Not a great start to the hotel’s legacy, we’d say. The hotel paid out a 23-million-dollar settlement to the victim’s families. The fire caused an estimated 10 million dollars in damage, and Cline was convicted in 1982 of arson and murder, sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. It only took twenty-five minutes for the fire to reach the top of the building. The fire spread rapidly and claimed the lives of eight people while another 350 were injured.

Philip Bruch Cline, a hotel busboy who was under the influence of drugs, set fire to a curtain in an elevator lobby on the 8th floor of the east tower. On the night of February 10th, 1981, a major fire occurred at the hotel. After multitudes of expansions and millions upon millions of dollars in renovations, 1981 hit the hotel with a hefty tragedy. Alongside Kirk Kerkorian, a 1,000-room casino was also built on the old racetrack site, as well as a 50-million dollar hotel. He had high hopes for this little slice of the Mojave Desert. He announced development plans for the site to include a 40-floor, 1,500-room hotel and golf course, and private homes. In 1965 the 400-acre allotment was purchased by National Equities, a real estate development firm chaired by a man named Marvin Kratter. The hotel site was previously part of the defunct Las Vegas Park, a historic racetrack. From 1981 until 1990, Westgate held the title of the largest hotel in the world. It was also known as the Las Vegas Hilton for many years before taking its current name in 2014. Located close to the northern end of the forever-partying Las Vegas strip, the historic resort opened its doors to the public in 1969 as the International Hotel. Westgate Resort and Casino is a hotel, casino, and timeshare resort in Winchester, Nevada.

The westgate las vegas resort casino