Harrah’s Entertainment announced a partnership with Kansas-based developers for a proposed casino in Sumner County. Sumner Gaming and Resorts said it would submit a casino plan to the Sumner County Commission for a project located near Wellington. Details of the proposal weren’t released, but Charles Atwood, Harrah’s vice chairman, said in a statement the company would propose a "large-scale Las Vegas-style resort" reflecting the "natural beauty and hospitality that is very much a part of the charm and appeal of Kansas."

Las Vegas (AP) - It garners a mere one-paragraph mention in the quarterly earnings report, but the private equity buyers of Harrah's Entertainment Inc. could have a colossal USD 2.8 billion problem on their hands. The world's largest casino company by revenue inherited a legal quagmire that dates back to 2000. That's when Arthur Goldberg, then chief executive of Park Place Entertainment Corp., signed a deal with the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe to acquire the exclusive rights to jointly develop a casino in the Catskills in upstate New York, just a 90-minute drive from Manhattan.

Harrah’s Entertainment announced it received approval from the New Jersey Casino Control Commission for the proposed acquisition of Harrah’s by affiliates of Apollo Management, L.P. and TPG Capital. New Jersey casino regulators on Wednesday approved the proposed USD 31 billion acquisition of Harrah’s Entertainment by two private equity firms. The transaction remains subject to approval by 10 other states’ regulators in jurisdictions in which Harrah’s subsidiaries operate and other conditions to closing set forth in the agreement and plan of merger entered into on December 19, 2006.

Harrah’s Entertainment announced through its subsidiary, Harrah’s Operating Company, a strategic alliance with Food Network star, Paula Deen, and an approximately USD 45 million renovation of Grand Casino Resort Tunica. The 560 seat, Paula Deen’s Buffet is expected to open in May 2008. In conjunction with the renovation, the Grand Casino Resort Tunica’s name will change to Harrah’s Casino Tunica. The unveiling of the newly re-branded Harrah’s Casino Tunica is scheduled for May 2008.

Las Vegas (AP) -- Some rooms at the Rio hotel-casino owned by Harrah's Entertainment Inc. are being closed to accommodate overdue safety inspections that should have taken place during renovations done in 2004 and 2005, the company has said. Since Thursday, Clark County inspectors have issued six notices of violation for work on the Ipanema Tower, which underwent the remodeling. "As many rooms will be off-line as needed to facilitate the inspection process," said Jan Jones, Harrah's vice president for communications and government relations.

Atlantic City - New Jersey gaming regulators have scheduled a hearing next month to consider a USD 17.1 billion buyout of Harrah's Entertainment Inc. by two private equity firms. Harrah's Entertainment, the world's largest gaming company, controls about 40 percent of the Atlantic City market through its ownership of the Harrah's, Bally's, Caesars and Showboat casinos. Pending regulatory approvals in states where Harrah's operates casinos, private equity firms Apollo Management and Texas Pacific Group will acquire the gaming giant in the casino industry's largest takeover ever.

Jan Jones, senior executive of US gaming giant Harrah's Entertainment, held talks with representatives of local authorities and NGOs in the Western town of Nova Gorica, where Harrah's plans to build a gaming resort with Slovenian gaming company Hit, Slovene Press Agency reports. Plans for the EUR 750m facility were in the focus of separate talks between Jones and Nova Gorica Mayor Mirko Brulc, with the latter saying he was pleased with the answers he got.

Harrah’s Atlantic City will unveil the final phase of the property’s USD 550 million upgrade and expansion project in early 2008, when the property opens a new 961- room, 44-story hotel tower. Reaching new heights in Atlantic City, the new Waterfront Tower will also make Harrah’s the tallest hotel casino in Atlantic City and the second tallest building in New Jersey. The new tower is the centerpiece of Harrah’s Atlantic City’s USD 550 million expansion project...

Las Vegas (AP) -- Casino operator Harrah's Entertainment Inc. said Wednesday that one of its subsidiaries acquired a golf course in Macau for undisclosed terms, marking its first entry into the lucrative gambling market but without the rights to build a casino. Harrah's, which is being taken private in a USD 17.1 billion transaction, has struggled to find a foothold in Asia while its Las Vegas-based competitors have rushed into the market with massive investments.

Ladies and gentlemen, please place your bets. Will the new Gambling Act a) protect the public from ruin b) make us a nation of chancers? The legislation, which came into force on Saturday, creates an industry watchdog but also paves the way for dozens of new casinos. The Yanks know which way the dice will fall. Harrah's, owner of the world-famous Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, has flown in its top card, John Bruns, to oversee ambitious expansion plans.

A poll has shown that Slovenians are not too enthusiastic about the gaming resort US company Harrah's Entertainment is planning to build in western Slovenia with its local partner Hit, Slovene Press Agency reports. While 38% of those questioned believe such a resort would benefit Slovenia and its tourist industry, while also bringing more competition in the market, 30% think that the arrival of a foreign multinational would bring troubles for Slovenian gaming companies, according to the poll.

Unlike local civil initiatives, the mayors of western Slovenia are in favour of a EUR 750 mln gaming resort that US company Harrah's Entertainment plans to build there with its local partner Hit, provided certain issues they deem vital are tackled, Slovene Press Agency reports. Mayor of Sempeter-Vrtojba Dragan Valencic, who presented positions of the local community, added though that the meeting with Harrah's senior executive Jan Jones did not yield any specific new information on the project.