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Harrah's reports results

8 May 2007

LAS VEGAS, Nevada --(PRESS RELEASE) -- Harrah's Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:HET) today reported the following financial results for the 2007 first quarter:
COMPANY WIDE RESULTS
(in millions, except per share)
                                       2007       2006      Percent
                                       First      First     Increase
                                      Quarter    Quarter   (Decrease)
                                    ----------------------------------

Total Revenues                        $2,655.6   $2,356.9        12.7%
Property EBITDA                          698.4      690.1         1.2%
Adjusted EPS from Continuing
 operations                              $0.88      $1.02       -13.7%

Property EBITDA and Adjusted EPS from Continuing Operations are not Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) measurements but are commonly used in the gaming industry as measures of performance and as bases for valuation of gaming companies. In addition, analysts' per-share earnings estimates for gaming companies are comparable to Adjusted EPS from Continuing Operations. Reconciliations of Adjusted EPS from Continuing Operations to GAAP EPS and Property EBITDA to income from operations are attached to this release.

On a GAAP basis, first-quarter income from operations was $451.2 million, down 0.4 percent from the year-ago quarter. Income from continuing operations was $167.2 million, compared with $177.6 million posted in the 2006 first quarter. Diluted EPS from continuing operations were 88 cents, compared with 95 cents in the year-ago quarter.

First-quarter same-store sales at properties that Harrah's has operated for more than 12 months rose 3.6 percent from the 2006 first quarter.

First-Quarter Highlights

  • Harrah's completed the acquisition of the Barbary Coast, giving the company control of three of the four corners of Las Vegas Boulevard and Flamingo Road, and re-branded the casino "Bill's Gamblin' Hall & Saloon" in honor of the company's late founder, William F. Harrah.
  • For the fourth consecutive year, Institutional Investor magazine named Harrah's Entertainment Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Gary Loveman the "Best CEO" in the gaming and lodging industry. Selections were based on the votes of more than 1,000 analysts and portfolio managers asked to name the top CEOs in sectors they cover.
  • Harrah's announced it will extend the international reach of the world's richest sporting event by launching the World Series of Poker Europe at London Clubs International Limited (LCI) properties in the United Kingdom in September. The three-event tournament - the first time in the WSOP's 38-year history a WSOP-branded tournament will be held outside Nevada - is expected to generate the largest poker prize pool ever in Europe.

On April 5, at a special meeting, Harrah's stockholders approved the $90 per share all-cash offer by affiliates of TPG (formerly Texas Pacific Group) and Apollo Management, L.P. (Apollo) to acquire the company. The transaction is expected to close by year-end, pending receipt of regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.

Regional Results

Summaries of results by region follow below.

LAS VEGAS REGION
(in millions)
                                          2007      2006     Percent
                                          First     First    Increase
                                         Quarter   Quarter  (Decrease)
                                       -------------------------------
Total revenues                            $898.6    $825.7        8.8%
Income from operations                     235.6     234.1        0.6%
Property EBITDA                            297.6     288.1        3.3%
Las Vegas Region properties include Harrah's Las Vegas, Rio, Bally's
 Las Vegas, Paris, Flamingo Las Vegas, Caesars Palace, Imperial Palace
 and Bill's Gamblin' Hall & Saloon since its acquisition on February
 27, 2007.

Visitor volume and cross-market and cross-property play remained robust in the Las Vegas Region, where first-quarter revenues and Property EBITDA rose to record levels despite higher operating costs.

ATLANTIC CITY REGION
(in millions)
                                          2007      2006     Percent
                                          First     First    Increase
                                         Quarter   Quarter  (Decrease)
                                       -------------------------------
Total revenues                            $546.0    $490.2       11.4%
Income from operations                      72.0      95.8      -24.8%
Property EBITDA                            132.7     140.4       -5.5%
Atlantic City Region properties include Harrah's Atlantic City,
 Showboat Atlantic City, Caesars Atlantic City, Bally's Atlantic City
 and Harrah's Chester.

The January 22, 2007, opening of a 2,750 slot casino at Harrah's Chester in Philadelphia drove the first quarter 2007 revenue gains. However, higher operating expenses, including promotional and marketing costs aimed at attracting and retaining customers, led to declines in Property EBITDA and income from operations for the Atlantic City Region.

LOUISIANA/MISSISSIPPI REGION
(in millions)
                                          2007      2006     Percent
                                          First     First    Increase
                                         Quarter   Quarter  (Decrease)
                                       -------------------------------
Total revenues                            $390.5    $305.7       27.7%
Income from operations                      75.5      65.2       15.8%
Property EBITDA                             84.1      85.1       -1.2%
Louisiana/Mississippi Region properties include Harrah's New Orleans,
 Horseshoe Bossier City, Louisiana Downs, Horseshoe Tunica, Grand
 Casino Tunica, Sheraton Tunica and Grand Casino Biloxi.

