Officials with Harrah's Cherokee Casino & Hotel held a ceremony last week to mark the completion of the first phase of the hotel's $650 million expansion.

The project is one of the largest hospitality expansions now under way in the country. When it's completed next year, it will double the size of the casino floor.

Many of the larger projects associated with the expansion are now open, including the additional hotel rooms and the events center.

By the winter of 2012, the casino expects to expand its gaming offerings from 3,400 gaming stations to 4,700. The expansion includes video poker, live blackjack, raffle reels and Baccarito.

North Carolina fans should hope Ty Lawson makes wiser decisions Saturday against Villanova than he did earlier this week during the school's trip to the Final Four.

Lawson, a 21-year-old junior widely expected to turn pro  this spring, said Thursday that he went to Detroit's Greektown Casino and won $250 at the craps table. Nice haul, but Not Too Smart.

DETROIT — North Carolina coach Roy Williams said he has "zero" problems with point guard Ty Lawson and reserve Marc Campbell shooting craps in Detroit.

The players are of age, he said, they were chaperoned by the team’s video coordinator — and Williams has already shot craps, himself.