[FONT=Verdana]The long-planned $750 million expansion and renovation of the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas is under way, with plans that call for 950 additional rooms in two new hotel towers, several new restaurants and shops, a spa and health club, 60,000 square feet of meeting space, and 35,000 additional square feet of casino space, along with an expansion of the Joint, the Hard Rock's concert venue.[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana]All 650 existing rooms will be renovated, the cigar shop is turning into a high-end poker room, and Simon's Kitchen has already been replaced by AGO, the LA-based Italian restaurant in which Robert De Niro is a partner. All hotel and casino facilities will remain open during the project, which is scheduled to be completed by summer 2009. [/FONT]