The International Hotel: A New Scale for Las Vegas

Kerkorian builds beside the Convention Center

Developer Kirk Kerkorian chose Paradise Road rather than the established Las Vegas Boulevard resort corridor. The nearby Convention Center offered business travelers, while the enormous property had to become a destination in its own right. Kerkorian's earlier purchase of the Flamingo also provided a place to train staff for the much larger operation.

Architect Martin Stern Jr. organized a three-wing tower around a central service core, above a broad base containing the public and operating facilities. The International became Nevada's tallest building at opening and was briefly described as the world's largest hotel. Published room totals vary slightly, so roughly 1,500 is more defensible than presenting one precise count as universal.

The innovation was coordination. A visitor could attend meetings, eat, shop, gamble, swim and see a major show without repeatedly leaving the property. This was more than a large tower attached to a casino: it was a complete itinerary designed as one business.

A complete vacation under one roof

Opening-era advertising promoted internationally themed rooms and restaurants, a rooftop recreation park, tennis, swimming, golf access and a Youth Hotel for children. The retail and service areas handled ordinary travel needs alongside luxury purchases. Families, convention delegates and high rollers could use different parts of the same resort.

A 1968 construction report planned 1,000 slots and substantial blackjack, craps, poker and pan facilities. These are pre-opening plans, not a verified final casino inventory. Contemporary coverage nevertheless describes a crowded opening-week gambling floor, showing that the celebrity launch attracted casino customers as well as spectators.

Dinner shows made dining part of the performance. Surviving menus offered elaborate French-influenced meals; the large showroom used grand décor and theatrical equipment to make an evening feel ceremonial. The resort sold the whole occasion rather than a detached concert ticket.

Barbra opened; Elvis made it iconic

Barbra Streisand opened the Showroom Internationale on July 2, 1969. Elvis followed on July 31. Remembering that sequence prevents the building's entire origin from being reduced to Presley: it was conceived as a multi-headliner resort before becoming closely associated with him.

Elvis's return to regular live performance was a career gamble after years devoted largely to films. The large stage, orchestra, backing singers and formal showroom supported a new concert identity. His first engagement comprised 57 shows over four weeks, and he returned through 1976.

Published totals for his full run conflict. Hilton's account says more than 600 sold-out shows, while other sources give different exact figures. The sustained association is certain even when the counting rules are not. The Imperial Suite upstairs made the star's residence part of the same luxury world marketed to guests.

Hilton and the corporate resort

Hilton acquired its interest in stages during 1970-71, first taking a minority position and operating responsibilities before gaining control. The property became the Las Vegas Hilton in 1971. The arrival of a major hotel corporation illustrated the growing role of public-company capital and professional resort systems in Nevada gambling.

Additional towers expanded the hotel to more than 3,000 rooms by the early 1980s. A rotating showroom roster included singers, comedians and variety performers, while television tapings and conventions brought audiences beyond the usual gambling visitor. Entertainment was a repeat source of room, restaurant and casino business rather than a decorative extra.

Sports spectacle and a devastating fire

The Hilton Pavilion opened in 1977 with seating for roughly 5,200. On February 15, 1978, Leon Spinks defeated Muhammad Ali there for the heavyweight title. Later boxing promotions used both indoor and temporary outdoor venues, connecting televised sport with hotel occupancy and high-roller play.

On February 10, 1981, an arson fire killed eight people and injured more than 200. Coming only months after the MGM Grand disaster, it reinforced the urgency of high-rise fire protection and emergency-response reform. The tragedy belongs to the property's history as a human loss, not merely a dramatic interruption in its celebrity story.

The SuperBook opened in 1986 and became another durable identity, turning sports viewing and wagering into a destination within the casino. High-limit gaming and elaborate hospitality services likewise helped the aging resort compete for international customers.

Reinvention without demolition

The Hilton repeatedly adapted its entertainment spaces. Starlight Express brought a major theatrical rebuild in the 1990s. Star Trek: The Experience opened in 1998, combining immersive environments, ride technology, exhibits and themed dining before closing in 2008. Barry Manilow's 2005-10 residency continued the showroom tradition into the modern residency era.

The resort also hosted the 1991 Tailhook convention, which became the subject of a national investigation into sexual assault and misconduct. That chapter shows the consequences of events held in large convention hotels extending far beyond tourism.

The Hilton name ended at the start of 2012, and the property became LVH amid financial distress and foreclosure. Westgate acquired it in 2014. The surviving tower, theater, convention facilities and sports-book identity connect today's resort to the International's original ambition: build a world large and flexible enough to keep finding new audiences.