At MGM Grand Hotel & Casino, a flagship location for Topgolf International will open in spring 2016. Topgolf offers competitive golfing games, using microchip-embedded golf balls that allow shots to be tracked for accuracy and distance. The four-level Topgolf Las Vegas will sit on eight acres and overlook a 215-yard outfield. There will be 102 hitting bays on the first three levels while VIP areas with water features will be on the fourth level. The facility will also include a stage for musical performances and 3,000 square feet of meeting space. 

In April, Bellagio opened a new Milan-inspired Italian restaurant called LAGO with Michelin-starred Chef Julian Serrano at the helm. It also recently finished remodeling the final 403 suites in the resort’s main tower, the conclusion of an $165 million upgrade that began in 2011 and encompassed all 3,933 of the resort’s rooms and suites. In other news, MGM International, Bellagio’s parent company, has expanded its fleet of compressed natural gas limousines, the first Cadillac XTS vehicles to be converted to low-emission CNG.

Corporate meeting professionals had the opportunity to sample the meeting space, restaurants, and party venues at Treasure Island Hotel & Casino during the recent 16th Annual Las Vegas Corporate Invitational, hosted by MeetingsNet and the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority. The event kicked off with a warm welcome from Don Voss, vice president of sales and marketing, and an afternoon of education in TI’s updated ballroom—the hotel completed a $1.7 million renovation of its 18,000 square feet of meeting space in 2012.  Afterward, at a “Taste of TI” poolside party, participants sampled fare from TI’s restaurants—including Phil’s Italian Steak House, Pho (Vietnamese cuisine), Gilley’s, the Seafood Shack, Kahunaville, and Señor Frog’s. 

Another record-breaking restaurant is coming to Las Vegas with the opening in May of the world’s largest Hooters at the Palms Casino Resort. The two-story, 15,200-square-foot dining room is set to open in May near the Palms Pool with the capacity to serve as many as 500 guests at a time. The 1,200-room Palms has more than 60,000 square feet of conference space, plus a 20,000-square-foot ballroom.

MGM National Harbor, a $1.2 billion casino hotel project in Prince George’s County, Md., is expected to open in the second half of 2016 with a 23-story, 308-suite hotel tower; 27,431-square-foot conference space; 12 restaurants; and a 3,000-seat theater. The complex will have loads of gaming options (3,303 video lottery terminals and 160 tables), a 26,582-square-foot spa, 18,259 square feet of retail space, and parking for 4,646 cars.

MGM Resorts International broke ground in March on MGM Springfield, the first casino resort in Massachusetts. The 14-acre, $800 million multi-use development will open in 2017 with a 250-room hotel, 45,000 square feet of meeting space, a 35,000 square foot garden and roof deck, and a 125,000-square-foot casino. Resort amenities will include an outdoor stage, 20,000-square-foot bowling alley, and 12-screen cinema, as well as dining and retail options. 

The Mohegan Sun casino and entertainment attraction in Uncasville, Conn., is adding a second hotel. The new $120 million Earth hotel will open in 2016 with 400 rooms, allowing the property to better accommodate conventions. The existing property has 1,200 guest rooms and a more than 100,000 square feet of meeting space, including a 38,000-square-foot pillar-less ballroom with a 23-foot ceiling.

Wynn Resorts has begun work on a 34-acre site in Everett, Mass., where it will build the first casino resort in the Boston area. The $1.6 billion Wynn Everett is expected to have more than 600 guest rooms, ballroom and meeting space, spa, retail outlets, and restaurants, in addition to gaming facilities. Wynn is aiming for a late 2017 opening.