Two Way Hard Three | Las Vegas Casino & Design Blog

Harrah's Entertainment, the recently gone-private casino behemoth, has decided to change its name - to Caesars Entertainment. Fun.

http://investor.harrahs.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=84772&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1127757&highlight=



Comments

Read archived comments (8 so far)
April 9, 2008 5:20 PM Posted by Alex Nahabedian

it all makes sense because caesars palace is its top resort.

April 9, 2008 6:35 PM Posted by Dave

It's no surprise, but the timing is interesting. I had heard that the company would become Caesars when it re-emerged as a public company in 5-10 years, but obviously that's not going to happen for a while.

I'll probably end up writing a Business Press article about this (I was going to do something on nightclubs, but this is probably more immediate), and I think that it's an appropriate move: Caesars has better name recognition than Harrah's. I wish they would have bought back the Caesars World name, which just sounds better than Caesars Entertainment, but there's probably a really good reason that I'm a "gaming pundit" and not a guy who controls the destiny of multi-billion dollar companies.

I wonder what the future of the Harrah's "brand" is. Does this mean that the Reno/Tahoe properties might be sold off? It would be ironic that the place where the "Empire" began would be sold. As we saw with MGM Mirage divesting Golden Nugget, though, there's not much place for sentiment in the casino biz.

They are still sticking with the "3 brands" strategy, but I can't help but notice that the Horseshoe brand is invisible in the two biggest US gaming markets. You could argue that, as of today, Bally's is a more essential "brand" than Horseshoe.

April 9, 2008 8:10 PM Posted by detroit1051

This explains the final sentence in a Total Rewards mailing I got yesterday:
"Coming in 2008 - Look for some of our properties to unveil new names and new looks, all while maintaining the same great service you expect from Total Rewards."

I knew that Casino Windsor, which Harrah's operates for the province of Ontario, planned on changing its name to Casesars Windsor when the new hotel expansion opens this year, but which others will also change? Until I read the release, I thought Horseshoe would become Caesars because they are a step above Harrah's, and as time goes by, fewer people will associate Horseshoe's connection with the Binion name. Will they drop the Harvey's name in Lake Tahoe and rename the two Grand Casinos Harrah's?
It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

April 9, 2008 8:41 PM Posted by Phouchg

http://www.caesarsentertainment.com/

ummmm...Harrah's/Caesars may have some work to do on the internet.

April 9, 2008 10:34 PM Posted by GregoryZephyr

I dont see anything wrong with their internet site. Nice rooms, apparently with luxurious whirlpool tubs. And a nice selection of models. I wonder what the twenty dollar trick buys you with them?

Seriously, how does a major corporation brand their name and forget or ignore existing website domain names?

April 10, 2008 12:17 AM Posted by Jeff Simpson

I wrote a story about the Thai bordello using Caesars name in 2003, back before Park Place Entertainment changed ITS name to Caesars. (July 18, 2003 in the Review-Journal. Credit goes to excellent copy editor Matthew Crowley for the superb headline)

At Thai bordello, Caesars Stands for Vice, Not Dice
July 18, 2003

By Jeff Simpson
Las Vegas Review-Journal

Park Place Entertainment Corp. isn't the only business that wants to call itself Caesars Entertainment.

A brothel by the same name has been providing services in Bangkok, Thailand, for years.

Las Vegas-based Park Place on Tuesday announced plans to leverage the power of its famous Caesars Palace Strip resort by taking the name Caesars Entertainment, a change a company spokesman said would be unaffected by the existence of the Thai establishment.

A large marquee with the name Caesars Entertainment sits in front of the multiroomed Bangkok bordello, and the name also graces its entrance.

The brothel's Web site, caesarsentertainment.com, features a logo that looks similar to the one for Caesars Palace.

"More than jacuzzi and happiness," advertises the site.

The brothel offers temporary affection from dozens of women, many pictured on the Web site.

The women are categorized as models, VIPs and B-girls.

The brothel didn't respond to an e-mailed inquiry, but Park Place spokesman Robert Stewart said company executives were aware of the brothel and its Web site long before the decision to switch corporate names was announced.

"When you have a brand that is as well-known and highly regarded as Caesars you always run into these kinds of issues," Stewart said. "We were aware of it for some time."

The company will take all appropriate measures to protect its brands, he said, noting that the company intends to use Caesars.com as its Web address.

Park Place already owns that URL and uses it for its Caesars-branded properties, Stewart said.

April 10, 2008 11:03 AM Posted by David McKee

There was talk of rebranding Bally's LV as a Horseshoe property but that got razzed. For all the $$ Harrah's spent to acquire the Horseshoe name, they've booted the ball on that one, IMO. Let's just say it's got a helluva lot more brand equity than "Bill's Gamblin' Hall & Saloon."

Actually, I should do an inventory of the rag-bag of brands Harrah's now owns, mostly through its absorption of Hilton Gaming/Park Place Entertainment/Caesars Entertainment/[your name here].

P.S.: I noticed that there's been a happy ending to the Westin Casuarina charge-back saga. Now if only Scott Butera could get ColSux to see reason vis-a-vis the labor situation at the Trop ...

June 26, 2008 11:13 AM Posted by Andy B

http://www.caesarsentertainment.com/ is not owned by Harrah's Entertainment or Caesars. www.Caesars.com is the address of Caesars Brand and the former address for Caesars Entertainment (formerly Park Place Entertainment).