Harrah’s looking to be No. 1 in Tunica

Lynda Edwards

Monday, June 14, 2004 | 11:11 a.m.

JACKSON, Miss. -- Harrah's Entertainment Inc. sold its Vicksburg casino, a property that boasted 700 slot machines and 117 hotel rooms, but now sees a hot market in Tunica -- and a major venue for World Series poker.

The Federal Trade Commission gave Las Vegas-based Harrah's its final approval this week to buy Harrah's major competitor in Tunica: the Horseshoe Casino & Hotel. Harrah's already owns a Tunica casino.

"This is part of Harrah's overall strategy to be the No. 1 player in every market it enters," said Harrah's spokesman Gary Thompson. "The Vicksburg casino was actually a very small property compared to the Tunica Horseshoe. This purchase will make Harrah's the Tunica market leader."

Global Betting & Gaming Consultants recently ranked Harrah's as America's third best performing stock behind International Game Technology and MGM MIRAGE.

Harrah's is paying $1.45 billion this month for the Tunica Horseshoe as well as a Horseshoe casino in Indiana and another in Louisiana. According to Securities and Exchange Commission documents, Harrah's paid $39.7 million for the right to use the Horseshoe name in Nevada and the rights to the World Series of Poker.

While Thompson said that the demographic profile of a Harrah's gambler is a female over age 55, poker may be the key to a new gambling universe thanks to its booming popularity among young players.

"We have a lot of young guns under 30, a lot of them former college athletes who think it's cool to be on ESPN, who play in the satellite tournaments leading up to the World Series," Thompson said. "Last year, there were 839 players who each paid the $10,000 entry fee to play in the last poker game of the World Series. This year, 2,576 players paid that much for the final game."

Players in all 33 World Series poker games leading up to the grand finale won a total of $49 million. Next year, Harrah's expects 6,000 registrants for the grand finale with the winner playing for a $60 million pot. Many of the games leading up to the final will be held in the Tunica Horseshoe.

Yet poker has never been a major money engine for casinos in the past. Slot machines have historically been casinos' major revenue stream.

Harrah's is completing research that tracked how many poker players crossed over to play the slots after playing cards.

"Year and a half ago, casinos were closing their poker rooms all across the country," Thompson said. "Now, we're reopening them."