Landry's Restaurant, Golden Nugget’s owner and operator, has announced that Penta Building Group was recently hired to build a 25-story tower that will add 500 rooms to the Golden Nugget Hotel and Casino. The agreement is part of the extensive expansion plans considered for the legendary downtown Las Vegas hotel and casino, which is expected to be completed in the next year or two.

According to Landry’s representatives, the $150 million project should be over by late 2009 and will feature a series of amenities and architectural innovations including a porte-cochere entry into the hotel’s lobby, a second-floor pool connected to the pool's upper deck above the live shark aquarium, and an exclusive owner's suite with an observation deck located on the 25^th floor of the tower. The new Las Vegas tower will also include a 3,000-square-foot Chart House restaurant with an exotic and unique saltwater aquarium and a custom made reef.

Houston-based Landry's acquired the Golden Nugget Hotel and its sister property in Laughlin in September 2005 for a total of $325 million. The company has already spent $100 million in a series of renovations and expansion works that started about a year after the acquisition and which are expected to continue until late 2009 or maybe 2010.