Just when it looked inevitable that Harrah's Entertainment was planning for further casino redevelopment following their acquisition last week of Barbary Coast from Boyd Gaming, Harrah's was given a $15 billion buyout offer from two privately owned investment firms - Apollo Management and the Texas Pacific Group. While it is unclear if Harrah's executives were instrumental in cultivating the offer, it is certainly an offer that management and investors would stand to significantly profit from. Harrah's stock has already risen 15%, which could very well bring the share value up to Harrah's original offering at $81 per share.

If the deal is to go through, however, some worry that several of the proposed projects Harrah's has been planning will be abandoned. For instance, Harrah's has multi-billion casino developments planned in both Las Vegas and Atlantic City as well as European developments using the Caesar's luxury casino brand. In Asia, Harrah's has already pulled a Singapore casino bid in a gambling market that will likely surpass revenue generated from the Las Vegas Strip. And with the prospects of private ownership, there is a very good chance that plans for growth could be laid to rest, as well as the call for cutbacks in order to drive up short term profit, which the owners could immediately use to chip away at debt incurred from the purchase.

Employees of Harrah's casinos do not want to see that day come, for it would likely mean they would be out of a job. Another possibility resulting from private ownership is that all of Harrah's smaller, less recognized gaming properties and casinos would be sold off, and revenue would go to paying off debt even faster. The company could then put more focus on foreign properties (which would demand the building of more luxurious resort properties like the Caesar's chain). The company could then emerge from within the gambling industry as a luxury casino resort developer.

Of course, the default position, which Harrah's current management so wonderfully covered their tracks with, would be to sit on their investment and allow real estate holdings to appreciate. MGM CEO and President, Jim Murren, told Las Vegas Sun reporters that private companies like Apollo Management and Texas Pacific Group look at Harrah's Entertainment more as a real estate company than a casino empire. The land on the Vegas Strip is some of the most prized in the world, and with over 300 acres in Harrah's possession, a $15 billion buying price will still eventually pay off no matter if Harrah's is restructured, cut back or built up.