The economic condition in the United States has brought everyone done. The casino and casino hotel industry knows this fact very well. They have seen numbers drop in almost every avenue of the business. Some casinos and casino hotels, particularly in Atlantic City and Las Vegas have been forced to close their doors, some have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Even some of the big names have been rumored to be in more debt then they would normally be able to handle.

Harrah’s Entertainment, one of the largest, most well known casino hotel companies and the largest by revenue was though to be headed toward bankruptcy last year. As late as December 31, 2008 Harrah’s Entertainment was sitting on a mound of debt to the tune of $23.1 million. It seemed that doom was around the corner. Most experts thought the company would file for Chapter 11 and undergo a massive restructuring project.

There is good news for the Las Vegas based casino company. They have reached agreements with their lenders that will allow them to stay out of the bankruptcy courts for a little longer. Most of Harrah’s Entertainment’s debts were scheduled to mature by 2013 latter part of this year. However, an announcement was made this week that stated the maturity date would be extended for two additional years, 2015.

Harrah’s Entertainment made significant strides in the last part of 2009 to chip away at some of its debts on casino, hotel, and entertainment properties. Even though gaming revenue was down (as it was for everybody) Harrah’s Entertainment posted a profit in the final quarter of last year of about $298 million. Sadly only 30 percent of these profits came from their most famous casinos in Las Vegas. They did see the purchase of nearby Planet Hollywood Hotel and Casino on the Las Vegas Strip, and they are hoping this expansion in their customer base will help bring profits up in 2010.
As for now the casino industry is temporarily safe from debt maturation. Harrah’s Entertainment was the closest. Hopefully, in the years to come, this will no longer be an issue.

Tags: casino, gambling, online