IN BRIEF

Golden Nugget will open new 500-room Rush Tower

The Golden Nugget's new 500-room Rush Tower will open today, with customers allowed to check in beginning at 10:30 a.m.

A grand opening is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. Monday. Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman and Landry's Restaurant Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Tilman Fertitta will attend.

The $150 million expansion, which includes the Chart House restaurant, three retail shops and a casino-floor expansion, will bring the property's room count to 2,417, the largest downtown.

The hotel-casino is owned by Houston-based Landry's, which also owns the Golden Nugget Laughlin.

ATLANTIC CITY

Resorts Atlantic City cleared to cede ownership to creditors

America's first casino to open outside Nevada has gotten permission to hand itself over to its lenders because it can't pay the mortgage.

New Jersey's Resorts Atlantic City reached a deal with its lenders to let them own the casino in return for canceling nearly $381 million in debt.

The lenders included Wells Fargo. They've formed a new corporation called RAC Atlantic City Holdings LLC, which the state Casino Control Commission approved Thursday as the casino's new owner.

The deal will close in about a week.

CHICAGO

Improved sales at Kmart help Sears Holdings narrow loss

Shoppers increased their spending at Kmart stores for the first time in at least seven years this fall, picking up cheap toys, shoes and items for their homes.

The boost in sales at Kmart stores open at least a year was less than 1 percent.

But it helped its parent company, Sears Holdings Inc., post a smaller quarterly loss Thursday and was the first time since at least January 2002 that the measure climbed at the discount store.

Overall, Sears Holdings lost $127 million, or $1.09 per share, during the third quarter.

Excluding store closing costs and other items, Sears said its loss amounted to 81 cents per share.

Thursday's figures were better than last year's third quarter, when Sears lost $146 million. They also topped analyst forecasts for a loss of $1.09 per share.

Revenue fell 4 percent to $10.19 billion.

RENO

Reno-Sparks agency agrees on new slogan for region

The Reno-Sparks Convention & Visitors Authority has abandoned the proposed new slogan as part of a larger campaign intended to promote tourism after criticism from Reno Mayor Bob Cashell and others.

Instead, the RSCVA's board on Thursday unanimously approved a new slogan -- "Reno Tahoe USA ... Far From Expected."

Cashell spoke out against the previous idea because he was afraid the agency action would eclipse Reno's longtime moniker, the "Biggest Little City in the World."

RSCVA President Ellen Oppenheim says the traditional motto is perfect for Reno. But she says the authority's mission is to promote Reno, Sparks, Lake Tahoe and the whole region.

SAN FRANCISCO

AOL to shed up to 2,500 jobs as it spins off from Time Warner

The struggling Internet company AOL plans to shed up to 2,500 jobs -- more than a third of its work force -- as it prepares to separate from Time Warner and finally sever their ill-fated marriage.

Major job cuts had been expected and seemed certain after Time Warner said last week that AOL would take $200 million in charges for severance and other restructuring-related costs. But the magnitude was unknown until Thursday.

AOL, which has already pared thousands of workers in recent years and now employs about 6,900, is asking for volunteers to accept buyouts. If it falls short of the 2,500 target, it plans layoffs to reach a payroll cut of up to 2,300 positions, a third of its current total.

MGM Mirage launches online site with virtual CityCenter tour

Las Vegas casino giant MGM Mirage has launched a Web site to let Internet users tour its $8.5 billion CityCenter project virtually.

In a statement, MGM Mirage said the site, www.citycenter.com, "takes visitors on an interactive cinematic journey, letting them to discover virtually why CityCenter is destined to forever change the face of the Strip."

Full-motion 3-D video will give visitors the sensation of being on site, the statement said. Clicking a resort's image, the statement added, will give users general information, a link to the hotel's individual Web site, and other options.

CityCenter is set to open in phases next month.