Mac Rating: 5.00 | Votes: 1 | Date: 03/07/2026 02:30:00

Elvis Presley played 636 consecutive sold-out shows in this building and never missed a night. The Westgate Las Vegas Resort and Casino, at 3000 Paradise Road just off the Strip, opened on July 2, 1969 as Kirk Kerkorian's International Hotel - then the largest hotel on earth. Architect Martin Stern Jr.'s tri-form tower set the template for the modern megaresort, and entertainment director Bill Miller opened the Showroom Internationale with Barbra Streisand while Peggy Lee played the lounge - a debut month unmatched in Vegas history. On July 31, 1969, Elvis followed Streisand into the showroom for his first live dates in eight years; the make-or-break comeback became a five-year contract, two shows a night, and the reinvention of the Las Vegas residency - ending only with his final show in December 1976. Hilton took over in 1971 and the Las Vegas Hilton era ran four decades - Liberace, Johnny Cash, Gladys Knight and Barry Manilow headlined, the property reigned as the world's largest hotel from 1981 to 1990, and Star Trek: The Experience drew a generation of pilgrims. Westgate Resorts bought the property in 2014, keeping the roughly 1,600-seat International Theater - Elvis's room - in service for residencies including Barry Manilow's long-running return, plus a cabaret and full convention campus. The resort's superbook remains a Vegas institution in its own right - among the largest race and sports books anywhere - anchoring nearly 3,000 rooms, a recreation deck and the monorail link to the convention center next door. Presley fans still arrive from every continent to stand where the King rebuilt his career - the bronze Elvis statue in the lobby marking the spot where Las Vegas entertainment grew up. The building's convention legacy is its quiet second act - Kerkorian built it for the convention trade Adelson would later chase, and the monorail stop still funnels badge crowds into the theater seats that once held Elvis's faithful two shows a night.