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Harrah's CEO not keen on sharing with harness racing

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April 30, 2008

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In his remarks to those in attendance at the Canadian Gaming Summit in Montreal on Wednesday morning, Gary Loveman, chairman and CEO of Harrah's Entertainment, said his company's business at Harrah's Chester has to "prop up the horse racing industry," and added that horse racing's plight is "not my problem," and "it's not clear to me why I have to pay for that (subsidy to racing)."

Loveman's address was insightful and showed his business acumen, and he challenged those in the audience to be innovators. He began his remarks by saying that his speech would be a little like the movie "Groundhog Day," explaining that "I do believe the (gaming) industry revisits the same subjects routinely."

Loveman also spoke about the politics of gaming and said it is one of the industry's biggest obstacles, and one of his greatest concerns. He noted that there are 35,000 slot machines in Iowa, "yet no one questioned the moral fiber of people in Iowa" during the presidential caucus held there, and he wondered why legislators can still be so adamantly against the expansion of gaming, especially in his home state of Massachusetts.

Of legislators and legislative sessions, Loveman had this to say: "Whenever a legislature goes into session, I don't sleep. Only when they go home is it safe to rest."

Loveman joined Harrah's in 1998 and was named CEO in January 2003. Prior to that he was a former associate professor of the Harvard University Graduate School of Business Administration. He holds a Ph.D. in economics from MIT.--By Kathy Parker

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