Harrah's Signs Definitive Agreement To Acquire Binion's Horseshoe

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Harrah's Signs Definitive Agreement To Acquire Binion's Horseshoe

		HARRAH'S ENTERTAINMENT LOGO Harrah's Entertainment, Inc. logo. (PRNewsFoto)[JL] LAS VEGAS, NV USA

    LAS VEGAS, Jan. 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Harrah's Entertainment, Inc.
(NYSE: HET) signed a definitive agreement today to purchase Binion's Horseshoe
Hotel & Casino in downtown Las Vegas.  Terms were not disclosed.
    The transaction is expected to close before the end of the first quarter.
Subject to regulatory approval, "We plan to re-open the property as soon as
practicable," said Gary Loveman, Harrah's Entertainment president and chief
executive officer.
    (Logo:  http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20021220/LAF055LOGO )
    "We will immediately begin assessing the appropriate level of staffing
necessary to ensure the viability of the property," Loveman said.  "Current
Binion's Horseshoe employees will be given priority in re-staffing the
facility, which has been closed since January 9.  We fully intend to abide by
terms of the property's union contracts."
    Loveman said once Harrah's receives employment information from the
Horseshoe, Harrah's will contact current Binion's employees to discuss
schedules and other details.
    "We are enthusiastic about acquiring a world-renowned property that has
played such an important role in the rich history of gaming," Loveman said.
"We are especially excited about our plans to host the 35th annual World
Series of Poker at the Horseshoe on its originally scheduled dates this
spring."

    Founded 66 years ago, Harrah's Entertainment, Inc. owns or manages through
various subsidiaries 25 casinos in the United States, primarily under the
Harrah's brand name.  Harrah's Entertainment is focused on building loyalty
and value with its target customers through a unique combination of great
service, excellent products, unsurpassed distribution, operational excellence
and technology leadership.
    More information about Harrah's Entertainment is available on the
company's Web site, http://www.harrahs.com .

    This release includes "forward-looking statements" intended to qualify for
the safe harbor from liability established by the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  You can identify these statements by the fact
that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts.  These
statements contain words such as "may," "will," "project," "might," "expect,"
"believe," "anticipate," "intend," "could," "would," "estimate," "continue" or
"pursue," or the negative or other variations thereof or comparable
terminology.  In particular, they include statements relating to, among other
things, future actions, new projects, strategies, future performance, the
outcome of contingencies such as legal proceedings and future financial
results.  We have based these forward-looking statements on our current
expectations and projections about future events.
    We caution the reader that forward-looking statements involve risks and
uncertainties that cannot be predicted or quantified and, consequently, actual
results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such
forward-looking statements.  Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not
limited to, the following factors as well as other factors described from time
to time in our reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission:

     -- the effect of economic, credit and capital market conditions on the
        economy in general, and on gaming and hotel companies in particular;
     -- construction factors, including delays, zoning issues, environmental
        restrictions, soil and water conditions, weather and other hazards,
        site access matters and building permit issues;
     -- the effects of environmental and structural building conditions
        relating to the company's properties;
     -- our ability to timely and cost effectively integrate into our
        operations the companies that we acquire;
     -- access to available and feasible financing;
     -- changes in laws (including increased tax rates), regulations or
        accounting standards, third-party relations and approvals, and
        decisions of courts, regulators and governmental bodies;
     -- litigation outcomes and judicial actions, including gaming legislative
        action, referenda and taxation;
     -- ability of our customer-tracking, customer-loyalty and
        yield-management programs to continue to increase customer loyalty and
        same-store sales;
     -- our ability to recoup costs of capital investments through higher
        revenues;
     -- acts of war or terrorist incidents;
     -- abnormal gaming holds, and
     -- the effects of competition, including locations of competitors and
        operating and market competition.

    Any forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and, as such, speak only as of the date made.
We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements,
whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

SOURCE Harrah's Entertainment, Inc.

http://www.harrahs.com
Photo Notes:
NewsCom:
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20021220/LAF055LOGO
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
Company News On-Call:

http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/417238.html
CONTACT:
investors, Brad Belhouse, +1-702-407-6367, or
media, Gary Thompson, +1-702-407-6529, both of Harrah's
Entertainment, Inc.