page_title: Westgate Las Vegas
section_title: 1981–2012
hierarchical_section_title: Westgate Las Vegas / History / Las Vegas Hilton (1971–2012) / 1981–2012
caption_attribution_description: English: Las Vegas Hilton
context_page_description: The Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino is a hotel, casino, and timeshare resort in Winchester, Nevada. Located near the northern end of the Las Vegas Strip, it is owned by Westgate Resorts and operated by Paragon Gaming. It opened in 1969 as the International Hotel, and was known for many years as the Las Vegas Hilton, then briefly as the LVH – Las Vegas Hotel and Casino, until taking its current name in 2014. From 1981 to 1990, it was the largest hotel in the world.
context_section_description: Around the end of 1981, another extension to the north tower was completed, adding 391 rooms at a cost of $21 million. This made the Las Vegas Hilton the largest hotel in the world, with a total of 3,174 rooms. (The Rossiya Hotel in Moscow had more rooms, but was not deemed to be a larger hotel by the Guinness Book of World Records because many of its rooms were used as dormitories.) It held this title until 1990, when it was surpassed by the Flamingo.
  In 1984, the hotel completed construction of the $10-million Hilton Center, a 70,000-square-foot (6,500 m²) convention and event space at the southwest corner of the property, west of the Hilton Pavilion.
  In 1986, amid growing popularity of sports betting in Nevada, the Hilton opened its race and sports book, the Superbook, at a cost of $17 million.
  In 1991, the Hilton was at the center of the Tailhook scandal, in which numerous United States Navy officers were accused of acts of sexual assault during a convention at the hotel. One of the victims, Paula Coughlin, sued the Hilton for providing inadequate security for the convention, and eventually was paid a $5.2 million judgment. The lawsuit led Hilton to successfully lobby for the so-called "Tailhook bill", a state law shielding hotels from liability for injuries to patrons caused by third parties.
  The hotel completed a new 362-foot (110 m), $4-million marquee sign in 1994. Later that year, however, it was partially destroyed by a windstorm. The sign was reconstructed in 1997 for $9 million with a reduced height of 279 feet (85 m), making it the world's tallest free-standing advertising sign.
  In 1994, the hotel entered an arrangement with the Sahara Country Club, which was renamed as the Las Vegas Hilton Country Club. This lasted until 1997, when the course became the Las Vegas National Golf Club. Hilton attempted to buy the neighboring Las Vegas Country Club the following year, but its $60-million offer was rejected.
  In 1995, the Hilton completed a $40-million renovation of its penthouse floor to construct the Sky Villas. The hotel also spent $12 million on a new room for baccarat, a favorite game of Asian high rollers. The Hilton at the time was one of only four Las Vegas casinos able to compete for the business of the "whales", the top tier of high rollers.
  In 1998, Hilton spun off its casino properties, including the Las Vegas Hilton, as Park Place Entertainment.
  Hilton's timeshare arm, Hilton Grand Vacations, began construction of a complex at the northeast corner of the property in 1998. It opened in 1999 with 230 suites.
  Around 1999, Park Place began seeking a buyer for the Las Vegas Hilton, because the company hoped to concentrate on its properties on the Las Vegas Strip, especially the newly acquired Caesars Palace. In 2000, Park Place agreed to sell the Hilton to Edward Roski Jr. for $365 million. Roski planned to transform the Hilton to shift its focus away from high rollers and toward convention attendees. The deal fell through, however, and the property was locked up in litigation between Park Place and Roski until 2003, when they settled their claims against each other.
  The Las Vegas Monorail opened in 2004, with one of its stations located at the Hilton. The system had been under construction since 2001. Hilton had led the group of hotels that had promulgated the proposal for the monorail as early as 1996.
  In June 2004, Caesars Entertainment (formerly Park Place) sold the Las Vegas Hilton to Colony Capital for $280 million. Colony partnered in the purchase with Goldman Sachs, which also lent $200 million of the purchase price. In 2005, the Hilton was placed under the banner of Colony's newly formed casino affiliate, Resorts International Holdings, which was headquartered at the property.
  The Hilton prospered in its first few years under Colony's management, but began losing money in the face of the Great Recession and an oversupply of hotel rooms in Las Vegas. In June 2011, the Hilton began defaulting on payments to Goldman Sachs on the loan. The same month, Hilton Worldwide opted to terminate its franchise
caption: Hotel with former Hilton logo and branding.
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