ALADDIN BEGINS PLANET HOLLYWOOD TRANSFORMATION

Slowly but surely, the transformation of the Aladdin Hotel & Casino into the Planet Hollywood Hotel & Casino has begun taking place.

It's been a year since a group led by Planet Hollywood CEO Robert Earl, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide and Bay Harbour Management took control of the financially beleaguered Aladdin. Since then, the new operators have been able to keep the property open and operating, despite design flaws that hurt the property's business.

Now, as operators move closer to beginning the major renovation projects scheduled, smaller transitions are already taking place. Among the changes: new casino signage and advertisements depicting the Planet Hollywood brand.

According to reports in the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the $90 million price tag for the renovations has been increased, though Earl and his management team declined to specify the revised cost.

During the renovation work, the property will remain open, said spokeswoman Amy Sadowsky.

"It's very complicated to do a major, wholesale remodeling while keeping the casino open," she said. "We wanted not to disrupt the guests and that takes a lot of planning."

Part of the renovation aims to correct the design flaws that many agree led to the Aladdin's bankruptcy. The biggest mistakes include a lack of identifiable frontage on the Las Vegas Strip for pedestrian traffic and a casino that is "hidden" by the property's other features, including the large Desert Passage Mall that horseshoes the property.

"The reconstruction will completely, 100 percent address the Strip. It'll make a massive entrance in the middle, converting the whole front into one huge plaza," Earl told the Review-Journal.

The renovation will add new restaurants and bars to the property as well. Earl and Westgate Resorts are also developing a 52-story, $400 million timeshare project on land in the back of the Aladdin, that will bring the property's overall room count to 4,000.

"We had a lot to learn about the market, but we've done very well with the property. Starwood's been with us for a year and it's made a big difference in room rates," Earl said.