is a
Gaming Corporation that owns and operates
Casino s, hotels, and five golf courses under several
Brand s. The company is based in
Las Vegas ,
Nevada . It is the largest gaming company in the world, with yearly revenues around $7.11 billion. (It's largest competitor,
MGM Mirage , has $6.48 billion in yearly revenues, but no other competitors are nearly as large.)
The company started out in
1937 as a small
Bingo Parlor in
Reno ,
Nevada operated by
William F. Harrah .
In
1971 Harrah's begins public trading with 450,000 shares.
In
1972 the company is listed on the
American Stock Exchange .
In
1973 Harrah's is the first casino company listed on the
New York Stock Exchange .
In
June 1978 William F. Harrah founder of the company dies.
In
February 1980 Holiday Inns, Inc. acquires Harrah's. Holiday Inn at the time had 1,600 hotels and interests in two casinos, a casino under construction in the marina district in
Atlantic City ,
New Jersey , and a 40 percent ownership interest in River Boat Casino, Inc., a casino adjacent to the Holiday Inn hotel on the Las Vegas strip.
Purchased the
Rio All Suite Hotel And Casino (which also owned the Rio Secco Golf course) in 1999 for $888 million.
In
March 2004 , Harrah's purchased
Binion's Horseshoe .
In
March 11 , 2004, Harrah's sold
Binion's Horseshoe to
MTR Gaming Group retaining the rights to the Horsehoe brand and the
World Series Of Poker .
Later in 2004, Harrah's closed on the purchase of
Horseshoe Gaming Holding Corporation .
On
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 with over 4 million square feet (370,000 m²) of casinos, almost 100,000 employees and over 40 casinos.
At the end of are likely to be retained.
First up will be the rebranding of the two remaining Bally's properties in the company, but Loveman did not give any exact specifics or a timeline of when this will occur.
In
August 2005 ,
Harrah's New Orleans ,
Grand Casino Biloxi , and
Grand Casino Gulfport were closed because of
Hurricane Katrina . The Grand's location was largely destroyed, with all of the barge-based buildings containing their gaming areas being torn from their moorings and blown across U.S. Highway 90.
In
September 2005 ,
Harrah's Lake Charles Casino And Hotel 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. As of December 22, 2005, 1406 full and part-time employee positions will be eliminated.
On
December 12 ,
2005 , a sale of the
Grand Casino Gulfport , for an undisclosed amount, to Gulfside Casino Partnership was announced. Gulfside is the owner of the
Copa Casino which is next to the Grand Casino. The announcement also stated that the Grand Casino Biloxi is to be rebuild from scratch as a Horseshoe casino. Harrah's New Orleans, which didn't receive much damage from the storm, is scheduled to open on February 17, 2005 with half the employees it had before the hurricane.
On
April 23 ,
2006 a scavenger hunt style promotion called "Treasure Hunt" ended when a 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.
- Bally's Atlantic City (''Includes Wild Wild West Casino & Claridge Towers'')
- Bally's Las Vegas
::The Bally's brand will be phased out. The Las Vegas and Atlantic City properties will be rebranded, though the company has not specified which new brands will be used.
::
Bally's Tunica is not owned by Harrah's
:The Grand Casino brand will be phased out. Plans have been announced to rebrand or sell all of these casinos.
- Jackpot, by Robert L. Shook ISBN 0471263230
