Longtime off-Strip casino-resort fixture the Las Vegas Hilton left the Hilton fold on Jan. 3, unveiling its new identity as the LVH -- Las Vegas Hotel & Casino.
Owned by and then affiliated with Hilton Worldwide since 1970, the 2,956-room, 305-suite hotel opened on Paradise Road in 1969 as the International Hotel, then the largest hotel property in the world. It's been owned by Resorts International, a division of Colony Capital, since 2004.
Despite the name change, little else has changed, for now, at the LVH. The resort still boasts a 74,000-square-foot casino, 200,000-square-foot convention center, a 30,000-square-foot sports book and its own Las Vegas Monorail station.
For more, see the resort's new website at http://thelvh.com.
New nonstops to Germany
German airline Airberlin is introducing nonstop service from Las Vegas to Dusseldorf. The new service will operate twice a week, starting this summer.
With the introduction of the service, Airberlin passengers can fly nonstop to Dusseldorf from seven gateways in North America: New York Kennedy; Miami and Fort Myers, Fla.; Los Angeles; San Francisco; Las Vegas; and Vancouver.
In addition, Airberlin offers nonstop flights from New York Kennedy, Miami and Los Angeles to Berlin. Go to www.airberlin.com.
Terminal 3 to take wing
In other aviation news, McCarran Airport will open its long-anticipated Terminal 3 this summer.
The $2.4 billion terminal will primarily serve international and domestic long-haul flights. The facility will have 14 gates, a baggage-handling system and parking garage and will feature an underground shuttle to the D gates and two floors of security checkpoints. When the terminal opens, Terminal 2, an eight-gate charter on the airport's north side, will be torn down. See www.mccarran.com.
Curtain up on culture
Two cultural attractions devoted to "Vegasiana" are set to debut this year.
The Las Vegas Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement, or "Mob Museum," is scheduled to open on Feb. 14. The $42 million museum will contain artifacts associated with the criminal underworld's biggest names, including Al Capone, Charlie "Lucky" Luciano, Ben "Bugsy" Siegel and Sam Giancana.
Other highlights include exhibits; high-tech theater presentations; weapons; wiretapping tools and tactics; and crime scene photos and other items that law enforcement has used to fight the mob.
The Neon Museum, meanwhile, plans a summer opening. The $6 million facility, set on a three-acre site, houses neon signs from casinos of yesteryear. Its visitor center is being fashioned from the remodeled shell of the La Concha Motel.
The museum contains more than 150 vintage neon signs, dating from the 1930s to the 1990s.
The museum also includes the Fremont Street Gallery, which features refurbished antique signs. The gallery begins in front of the Neonopolis at Las Vegas Boulevard and extends to the Third Street cul-de-sac adjacent to the Fremont Street Experience canopy. For more, see www.neonmuseum.org and www.themobmuseum.org.