Tourists not wild about new merger

Thursday, July 15, 2004 | 10:59 a.m.

For many Strip tourists who learned this morning of Harrah's Entertainment Inc.'s blockbuster acquisition of Caesars Entertainment Inc., bigger doesn't necessarily mean better.

While scores of visitors knew nothing about the deal formally approved Wednesday, many of those who did said they were leery about one or two companies owning so many Strip properties.

"It doesn't matter whether it's in the automotive industry, the computer industry or, I guess, casinos, for that matter," said Gerry Hanson, DeWitt, Mich. "It's just not good for one company to be so dominant."

Hanson and his wife, Judy, are visiting Las Vegas for the first time and were stunned to learn of the sweeping implications of the $9.4 billion deal.

"I didn't know which companies owned what hotels, but I think there can be problems when one company owns so much," he said.

Robert Lounds, Haysville, Kan., agreed, and said he feared Strip competition would be hurt if all of Caesars' properties were to come under the Harrah's umbrella.

"It's not right," said Lounds. "There should be more independence. When everything is owned by one company, it's unfair to the smaller places. The little guy gets hurt."

But Lounds, who signed up for and received a slot club card from Mandalay Resort Group when he visited Circus Circus on Wednesday, said he recognized the customer value of the Harrah's-Caesars blend.

"I can see where some people would like that," he said.

Harrah's has said enabling its Total Rewards slot club customers to cash in points with trips to some of the high-end Caesars properties would make the deal appealing to consumers nationwide and a boon to Las Vegas.

"A friend of mine has a card like that and I imagine he'd enjoy using his points at a place like Caesars Palace," added Hanson.

Employees of the two companies had just learned about the deal and most did not comment, citing their respective company policies.

But Marilyn Burge, a Harrah's employee, said she thinks the deal will be fantastic for her company.

"I didn't know we'd be able to do that because Caesars is so big," said Burge, who operates a concession booth near Harrah's new monorail station. "They have Caesars Palace, they have Celine (Dion)."