LAS VEGAS — (PRESS RELEASE) — A subsidiary of Harrah’s Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:HET) today announced it entered into a definitive agreement with a subsidiary of Boyd Gaming Corp. (NYSE:BYD) to exchange certain real estate Harrah’s controls near Boyd’s Stardust site on the Las Vegas Strip for Boyd’s Barbary Coast property, located at the northeast corner of Flamingo Road and Las Vegas Boulevard. With this acquisition, Harrah’s will have substantially completed its land assemblage goals for Las Vegas.
Harrah’s did not disclose additional terms of the agreement, which is subject to certain regulatory approvals. The expected closing date of this transaction is first quarter 2007, subject to receipt of all necessary governmental approvals.
The addition of the Barbary Coast to Harrah’s holdings in the area considerably strengthens the company’s ability to create a destination experience within the Las Vegas market.
“The site we control, some 350 acres, is of unprecedented proportion at one of the most famous intersections in the world,” said Charles L. Atwood, vice chairman of the board for Harrah’s. “This large site is intended to give us many years of development potential and the flexibility to grow our future earnings without undue interruption of our current earnings stream. The fact that our total site will have a cost of approximately $13 million per acre on average is strong evidence of our intention to develop this opportunity with a keen eye toward excellent returns on investment.”
Harrah’s now holds or has agreed to acquire a total of nearly 350 acres in Las Vegas encompassing the area between Paris Las Vegas to the south, Harrah’s Las Vegas to the north, Koval Avenue to the east and the Rio to the west.