Is Harrah’s Going Bankrupt?

Vegas Tripping made this post earlier today and it got me thinking….

There are a lot of signs pointing to the possibility of Harrah’ Entertainment filing for bankruptcy reorganization in the very near future.

Not but a week ago, Harrah’s applied to draw down the final $740M from their revolving credit line, which many say is a last minute ‘use it or lose it’ hoarding/harvesting of available cash before the bankruptcy filing begins.

So lets assume Harrah’s goes bankrupt. What then?

Can a company of the size of Harrah’s function in this economic atmosphere? How long will bankruptcy proceedings ham string the company? Will they be required to divest themselves of assets as part of a bondholder agreement? Will this affect the guest experience via operational cut backs or ratcheting up the hold on the casino floor? Will Harrah’s become the new Trump – riding the decade long debt load merry-go-round till it slowly grinds to a halt?

Perhaps, most importantly… will our Total Rewards points be considered “debt” and vanish in the agreement?

I’ve been focusing all of my Atlantic City play to Harrah’s properties because of their many locations.  At this point I can get rooms anywhere and anytime.  This may change things on my next trip to Las Vegas. It may change where I play big.

Video Poker at Harrah’s properties in Vegas have shit pay outs, so I may keep my Caesars Palace video poker gambling very low and save money for a 9/6 JOB casino.  I’ll have to keep this in mind for my upcoming research.  For now, I’ll have to consider the possibilities.

Thanks, again, to Vegas Tripping for the thought provoking article.

Caesars Palace Expansion on hold

I just got the official press release from Harrah’s with confirmation that Caesars Palace in Las Vegas has put a hold on the construction of Octavious Tower.  Here’s the release in it’s entirety.

LAS VEGAS — Harrah’s Entertainment Inc. said it is delaying plans to open 665 new rooms at a sixth tower it has just built at Caesars Palace until there is stronger demand for hotel rooms.

The 23-story Octavius Tower was scheduled to open this summer as part of a $1 billion expansion at the casino resort.

Harrah’s said that other parts of the expansion will open on schedule, including 110,000 square feet of meeting space, an expanded pool and garden area, and three 10,000-square-foot luxury villas. Strong advance bookings warranted finishing the new meeting space, Harrah’s said.

With the economy in the middle of a recession and room occupancy low, there really isn’t a reason to go forward with completion at this point.  It’s better than firing people.  The addition is just about complete so if there’s a need to increase capacity, they’ll be able to move quickly.

For details and pictures head over to Vegas Today and Tomorrow.

Vegas bound!

I just booked flights to Las Vegas for the unconfirmed Manny Pacquiao & Ricky Hatton fight!

Flights – Continental

Casino – Caesars Palace

Onward and upward.  Details to follow, but I leave for Atlantic City tomorrow!