 In 1939, it was renamed Hotel Nacional de Cuba.Chicago developer Arnold Kirkeby acquired the property in July 1943 and operated it for over a decade as part of his Kirkeby Hotels chain.Beginning on December 20, 1946 the hotel hosted the Havana Conference, an infamous mob summit run by Lucky Luciano and Meyer Lansky and attended by Santo Trafficante Jr., Frank Costello, Albert Anastasia, Vito Genovese and many others.