.

Carlini got to know two major figures in Presley’s life and career — manager Col. Tom Parker and Joe Esposito, who was Elvis’ right-hand man. Esposito stood up for Carlini in his 2005 wedding to his second wife, Amanda, at the then-Las Vegas Hilton.

Esposito had seen Carlini perform at the Hilton, where Presley himself had sold out every show for seven years.

“At certain times on stage, it’s scary,” Esposito once said. “He can tilt his head down, he looks up with his eyes, you think it’s Elvis.”

Bocelli a cappella

It’s not often you encounter opera great Andrea Bocelli singing for about 150 people in downtown Las Vegas, but it happened Monday during a private event at the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health.

Bocelli, a good friend of Ruvo Center founder Larry Ruvo, sang five pieces in all, including “Ave Maria,” and performed a stunning flute solo.

Prior to the appearance, Bocelli told the crew not to bother with any amplification. He went au natural. The event was a live-auction bid by billionaire Ron Perelman at this year’s Keep Memory Alive Power of Love Gala at MGM Grand Garden Arena. Perelman held the party for members of his Las Vegas staff of Scientific Games.

Bocelli is also planning to attend the National Finals Rodeo at the Thomas & Mack Center. Bocelli, who owns three horses, has been riding since he was 7 years old. He became blind after being struck in the head with a ball during a soccer match five years later.

‘R.U.N’ on water

Understanding that building the one-off production “One Night For One Drop” is a heavy lift of the bucket, Cirque du Soleil is tossing out that idea on March 27 at Luxor.

Instead of a new show, Cirque is revving up “R.U.N” at Luxor, with net proceeds going to the water preservation charity founded by company creator Guy Laliberte. This is the first time in its eight-year history that “One Drop” won’t be a unique show built specifically for the event.

“Our thought was let’s spotlight a one-night experience at a fraction of the cost,” “One Drop” executive producer Jerry Nadal said. “We will still have the pre-party, and post-party, and run the show in the middle.”

In a statement, Laliberte said, “It is a different type of event where we all meet to have fun and share our common desire to help others and make the world a better place.”

Also new to this year, Laliberte will perform a DJ set. The guy knows how to … make waves.

Kick it

Staying on the Cirque topic, “Ka” at MGM Grand has added the act Icarian Games. This is a pair of duos from Ethiopia who open the show. The act is one artist lying on his back, catapulting the other the other high into the air with his legs. The airborne partner spins and flips. It’s a kick, folks.

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.