Westgate Las Vegas
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. 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. From 1981 to 1990, it was the largest hotel in the world.
Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino
3000 Paradise Road
July 2, 1969
(as The International)2,956
54,923 square feet (5,102.5 m2)
- The Magic of Jen Kramer
- Manilow: The Hits Come Home
- Benihana
- Edge Steakhouse
- Fresco Italiano
- Silk Road Asian Bistro
Land-based
International (1969–1971)
Las Vegas Hilton (1971–2012)
LVH – Las Vegas Hotel and Casino (2012–2014)
1975, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1984, 1995, 1999, 2014–2016
Sporting events[edit]
Boxing[edit]
The hotel has a history as a prominent professional boxing venue.[311] In 1969, the showroom hosted the first major boxing match held at a Las Vegas hotel, Sonny Liston vs. Leotis Martin (previous fights had been held at the Convention Center).[312][313] The Hilton Pavilion was the site in 1978 of Leon Spinks's victory over Muhammad Ali for the world heavyweight championship, which is remembered as one of the biggest upsets in the sport's history.[314] The hotel then took a seven-year hiatus from hosting boxing matches.[315]
In 1985, Donald Curry defeated Milton McCrory at the Hilton Center to unify and become the undisputed welterweight champion.[316] The success of the Curry–McCrory fight led the Hilton to begin pursuing more major matches, to challenge Caesars Palace as the premier boxing venue in Las Vegas.[317] The hotel struck a deal to host several fights in the heavyweight unification series, a tournament to establish an undisputed heavyweight champion.[315] A 14,600-seat outdoor arena was temporarily erected in the Hilton's parking lot for some of the fights.[318] The series culminated in Mike Tyson's defeat of Tony Tucker at the Hilton Center in 1987 to unify and become the undisputed champion.[319]
By 1995, the Hilton had reportedly backed away from seeking to host the biggest fights, because of escalating costs.[320] The hotel hosted no boxing matches between 2002 and 2008; since then, it has occasionally hosted minor fights.[321]
Other sports[edit]
The Hilton Pavilion hosted two nationally televised tennis events in 1978: the WCT Tournament of Champions[322] and the World Team Tennis All-Star Match.[323][324]
The hotel was the venue for Evo 2014, a major competitive video gaming tournament.[325]