ON DECEMBER 1, Sandia Resort & Casino opened a greatly expanded facility 10 minutes north of Albuquerque, N.M.'s, international airport. A new hotel has 228 guest rooms and 35,000 square feet of meeting space, including a 28,000-square-foot grand ballroom (divisible into four), and six breakout rooms with 5,700 square feet of additional space. The casino expansion added 434,284 square feet to the already existing 70,000 square feet. It now features more than 1,750 slots, blackjack, mini-baccarat, the largest poker room in the state, and a high-limit salon. Also on site: an 18-hole championship golf course designed by Scott Miller, and a 12,000-square-foot, full-service spa. Sandia is operated by the Sandia Pueblo American Indians. www.sandiacasino.com

In Mashantucket, Conn., Foxwoods Resort Casino began a $700 million project last month. Scheduled for completion in summer 2008, it will add nearly two million square feet of space, with significantly increased hotel, entertainment, restaurant, and gaming venues. The development, spearheaded by the Paul Steelman Design Group, will give the resort an additional 2,900 parking spaces and a fourth hotel, providing 60 percent more guest rooms and suites. Foxwoods.com

Harrah's Entertainment's recent merger with Caesars Entertainment has created the world's largest provider of branded casino entertainment, with more than 40 casinos in three countries. The merger provides more than one million square feet of meeting space in Las Vegas. Las Vegas Meetings by Harrah's Entertainment, which includes meeting space at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino, Harrah's Las Vegas, Caesars Palace, Bally's Las Vegas, Paris Las Vegas and The Flamingo, provides planners with quotes from all six properties with one phone call. Now each property's sales, catering, convention services, and banquet operation departments report to one person. The merger creates interchangeable properties, so if a meeting planner wants to hold a conference at Caesars Palace, they could reserve guest rooms at Paris Las Vegas and host an event at the Rio's Voodoo Lounge, all on one contract and master bill. Complimentary shuttles are offered between all of the properties. www.harrahs.com

A new 949-room tower debuted this summer at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. The 26-story tower brings the resort's total number of rooms to 3,340. www.CaesarsPalace.com

MGM Grand in Las Vegas has opened its new boutique-style West Wing, with 700 rooms. All feature king-size beds with pillow-top mattresses and body pillows, flat-screen televisions, DVD players, cordless phones, desks, and Bose radio alarm clocks with CD players. The bathrooms feature marble floors, oversized showers, and TVs in the bathroom mirrors. Access into the West Wing corridors is by key card. www.MGMGrand.com

The musical comedy Hairspray, winner of eight Tony Awards in 2003, has signed a multi-year engagement with Luxor Las Vegas and began performances this November. The play has been modified to run without intermission. www.Luxor.com

Aladdin Resort & Casino has added a 75,000-square-foot conference center with 18 breakout rooms for functions for up to 2,000 people. There are two executive boardrooms and a separate conference floor for meeting access directly from guest rooms or the lobby. The completely renovated Theatre for the Performing Arts can be configured to seat groups of 2,500 to 7,000. The 2,600 guest rooms have dedicated modem ports with Cat-5 cable for high-speed Internet access, two phone lines, and desktop electrical outlets and reading lamps. www.aladdincasino.com

There's a new dining option in Bellagio's new Spa Tower in Las Vegas: Sensi. Executive Chef Martin Heierling has devised a menu combining Italian and Asian cuisines, and classic grilled and seafood dishes. Japanese design firm Super Potato has crafted an interactive “stage” setup for some lively culinary theater. www.Bellagio.com

South Coast Hotel and Casino is set to open in January 2006, just south of the Las Vegas Strip. It will have 150,000 square feet of meeting, convention, and exhibit space, with Wi-Fi throughout, 42-inch plasma screen televisions in the meeting rooms, and a 21,600-square-foot ballroom with a recessed stage. It also will boast an equestrian center, with a multi-use arena that seats 4,400 people. South Coast plans to target small- to mid-sized groups. www.southcoastcasino.com

Green Valley Ranch Resort, Spa, & Casino, in Henderson, Nev., minutes away from the Las Vegas Strip, offers 490 rooms, 8 acres of outdoor recreational space, and an infinity-edge pool. Its conference center has more than 40,000 square feet of meeting space, including two ballrooms and 12 breakout meeting rooms. www.greenvalleyranchresort.com

In spring 2006, Red Rock Casino, Resort & Spa will open on approximately 70 acres in Las Vegas with 400 rooms and suites, an 87,000-square-foot casino, and 10 full-service restaurants. A 40,000-square-foot meeting and convention facility will accommodate groups from 15 to 1,500 in size. The resort will also feature a 20,000-square-foot spa and a three-acre pool and beach complex. www.redrockstation.com

Baha Mar Development Co. Ltd. has purchased three hotels on Cable Beach in Nassau, Bahamas: Wyndham Nassau Resort & Crystal Palace Casino, the Nassau Beach Hotel, and the Radisson Cable Beach & Golf Resort. It plans a major redevelopment of the properties that will transform the site into a 2,700-room resort. The renovation is slated to begin in 2007 and will feature a casino hotel, a convention hotel, an 18-hole golf course, and a retail village. Plans call for an opening in early 2009.

Hilton Santo Domingo opened in 2005 in the capital city of the Dominican Republic. It anchors a mixed-use complex, the Malecon Center, which contains retail shopping, a cinema, restaurants, entertainment venues, office space, residential condominiums, and the city's largest casino. The 21-floor Hilton has 228 oceanfront guest rooms, including executive floor rooms and suites with high-speed Internet access, a large work desk, and access to the 20th-floor executive lounge. The hotel has nearly 17,000 square feet of meeting space. www.hiltoncaribbean.com

A $5,000 burger, anyone? Where else but in Vegas? Chef Hubert Keller of Fleur de Lys at Mandalay Bay offers the FleurBurger 5000: fois gras and black truffle-topped Kobe beef burger is served on a brioche truffle bun and garnished with sauce consisting of yet more truffles. Guests enjoy a bottle of Chateau Petrus 1990 poured in imported Italian stemware. To help diners savor — or at least remember — their self-indulgence, the glasses are shipped to their homes after the meal. www.mandalaybay.com