Harrah's Entertainment Inc. — which will change its name to Caesars Entertainment Corp. by the time its initial public offering closes — plans to raise as much as $532 million.
Its shares will start trading at a financially precarious time for the casino business. Like the rest of the industry, Harrah's and other casino companies hit a wall during the recession as people opted to save their extra cash rather than gamble it. Results for the first nine months of this year suggest casino visitors aren't yet ready to spend the way they used to.
In a recent securities filing, the company said it lost $634.4 million during the nine months that ended September 30. Revenue over the same period totaled $6.7 billion, down from $6.8 billion in the first nine months of 2009.