Results improved from the 2006 first quarter, when Harrah's New Orleans and Grand Biloxi were closed for part and all of the year-ago quarter, respectively, due to hurricane damage. First quarter 2007 income from operations includes insurance proceeds of $18.7 million that are in excess of the net book value of impacted assets and costs and expenses that are expected to be reimbursed under our business interruption claims. Income related to insurance claims is excluded from the calculation of Property EBITDA.

IOWA/MISSOURI REGION
(in millions)
                                          2007      2006     Percent
                                          First     First    Increase
                                         Quarter   Quarter  (Decrease)
                                       -------------------------------
Total revenues                            $201.7    $201.1        0.3%
Income from operations                      33.1      31.6        4.7%
Property EBITDA                             52.9      54.1       -2.2%
Iowa/Missouri Region properties include Harrah's St. Louis, Harrah's
 Council Bluffs, Horseshoe Council Bluffs and Harrah's North Kansas
 City.

Despite a continued strong performance at Horseshoe Council Bluffs, first-quarter revenues and Property EBITDA in the Iowa/Missouri Region were relatively flat compared with the year-ago quarter.

ILLINOIS/INDIANA REGION
(in millions)
                                         2007       2006     Percent
                                         First      First    Increase
                                        Quarter    Quarter  (Decrease)
                                      --------------------------------
Total revenues                            $324.5    $311.7        4.1%
Income from operations                      51.1      62.2      -17.8%
Property EBITDA                             68.2      75.6       -9.8%
Illinois/Indiana Region properties include Horseshoe Hammond, Harrah's
 Joliet, Harrah's Metropolis and Caesars Indiana.

Revenues rose 4.1 percent in the Illinois/Indiana Region to a first-quarter record, but income from operations declined due to a supplemental 3 percent tax assessed by Illinois in July 2006 and higher operating expenses. An Illinois state court declared the supplemental tax unconstitutional after the end of the 2007 first quarter, but Harrah's has continued to accrue and pay the tax pending a final resolution.

OTHER NEVADA
(in millions)
                                          2007      2006     Percent
                                          First     First    Increase
                                         Quarter   Quarter  (Decrease)
                                       -------------------------------
Total revenues                            $153.6    $152.9        0.5%
Income from operations                      20.5      23.4      -12.4%
Property EBITDA                             32.8      36.3       -9.6%
Other Nevada properties include Harrah's Reno, Harrah's Lake Tahoe,
 Harvey's Lake Tahoe, Bill's Casino and Harrah's Laughlin.

Poor skiing conditions and higher promotional and marketing costs impacted 2007 first-quarter results in Northern Nevada, though Harrah's Laughlin continued to perform well.

MANAGED/INTERNATIONAL/OTHER
(in millions)
                                         2007       2006     Percent
                                         First      First    Increase
                                        Quarter    Quarter  (Decrease)
                                      --------------------------------
Total revenues                            $140.7     $69.6      102.2%
Income from operations                       0.8      (3.3)     124.2%
Property EBITDA                             30.1      10.5      186.7%
Managed, international and other results include income from our
 managed properties, results of our international properties and
 certain marketing and administrative expenses, including development
 costs, and income from our nonconsolidated subsidiaries.

Managed/Other revenues rose 102.2 percent, primarily due to the addition of results from the LCI properties in the 2007 first quarter. Property EBITDA rose due to lower development costs and master-plan expenses related to Las Vegas and Atlantic City and the inclusion of LCI.

Other Items

First-quarter corporate expenses declined to $33.4 million from $42.5 million in the 2006 first quarter due to allocation of stock-based compensation expenses to the applicable property units and the implementation of cost-savings measures.

Interest expense increased 13.2 percent year-over-year due primarily to higher interest rates and increased debt levels associated with the acquisition of London Clubs International Limited and land purchases in Las Vegas.

Discontinued operations reflect insurance proceeds of $18.2 million, after taxes, that are excess of the net book value of the impacted assets and costs and expenses that are expected to be reimbursed under our business interruption claims for Harrah's Lake Charles and Grand Casino Gulfport, both of which were sold in 2006. Pursuant to the terms of the sales agreements, Harrah's will retain all insurance proceeds related to these properties.

The effective tax rate for the first quarter was 37.5 percent, compared with 37.3 percent in the 2006 first quarter.

Weighted average common and common equivalent shares outstanding for the first quarter were 189.4 million shares, compared with 187.0 million in the 2006 first quarter.

 
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