At the time, the speculation was that economic and post-9/11 factors were the culprits. Aztar officials had a different explanation: The expansion was expected to be completed by the summer of 2003. That's the same time frame in which Boyd Gaming and MGM Mirage expect to open their massive $1 billion Borgata casino/resort property nearby, and Aztar officials say they didn't want the two behemoths opening at the same time.

Now, however, Aztar has set a new date to start construction. In a conference call late last week that was supposed to focus on fourth quarter earnings, Aztar chairman/CEO Paul Rubeli announced that construction is now scheduled to start on or about May 1. The revised schedule would put completion on track for late 2003 or early 2004.

"Everything is in place to start work on May 1, and we may actually start a few days earlier than that," Rubeli said during the conference call. He also indicated that potential contractors for the project began submitting their bids last week.