HARRAH'S ENTERTAINMENT LOGO Harrah's Entertainment, Inc. logo. (PRNewsFoto)[JL] LAS VEGAS, NV USA
		MTR GAMING GROUP LOGO MTR Gaming Group, Inc. logo. (PRNewsFoto)[AG] CHESTER, WV USA

    LAS VEGAS and CHESTER, W.Va., Feb. 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- MTR Gaming
Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: MNTG) and Harrah's Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE: HET) today
announced the signing of a definitive agreement for MTR's wholly owned
subsidiary Speakeasy Gaming of Fremont, Inc. to purchase Binion's Horseshoe
Hotel & Casino in downtown Las Vegas and plans for joint operation of the
property.  Terms were not disclosed.
    (Logo:  http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20021220/LAF055LOGO
            http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040219/LATH081LOGO )
    Harrah's said the parties plan to open Binion's Horseshoe on or about
April 1, pending regulatory approval.  Binion's Horseshoe will host the 35th
annual World Series of Poker at the casino beginning April 22.
    The transaction, which is subject to completion of due diligence,
governmental approvals and other customary conditions, is expected to close in
early March.  MTR has obtained the necessary approval of its lenders but
anticipates that it will close using its cash on hand.  Upon closing, MTR will
acquire title to the property (concurrently with the closing of the previously
announced agreement by Harrah's to buy Binion's Horseshoe) and enter a Joint
Operating License Agreement pursuant to which Harrah's will serve as the
primary day-to-day operator of the property on an interim basis, subject to
certain oversight and review by a joint committee of the two companies.  The
Joint Operating Agreement will have an initial term of one year -- which
Harrah's may extend for up to an additional two years -- during which MTR will
receive certain guaranteed payments, net of all of the property's operating
expenses.
    Pursuant to an Intellectual Property License Agreement, Harrah's will
retain the rights to certain intellectual property, including the names
"Horseshoe" and "World Series of Poker;" MTR will retain the right to use the
name "Binion's" in Clark County, Nevada.  Upon termination of the Joint
Operating Agreement, MTR will take over operation of the property and will
re-brand the property in accordance with the Intellectual Property License
Agreement.
    MTR and Harrah's have applied to Nevada gaming regulators and to the City
of Las Vegas for approval of the transaction.  A hearing on the applications
has been scheduled for March 3 with gaming regulators and March 4 with the
City.
    "We are excited about the opportunity to own this Las Vegas landmark and
to work with Harrah's, a leader in our industry, to reopen the property for
its loyal patrons, employees, and the city of Las Vegas," said Edson R. (Ted)
Arneault, president and chief executive officer of MTR Gaming.  "While our
primary growth strategy remains the continued development of our flagship
Mountaineer Racetrack & Gaming Resort and pursuit of other racetrack and
racino opportunities, the Binion's acquisition fits squarely within our
previously announced goal to opportunistically acquire middle market gaming
properties that complement our existing operations.  We expect Binion's to
allow us to leverage the expertise of our management team and provide critical
mass within the Nevada market and thus improve our overall financial
performance."

    MTR Gaming Group, Inc., through subsidiaries, owns and operates the
Mountaineer Race Track & Gaming Resort in Chester, West Virginia, Scioto Downs
in Columbus, Ohio, the Ramada Inn and Speedway Casino in North Las Vegas,
Nevada, and holds a license (judicial review pending) to build Presque Isle
Downs, a thoroughbred racetrack with pari-mutuel racing in Erie, Pennsylvania.
The Mountaineer facility currently encompasses a thoroughbred racetrack with
off-track betting and export simulcasting, 3,200 slot machines, 359 hotel
rooms, golf course, spa & fitness center, theater and events center,
convention center and fine dining and entertainment.  MTR is included on the
Russell 2000(R) and Russell(R) 3000 Indexes.  For more information, please
visit http://www.mtrgaming.com .

    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.

Link to this page:

  

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.; or Loren Mortman of The Equity Group, Inc.,
+1-212-836-9604, for MTR Investors

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