INN OF THE MOUNTAIN GODS RESORT & CASINO reopened March 15 in Mescalero, N.M., after an expansion and complete renovation. The southwest New Mexico property has 273 rooms and suites, 40,000 square feet of meeting space, 38,000 square feet of gaming space, and an 18-hole championship golf course. Among its recreational offerings: big-game hunting for elk and bear. It is operated by the Mescalero Apache tribe of American Indians.

This fall, SANDIA RESORT & CASINO will open a greatly expanded facility 10 minutes north of Albuquerque, N.M.'s, international airport. A new hotel will have 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 will feature 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 spa. Sandia is operated by the Sandia Pueblo American Indians.

On May 26, L'AUBERGE DU LAC in Lake Charles, La., will open to the public, subject to further approvals by the Louisiana State Police and other regulatory and safety agencies. The new $365 million casino will celebrate its grand opening July 16. Two hours from the Houston area, on 227 acres, the property includes a 26-story hotel with more than 700 rooms and suites, an 18-hole championship golf course by Tom Fazio, 26,000 square feet of meeting space, a pool, salon, spa, and cardio fitness center, as well as retail stores and five restaurants. The casino will be the largest single-deck riverboat casino in the United States.

THE HYATT REGENCY LAKE TAHOE RESORT, SPA AND CASINO will reopen the Championship Golf Course, overlooking Lake Tahoe in Incline Village, Nev., in May after renovations. The Hyatt has 50,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor meeting space, including a 7,500-square-foot ballroom.

LAKE LAS VEGAS RESORT has a new corporate meeting venue: a 3,952-square-foot floating stage that can be towed to different parts of the resort: Reflection Bay Golf Club, The Ritz-Carlton, The Hyatt, plus a number of residential communities. The stage has hosted concerts by LeAnn Rimes and the Beach Boys, as well as a corporate event for Red Bull, the energy drink company. The stage was transformed in November into a floating ice rink. It offers group buyout availability for as many as 60 skaters in winter months.

RENAISSANCE LAS VEGAS HOTEL opened in early December adjacent to the Las Vegas Convention Center with 548 guest rooms and 30 suites. The hotel has 20,000 square feet of meeting space, including a 9,850-square-foot ballroom. It is across from a monorail station.

The 541-room JW MARRIOTT LAS VEGAS claims to have the best of both worlds for corporate groups: It is secluded from the distractions of The Strip, yet close enough to it to take in the action when the spirit moves. The hotel's conference and banquet center features the 14,627-square-foot Marquis Ballroom. There are two smaller ballrooms and 32 breakout rooms. Shizen, a Japanese dining venue, opened in January.

In January, the SKYLOFTS AT MGM GRAND opened on the hotel's top two floors. Each of the 51 lofts features 24-foot floor-to-ceiling windows with dramatic views of the Las Vegas skyline. The Skylofts range from 1,400 to 6,000 square feet and come with personalized service, including airport limousine transport and a 24-hour butler.

In November, MGM Mirage in Las Vegas announced plans to build a massive resort and urban development project, PROJECT CITYCENTER, on 66 acres on The Strip. The first phase will have a 4,000-room hotel/casino and three 400-room boutique hotels. Plans call for shops, dining and entertainment venues, and private condominiums. It is expected to take 18 months for plans to be completed; construction on phase one should last 3.5 years.

Starwood has acquired a second property in Las Vegas: ALADDIN RESORT & CASINO. Over the next 15 months, the Aladdin will remain open while being transformed into PLANET HOLLYWOOD RESORT & CASINO, A SHERATON HOTEL. It will have a new façade, 2,500 renovated guest rooms, a 114,000-square-foot casino, a 7,000-seat theater, and 75,000 square feet of pre-function and meeting space.

NEW YORK-NEW YORK HOTEL & CASINO, Las Vegas, has finished a $30 million remodel of its 1,370 standard rooms.

THE RIO ALL-SUITE HOTEL & CASINO PAVILION CONVENTION CENTER is wrapping up its $39 million, 60,000-square-foot expansion. Once completed in May, total convention space at the Rio will be 160,000 square feet, making it the eighth-largest hotel meeting space in the country. The new and existing space will have 80 breakout rooms.

At BELLAGIO in Las Vegas, the 65,000-square-foot Spa & Salon Bellagio reopened in December in the new Spa Tower. A treatment menu for men has been added, and the men's area has an indoor relaxation balcony overlooking the pool. Within Salon Bellagio, a private barber room will provide straight-razor shaves using steamed towels. Also in December, Bellagio opened Tuscany Kitchen. Groups can use the space for cooking demonstrations, followed by a reception, a formal dinner or tasting, or classes on food and wine pairing. Demos last one to four hours and accommodate 15 to 60 guests.

WYNDHAM ARUBA RESORT, SPA & CASINO, Palm Beach, has finished a $3.5 million renovation and expansion of its meeting space. It added a 10,000-square-foot ballroom that can accommodate up to 800 people. The renovation included new marble floors and carpeting throughout the resort's pre-function area and existing 9,500-square-foot ballroom.