Another Great Quarter for Harrah’s as it Prepares for Caesars Merger
24 April 2005
Harrah’s Entertainment recently announced results for the first quarter of 2005. Results showed that this year has already seen tremendous growth, with revenues of $1.26 billion, an increase of 24.2% over Q1 of 2004.
A large part of Harrah's success can be attributed to its becoming a mainstay on the poker circuit. With the first World Series of Poker Circuit Tournament held at three Harrah’s Casinos and another two stages of the tournament to be held at Harrah’s Lake Tahoe and Harrah’s New Orleans in the next few months, Harrah’s has gained even more popularity in the gambling and poker world.
Harrah’s is currently preparing for a merger with Caesars Entertainment, which they hope to complete by the end of the month. Gary Loveman, chairman, chief executive officer and president of Harrah's Entertainment, gave a statement about the merger, saying "We have delivered same-store sales growth in 24 of the last 25 quarters. This track record of remarkably consistent organic growth foreshadows the enormous potential of putting our capabilities and our strategy to work in the Caesars network.
"We are gratified to receive the approvals of Harrah's and Caesars stockholders, and committed to rewarding their votes of confidence by delivering on the potential of this merger. We are making steady progress toward completion of this transaction. We believe we will be able to secure all remaining regulatory approvals in the near future and close in the second quarter.”
When speaking about the 2004 Horseshoe casino acquisitions, Loveman, who was named "Best CEO" in the gaming and lodging industry by Institutional Investor magazine for the second straight year, said: "The three Horseshoe properties added approximately 8 cents to earnings per share during the first quarter, bringing total accretion to about 21 cents per share in the nine months since the transaction's close. We plan to apply the lessons learned during this successful process to the pending integration of Caesars."
But the company is still being careful to trim fat. While Harrah’s is expanding operations with this historic merger, they are selling Harrah's East Chicago and Harrah's Tunica to an affiliate of Colony Capital, LLC.
Source: Online Casinos News Staff
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