While engines roared outside for Hot August Nights, the sound of hammers banging could be heard on the third floor of John Ascuaga’s Nugget Tuesday.

The Nugget is in the process of a $1 million remodel of its executive conference rooms, adding updated amenities and a Bose sound system to the 12,000 square feet of meeting space. Nugget spokesman Mike Traum expects the job to be finished by the first week of September. The space has been used in the past as a judging spot for the Best in the West Nugget Rib Cook-Off as well as an area for executive get-togethers.

According to Nugget Chief Financial Officer Michonne Ascuaga, the remodel is a priority because group meetings are one of the hotel-casino’s priority sources of business.

“The first (target) is the local market because we do a lot of local business,” Ascuaga said. “The second piece is to fill the hotel and group side. They are both extremely important to us.”

According to Ascuaga, about one-third of the Nugget’s hotel capacity comes from group and convention business. Ascuaga could not provide specifics on booking numbers, but said the number of conventions and group meetings that come through the Nugget per year is in the hundreds.

“A lot of our board meetings are looking for upscale facilities,” Ascuaga said.

The new facilities will be on decorative par with a recent remodel of the Nugget’s east tower hotel rooms. Flooring will be replaced with dark Michelangelo marble and wall moldings will be replaced with oak-stained wood against cream wallpaper.

Last February, the Nugget remodeled 620 east tower hotel rooms at a price tag of more than $17 million.

The Sparks casino also spearheaded a $2 million warehouse project last spring that houses the hotel’s extra furniture, carpeting and building materials. Last year, the Nugget also completed a 600-space parking lot on the west side of the hotel and casino at a cost of $1.5 million.

As for future projects, Ascuaga said that none have yet been solidified enough to announce.

When asked why the business was focusing its finances on internal remodeling rather than renovations along the busy Victorian Square, Ascuaga said the hotel and casino wanted to focus on its two core marketing groups: locals and group conventions.

Between the Best in the West Nugget Rib Cook-Off, Hot August Nights and the Sparks Hometowne Farmer’s Market, Victorian Square draws more than a million people each year. According to the latest survey by the Nugget, the Best in the West Rib Cook-Off attracts more than 400,000 people over the course of the six-day event.

Traum added that outside renovation may not be high on the priority list because the Nugget is waiting to see what will happen with downtown redevelopment.

“We want to be in line with what they are doing,” Traum said.