Harrah's Entertainment

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Harrahs Entertainment, Inc.
Type Private
Founded Reno, Nevada (1937)
Headquarters Las Vegas, Nevada
Key people Gary Loveman,
CEO & Chairman
Charles L. Atwood,
Vice Chairman
Industry Gaming,
Entertainment & Hospitality
Products World Series of Poker
Total Rewards
Revenue ▲ $10.8 billion USD (2007)
Owner Hamlet Holdings
Employees 85,000 (2005)
Website www.harrahs.com
Harrah's Entertainment Inc.'s former headquarters and current corporate offices

Harrah's Entertainment, Inc. is a private gaming corporation that owns and operates casinos, hotels, and six golf courses under several brands. The company, based in Las Vegas, Nevada, is the largest gaming company in the world, with yearly revenues around $10.8 billion. Harrah’s is owned by Hamlet Holdings[1] (Apollo Management and Texas Pacific Group). While Apollo and TPG own a large majority, Blackstone Group LP owns a minority stake in Harrah's. [2]

Contents

[edit] History

[edit] William F. Harrah era (1937-1978)

The company known as Harrah's Entertainment was founded on October 30, 1937 as a small bingo parlor in Reno, Nevada operated by William F. Harrah.[3][4] The company went public in 1971 with 450,000 shares. Following that, in 1972, it was listed on the American Stock Exchange and in 1973 Harrah's became the first casino company listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

Company founder William F. Harrah died in 1978.

[edit] Post William F. Harrah era

 This section may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please improve this section if you can. (January 2008)
  • January 1990 – Bass PLC acquires the Holiday Inn hotel business and The Promus Companies is created to retain the remaining assets and brands.[4] Promus stock began trading a month later (NYSE:PRI).
  • April 1992 – Holiday Las Vegas is converted to a Harrah's casino.[4]
  • June 1995 – The company is renamed to Harrah's Entertainment, Inc. following the split off of the Promus hotel brands (Embassy Suites, Hampton Inn, and Homewood Suites).[4]
Harrah's former logo
  • June 2003 – the Harrah's casino in Vicksburg, Mississippi is sold.
  • June 13, 2005 – Harrah's completed the takeover of Caesars Entertainment. While the companies were not required to divest any properties, they did sell several properties before the merger was completed. This merger made Harrah's the largest gambling company[citation needed] with over 4 million square feet (370,000 m²) of casinos, almost 100,000 employees and over 40 casinos.[4] Later that month, the company announced that they would consolidate all their brand names under the Harrah's, Rio, Caesars, and Horseshoe brands. Some standalone names, like Paris Las Vegas are likely to be retained. The rebranding of the two remaining Bally's properties in the company is scheduled, but a specific time line has not been disclosed.[citation needed]
  • September 2005 – Harrah's Pride of Lake Charles was severely damaged by Hurricane Rita. One riverboat was pushed completely onshore, and the other is at the Port of Lake Charles awaiting repairs. All of the restaurants and support buildings were destroyed. Harrah's estimates that the rebuilding will take 2 years.
  • November 29, 2005 – Harrah's Entertainment announced plans to sell the Flamingo Laughlin to AREP Boardwalk Properties LLC. The $170 million sale closed on May 19, 2006. As a condition of the sale, the property is to be renamed the Aquarius within 6 months.
  • April 23, 2006 – a scavenger hunt style promotion called "Treasure Hunt" ended when an accident seriously hurt one employee and tourist, and killed one tourist. The accident happened when a robbery suspect fleeing police hit a mini-van carrying the Harrah's employee and tourists.
  • May 26, 2006 – in Las Vegas, NV, Harrah's acquired a 19.6-acre (79,000 m2) site behind, but not adjacent to the Imperial Palace with frontage on Koval Road. The cost for the land was $164.4 million. The site is currently occupied by the Desert Club Apartments.
  • November 2007 - Harrah's acquired the Orient Golf Club on the Cotai Strip in Macau for approximately US$580M. The land area is roughly 180 acres.[citation needed]
  • April 9, 2008 – Harrah's Entertainment's board of directors approved a corporate name change to Caesars Entertainment Corporation. This change will capitalize on the international name recognition enjoyed on the Caesars name brand. The Harrah's brand remains one of the company's three primary casino brands.[8]

[edit] Properties

Main article: List of Harrah's Entertainment properties

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Knightly, Arnold (2008-01-29). "MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS: Deal closes: Harrah's now private". http://www.lvrj.com/business/14688032.html. Retrieved on 2008-01-29. 
  2. ^ http://www.blackstone.com/private_equity/corp_pe/portfolio.asp?Order=ByPortfolioCompany&ll=h&ul=m
  3. ^ "About Us". http://www.harrahs.com/harrahs-corporate/about-us.html. Retrieved on 2008-01-29. 
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Company History". http://www.harrahs.com/harrahs-corporate/media-company-history.html. Retrieved on 2008-01-29. 
  5. ^ a b "Harrah's Entertainment". answers.com. http://www.answers.com/topic/harrah-s-entertainment-inc?cat=biz-fin. Retrieved on 2007-08-13. 
  6. ^ a b "Harrahs Entertainment Inc · 8-K · For 4/21/99 · EX-99.1". http://www.secinfo.com/dVut2.6Fxr.d.htm. Retrieved on 2007-08-13. 
  7. ^ "Form 10K 2006" (PDF). http://library.corporate-ir.net/library/84/847/84772/items/236339/2006_10K.pdf. Retrieved on 2007-11-06. 
  8. ^ Stutz, Howard (2008-04-10). "Harrah's opts to hail name of Caesars". Las Vegas Review-Journal. http://www.lvrj.com/business/17455959.html. 

Shook, Robert L. (2003), Jackpot, Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley & Sons, ISBN 0-471-26323-0 

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harrah%27s_Entertainment"
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