News

/PRNewswire-FirstCall/ LAS VEGAS -- Harrah's License Company, LLC, an affiliate of Harrah's Entertainment, Inc., (NYSE: HET), announced today it has joined forces with AOL to create a co-branded poker room for AOL users featuring a suite of World Series of Poker free-play games and special content.

As the exclusive online partner of the World Series of Poker, AOL.com?, the AOL? service and AIM? will feature free-play poker games for novice, intermediate and advanced players; private poker rooms and tournaments; behind-the-scenes reports from World Series of Poker events, and other content designed to enhance the player experience and improve the prowess of poker enthusiasts of every skill level.

"We're thrilled to pair the best brand in poker with the best brand in online games and content," said Jeffrey Pollack, vice president of sports and entertainment marketing for Harrah's Entertainment. "AOL's powerful reach will help more people than ever before experience the fun, excitement and energy of the World Series of Poker. This strategic alliance is an important foundation for our growth strategy over the next 24 months."

"The renewed interest in poker has also been reflected on AOL.com, where poker is constantly among the most popular games on our service," said Ralph Rivera, vice president and general manager, AOL Games. "Joining forces with Harrah's to create the most compelling World Series of Poker-branded poker destination online is a great way to satisfy our users' interests in all things poker."

AOL will be the only free-play Internet poker game offering in the United States where, subject to applicable laws, 12 poker fans, 21 years of age or older can win a free seat valued at $10,000 to play in the 2006 or 2007 World Series of Poker Main Event.

In addition, one visitor to AOL per year will also win, subject to applicable laws, a free seat at the World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions, an annual tournament that brings together the world's best players.

The World Series of Poker, the world's richest and most prestigious poker event, will take place next summer at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. During the 2005 World Series of Poker, more than $52 million in prize money was awarded in the Main Event alone, and every player who advanced to the final table won at least $1 million. The World Series of Poker is televised exclusively on ESPN.

New Survey Reveals Continued Growth in Poker Interest

Mainstream interest in poker has increased significantly over the last year. According to a recent study from AOL Games and SRBI Public Affairs, almost half (47 percent) of Americans surveyed play poker in some form. Among poker players, almost one in five (17 percent) say they have played poker "more than ever before," and about a quarter (26 percent) have taken up the game just in the past year.*

Furthermore, more than one-third of the poll respondents (37 percent) watch poker events such as the World Series of Poker on television, and about one-in-10 (11 percent) have played poker online. Additionally, when asked why they play on the Web, most players said it was to learn the game or to practice before playing at offline casino events.

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About Harrah's Entertainment

Harrah's Entertainment, Inc. is the world's largest provider of branded casino entertainment. Since its beginning in Reno, Nevada 67 years ago, Harrah's has grown through development of new properties, expansions and acquisitions. Harrah's Entertainment is focused on building loyalty and value with its customers through a unique combination of great service, excellent products, unsurpassed distribution, operational excellence and technology leadership.

More information is available at www.harrahs.com and www.worldseriesofpoker.com.

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About AOL Games

AOL Games provides access to unique and exclusive high-speed and narrowband programming features for online, PC and console gamers, and provides more than 150 online games to approximately 8 million game fans per month**, who average more than 3.5 hours each month in AOL Games.

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About America Online, Inc.

America Online, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Time Warner Inc. Based in Dulles, Virginia, America Online is the world's leader in interactive services, Web brands, Internet technologies and ecommerce services.

    * Survey Methodology
       This AOL Games Poll was conducted by telephone April 21-May 1, 2005,
       among a random sample of 1,005 people throughout America. The margin
       of error for the entire sample is approximately +/-3 percentage
       points. The margin of error is higher for subgroups. Surveys are
       subject to other error sources as well, including sampling coverage
       error, recording error, and respondent error. Schulman, Ronca, &
       Bucuvalas (SRBI) Public Affairs designed the survey and conducted all
       interviewing.

    ** According to ComScore Media Metrix, July 2005

This release includes "forward-looking statements" intended to qualify for the safe harbor from liability established by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. You can identify these statements by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. These statements contain words such as "may," "will," "project," "might," "expect," "believe," "anticipate," "intend," "could," "would," "estimate," "continue" or "pursue," or the negative or other variations thereof or comparable terminology. In particular, they include statements relating to, among other things, future actions, strategies, future performance and future financial results of Harrah's. These forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and projections about future events.

Investors are cautioned that forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance or results and involve risks and uncertainties that cannot be predicted or quantified and, consequently, the actual performance of Harrah's may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the following factors as well as other factors described from time to time in our reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (including the sections entitled "Risk Factors" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" contained therein); financial community and rating agency perceptions of Harrah's; the effects of economic, credit and capital market conditions on the economy in general, and on gaming and hotel companies in particular; construction factors, including delays, zoning issues, environmental restrictions, soil and water conditions, weather and other hazards, site access matters and building permit issues; the effects of environmental and structural building conditions relating to our properties; the ability to timely and cost-effectively integrate into Harrah's operations the companies that it acquires, including with respect to its acquisition of Caesars; access to available and feasible financing on a timely basis; changes in laws (including increased tax rates), regulations or accounting standards, third-party relations and approvals, and decisions of courts, regulators and governmental bodies; litigation outcomes and judicial actions, including gaming legislative action, referenda and taxation; the ability of our customer-tracking, customer loyalty and yield- management programs to continue to increase customer loyalty and same store sales; our ability to recoup costs of capital investments through higher revenues; acts of war or terrorist incidents; abnormal gaming holds; and the effects of competition, including locations of competitors and operating and market competition.

Any forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and, as such, speak only as of the date made. Harrah's disclaims any obligation to update the forward-looking statements. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements which speak only as of the date stated, or if no date is stated, as of the date of this press release.

SOURCE: Harrah's Entertainment, Inc.
   -0-                            10/17/2005
   /CONTACT: Gary Thompson of Harrah's Entertainment, Inc., +1-702-407-6529,
Lori Dolginoff of America Online, +1-212-652-6363, Brent Burkhardt of TBC
Public Relations, +1-410-986-1303
   /FCMN Contact: bburkhardt@tbc.us /
   /Web site: http://www.harrahs.com
               http://www.worldseriesofpoker.com
               http://aol.com /