The Hard Rock hotel and casino in Las Vegas is in for a makeover after billionaire Richard Branson announced he would purchase the spot. The site will continue to operate as part of the Hard Rock brand through 2019, the Associated Press reported, then it will become Virgin Hotels Las Vegas. The hotel is also expected to undergo “hundreds of millions of dollars” worth of renovations over multiple phases, though it will remain open during that time. The Hard Rock name is also associated with the location’s popular day club. However, there is no word yet on whether the venue…

Newsday – Britney Spears has begun her early retirement in Las Vegas with a show that looks strikingly like the eye-popping Cirque du Soleil productions found elsewhere on the Strip. The debut of Spears’ long-term casino gig Friday kept an audience of about 4,500 on their feet for about 90 minutes. The young-for-Vegas crowd was there for the danceable hits and the spectacle, which included acrobatics, a ring of fire, confetti, a live band, frenetic costume changes and a frequently airborne Spears. The show’s production values are unusually high for a casino residency, calling to mind the golden age of…