Las Vegas Hilton

The Las Vegas Hilton is a hotel, casino, and convention center in Winchester, Nevada, Nevada. It is a joint venture between Colony Capital, which owns 60 percent, and New York City-based REIT Whitehall Street Real Estate Funds, which owns the remaining 40 percent.[1] With 3,174 hotel rooms, this off-Strip hotel is the largest Hilton Hotel in the world. Located on 64 acres (26 ha), it has a 100,000 square feet (9,300 m2) casino and is also home to the largest sports book in Las Vegas. The hotel was also the host of the Star Trek Experience until its closure in 2008.

The hotel is located next to the Las Vegas Convention Center and with its own 3,200,000 sq ft (297,000 m2) convention center.

The hotel is a stop on the Las Vegas Monorail.

Las Vegas Hilton
at a glance

Location : Las Vegas, Nevada

Address: 3000 Paradise Road
Las Vegas, Nevada 89109
Opening date: 1969

Theme: Contemporary

No. of rooms : 3,175

Total gaming space : 100,000 square feet (9,300 m2)

Permanent shows: Barry Manilow

Casino type: Land

Owner : Colony Capital (60%), Whitehall Street Real Estate Funds (40%)

Previous names : International(1969)

Years renovated: 1975
1978
1998
2006
2008

Website: Las Vegas Hilton
LV Hilton on Hilton.com

History

The land that the hotel sits upon, according to local Las Vegans, was owned by a woman descended from a family only known as Ashworth, though not much else is known other than that the family moved to Texas in the 1970s.

The hotel, designed by architect Martin Stern, Jr., was built in 1969 by Kirk Kerkorian and opened as the International Hotel. When it opened, the International was the largest hotel in the world. Barbra Streisand was the opening-night performer, along with Peggy Lee performing afterwards in the hotel's lounge.

In 1969, right after Streisand's engagement, Elvis Presley performed for 58 consecutive sold out shows, breaking all Vegas attendance records, (130,157 paying, and ostensibly gambling customers in the period of one month), with stellar reviews coming from both critics and the public. He broke his own attendance record in February 1970, and again in August 1970, and August 1972. When playing Las Vegas, he lived in the penthouse suite (room 3000), located on the 30th floor, until his last performance there in December 1976. Elvis was due to perform there again in 1978, to celebrate the opening of the North tower, but the singer passed away in august 1977. His manager Colonel Parker, lived in the hotel on the 4th floor, from the seventies to the mid eighties.



Liberace headlined in the showroom during the 1970s drawing sold-out crowds twice per night. When he signed his contract at the Hilton in 1972 he earned $300,000 per week, a record amount for individual entertainers in Las Vegas.

The Las Vegas Hilton was the site in 1978 where Leon Spinks defeated Muhammad Ali for the World Heavyweight Championship. It was also the site in which Mike Tyson defeated Tony Tucker to unify and become the Undisputed Heavyweight Champion in 1986. Also, Donald Curry defeated Milton McCrory at the Las Vegas Hilton to unify and become the Undisputed Welterweight Champion in December of 1985.




The International Hotel was sold to Hilton Hotels Corporation in 1970 and renamed the Las Vegas Hilton in 1971. In 1998, Hilton Hotels Corporation split their properties and stock into two different companies (Hilton gaming, and Hilton Hotels). Shortly after the split, Hilton Gaming Company merged with Bally Entertainment Corporation (owners of Bally's Hotel). The company was re-named Park Place Entertainment. In 2000, Park Place Entertainment purchased Caesars World (All Caesars Casinos). In 2003 Park Place Entertainment changed their name to Caesars Entertainment. In 2004, Caesars Entertainment sold the Las Vegas Hilton to Colony Capital LLC for $280 million. Colony Capital transferred the property to Resorts International Holdings, a Colony Capital company also known as Resorts International. The Las Vegas Hilton is now Resorts International anchor property, with their corporate office located on the second floor of the east tower.

The east tower was added in 1975 and the north tower was added in 1978.