Margaritaville groundbreaking coming soon

Harrah’s profits jump on Coast, in Las Vegas

By MARY PEREZ

BILOXI – Margaritaville Casino sails into Biloxi on a wave of good news, with this month’s groundbreaking coming soon after Harrah’s Entertainment announced Tuesday its second-quarter profits jumped 85 percent.

Singer Jimmy Buffett came to Biloxi in May to announce his partnership with Harrah’s, the largest casino company in the world. Together they will build the $704 million Margaritaville Casino on the beach. Construction is expected to begin this month and the resort will open in 2010.

Harrah’s reported second-quarter net profits of $237.5 million compared to $128.7 million for the same time last year.

In the Mississippi and Louisiana region, total revenue was up 15.3 percent for the first quarter. During the first six months of 2007, this market earned $779.5 million, a 21 percent increase from the $643.2 million for the first half of 2006, when Harrah’s Grand Casino Biloxi was closed for the period after Hurricane Katrina. Insurance proceeds of $37 million above net book value were included in the second-quarter income.

Results were also strong in Las Vegas, where Harrah’s recently announced a $1 billion expansion and renovation of Caesars Palace.

Earnings were $922.5 million, up 14.8 percent over the second quarter of 2006.

In Atlantic City, revenue was up 13.7 percent to $592 million but income from operations sank almost 38 percent. Harrah’s reported that “competition from new slot operations in New York and Pennsylvania, the implementation of new smoking regulations in New Jersey beginning April 15, and increased costs associated with marketing and promotional programs continued to hurt results in the Atlantic City region.”

Harrah’s Chester Casino and Racetrack, which opened in Pennsylvania in the first quarter, helped boost the area’s results.

The sale of Harrah’s Entertainment to a private investment group for $17.1 billion is expected to be complete at the end of this year or early 2008.

Source: Sun Herald 

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