Gambling giant Harrah's Entertainment posts Q1 loss

Gambling giant Harrah's Entertainment posts Q1 loss Harrah's Entertainment, the world's biggest gambling company (by revenue) posted a loss for the first quarter of 2008. Casino operator Harrah's Entertainment Inc. reported first quarter net loss of $187.8 million, compared to profit of $185.3 million in the Q1 of 2007. The gambling giant says costs associated with a deal to take it private and "challenging economic conditions" are the top reasons for the negative numbers so far this year. Included in the Q1 loss are $211.3 million in pretax charges for retiring debt and $142.6 million in nonrecurring costs related to its acquisition by affiliates of Apollo Global Management LLC and TPG Capital LP. The acquisition deal, valued at $30.7 billion, included the assumption of $12.4 billion of debt and about $1 billion of costs. The casino company said that excluding items, Harrah's first-quarter income fell to $401 million, compared to $451.2 million in the first quarter of 2007. Harrah's Entertainment also reported a 2.1% decline in sales to $2.6 billion from $2.65 billion a year earlier.

"Our first quarter results reflect the consequences of challenging economic conditions. However, we ended the first quarter with ample liquidity, and we continued to reduce expenses companywide," Harrah's President and Chief Executive Gary Loveman said in a statement. Harrah's Entertainment Inc. owns, operates, and/or manages about 50 casinos (under such names as Bally's, Caesars, Harrah's, Horseshoe, and Rio), primarily in the US and the UK. Operations include casino hotels, dockside and riverboat casinos, and Native American gaming establishments.

Published on 05/10/2008