Hawaiian Tropic Zone has opened in the Miracle Mile Shops at Planet Hollywood. Equal parts restaurant and nightclub, HTZ offers lunch, dinner and late-night service (open till 4 a.m.), but also features a catwalk stage for nightly entertainment, the largest video wall in Las Vegas, cabaret dancers, and a live DJ appearing nightly.

$5 billion Plaza: City officials have approved the big plans of Elad Group for its Plaza project on the site of the recently imploded New Frontier at the center of the Las Vegas Strip. The $5 billion project will apparently consist of seven towers with 4,100 hotel rooms and 2,600 condominiums; the casino will be 176,000 square feet. The Plaza is scheduled to open in 2012 — that is, if legal entanglements don't get in the way. There's still a question as to whether or not the Plaza name can be legally used, given the existing Plaza downtown.

Harrah's deal completed: With approval granted from the National Indian Gaming Commission, the $31 billion Harrah's deal has now been completely green-lighted. It's technically a "tentative" approval, but is expected to hold up. With all the necessary regulatory hurdles cleared, the deal that will take the world's largest casino company private should close in early 2008.

ON DISPLAY: The Bellagio Conservatory's winter display features festive arctic animals, an oversized greeting card composed of thousands of flowers, and a 42-foot-tall White Shasta fir ablaze with a state-of-the-art LED display. This display will remain in place until Jan. 13, when it will be replaced by a Chinese New Year exhibit.

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