Caesars Entertainment and Rock Gaming Respond to the City of Toronto Staff Report on New Casino & Convention Development in Toronto

TORONTO, April 8, 2013 /CNW/ - Jan Jones, Executive Vice President of Caesars Entertainment, issued the following statement on behalf of Caesars Entertainment and Rock Gaming in response to the City of Toronto Staff Report on a New Casino & Convention Development in Toronto:

The City of Toronto Staff report should be commended for its thorough examination of the issues and impacts of a casino and convention development for Toronto.  The report, released this morning, makes it clear that Toronto has in front of it a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to redevelop its convention facilities, grow its tourism industry and create thousands of well-paying jobs for Torontonians. 

We are particularly pleased that the Staff Report calls for a citywide perspective in the consideration of a facility and that a development be "in the form of an urban, appropriately-sized entertainment complex that enhances Toronto as a convention and tourist destination."  This is a message we've been delivering all along and it fits the business model we have been promoting for the City of Toronto because we know from experience that it's a model that works. 

As the report notes, an integrated convention and entertainment complex in the downtown core will generate $1.745 billion of economic activity annually in the construction phase, and $1.2 billion of GDP and over 10,000 jobs every year it is in operation.  Those are significant numbers and represent the incredible opportunity that is in front of Toronto and its City Council as it begins formal deliberations next week.

In recent days, we have seen entrepreneurs and restaurateurs from across Toronto come out in favour of an expanded convention facility and casino in the downtown core.  They know that an additional 130,000 tourists and conventioneers will come to Toronto if the convention centre is expanded and those tourists will spend almost $400 million in the city's restaurants, hotels, theatres and shops in downtown Toronto. 

Next week, I will provide a deputation before the Executive Committee of Council and laying out the Caesars Entertainment and Rock Gaming vision for an integrated Toronto casino development, should we be chosen by the OLG and the City. 

We look forward to a lively discussion. 

About Rock Gaming LLC

Rock Gaming LLC is a Midwest-based gaming partnership formed with an initial focus to develop first-class casinos in two of Ohio's largest cities, as well as to explore other potential gaming opportunities. Rock Gaming has partnered with Caesars Entertainment, the world's largest and most successful gaming company, to develop and operate full-service casinos in downtown Cincinnati and downtown Cleveland under the Horseshoe brand. Combined, Horseshoe Casino Cincinnati and Horseshoe Casino Cleveland will generate 11 million visits to the urban cores and add to both cities' already impressive offering of sports, entertainment, dining and cultural attractions.

About Caesars Entertainment

Caesars Entertainment is the world's most diversified casino-entertainment company. Since its beginning in Reno, Nevada, more than 74 years ago, Caesars has grown through development of new resorts, expansions, and acquisitions, and now operates casinos on four continents. The company's resorts operate primarily under the Caesars®, Harrah's®, and Horseshoe® brand names. Caesars also owns the World Series of Poker® and the London Clubs International family of casinos. Caesars Entertainment is focused on building loyalty and value with its guests through a unique combination of great service, excellent products, unsurpassed distribution, operational excellence and technology leadership. Caesars Entertainment is committed to environmental sustainability and energy conservation and recognizes the importance of being a responsible steward of the environment.  For more information, please visit Caesars.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," "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 outcomes of contingencies, and future financial results of Caesars. These forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and projections about future events.

Investors are cautioned that forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance or results and involve risks and uncertainties that cannot be predicted or quantified, and, consequently, the actual performance of Caesars 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 (including the sections entitled "Risk Factors" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" contained therein):

• the impact of the Company's significant indebtedness;
• the effects of local and national economic, credit, and capital market conditions on the economy, in general, and on the gaming industry, in particular;
• construction factors, including delays, increased costs of labor and materials, availability of labor and materials, 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;
• the ability to timely and cost-effectively transition to the buyer companies or casinos that the Company sells;
• changes in laws, including increased tax rates, smoking bans, regulations or accounting standards, third-party relations and approvals, and decisions, disciplines, and fines of courts, regulators, and governmental bodies;
• the ability to recoup costs of capital investments through higher revenues;
• acts of war or terrorist incidents, severe weather conditions, uprisings, or natural disasters;
• access to insurance on reasonable terms for the Company's assets;
• abnormal gaming holds ("gaming hold" is the amount of money that is retained by the casino from wagers by customers);
• the potential difficulties in employee retention and recruitment as a result of the Company's substantial indebtedness or any other factor; 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. Caesars disclaims any obligation to update the forward-looking statements. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date stated or, if no date is stated, as of the date of this press release.

SOURCE: Caesars Entertainment Corporation

Kathleen Napier
GCI Group Canada
416-486-5918 (o)
[email protected]