Inside Gaming Column: Harrah's Has Tight Lip on Plans for Center Strip

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Harrah's Entertainment executives have made clear in confidential meetings that no one should expect an announcement about the redevelopment of its center-Strip properties until mid-December, sources say. The area includes Paris Las Vegas, Bally's, the Flamingo, the Imperial Palace and Harrah's, as well as Caesars Palace. Harrah's is likely to announce a 10-year master plan that spreads risk and capital expenditures over time. Executives have said publicly they expect to end up with an all-contained resort, perhaps a Disneyland of gambling. Scuttlebutt also suggests a corporate name change to Caesars, based on its brand-name strength. Harrah's shares have been under pressure, but analysts expect demand to surge based on the progress of its Total Rewards program at Caesars Palace and international development prospects.

Can you spell p.r.? First, it seems executives at the Seminole Hard Rock Casino near Hollywood, Fla., met with a guy whom the casino had led to believe won a $259,945 jackpot but offered him nothing but an empty apology, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel recently reported. Then, they held a news conference and admitted the casino made "a mistake," but declined to fix it by paying the guy the money. Jim Allen, the CEO of the Seminole Tribe's gambling operations, which clears more than $500 million a year, said it would hurt the casino's integrity to start paying people who haven't actually won. Woe be the player.

Speaking of hitting a jackpot, USA Today recently devoted a half-page to Las Vegas attorney Bob Nersesian's book, "Beat the Players." Nersesian warns players "Las Vegas isn't all fun and games for gamblers." And he cautions gamblers to cooperate physically with casino security, voice their objections and be careful what they say. "Things can get pretty dicey with casino security," he told the national newspaper. More than concern about the treatment of gamblers, the USA Today coverage underscores America's fascination with Las Vegas and with gambling.

Bill Weidner, president of Las Vegas Sands Corp., which owns The Venetian, recently started delivering televised public service warnings about the perils of problem gambling. "Gambling is a source of entertainment for many people," Weidner says in the spots. "But sometimes it's not a game." He argues for a proactive approach to problem gambling. Weidner's in tune with the American Gaming Association, but not since Phil Satre, then-chairman of Harrah's Entertainment, ran a similar campaign several years ago has the public seen such a message so starkly delivered.

Gaming Wire Editor Rod Smith can be reached by phone at 477-3893 or by e-mail at rsmith@reviewjournal.com.

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