Harrah’s sued over Players’ tax bill

Monday, Dec. 31, 2001 | 9:53 a.m.

LAKE CHARLES, La. -- The state Department of Revenue has sued Harrah's Entertainment Inc. of Las Vegas for $4.7 million in taxes and interest allegedly owed by a company that Harrah's purchased in 1999.

The state agency filed suit Dec. 26, stating that Players Lake Charles Inc. owed the taxes and interest from July 1995-December 1996. Players failed to pay taxes on costs connected to repair and construction of an "entertainment island," the lawsuit says.

Harrah's General Manager John Payne said the company had no comment on the suit.

After being fined $10.2 million by the Louisiana Gaming Control Board for its actions in the casino licensing extortion trial of ex-Gov. Edwin Edwards' case, Players agreed to get out of Louisiana and sold out in late 1999 to Harrah's for $425 million.

Harrah's now owns and operates the two-boat casino complex and the entertainment barge. Harrah's is the "successor" to Player's and is therefore liable for the company's unpaid taxes, the lawsuit says.

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