Nearly three years after spending $9 billion to acquire rival casino operator Caesars Entertainment, Harrah's Entertainment is finally going to capitalize on the name.

Harrah's announced Wednesday that it plans to change the company's name to Caesars Entertainment Corp. The switch requires regulatory approval in the states where the company operates casinos.

The name Harrah's, however, will not disappear. Harrah's will become one of the company's three primary casino brands, along with Caesars and Horseshoe.

Harrah's has long been associated with middle-market gamblers and the company's Total Rewards marketing program, one of the gaming industry's pioneering database development systems. Harrah's was founded more than 70 years ago in Reno as a small bingo parlor by gaming figure Bill Harrah.

In June 2005, Harrah's completed a buyout of Caesars, which at the time was the largest gaming industry merger and created the world's largest casino operator. The deal gave Harrah's the iconic Caesars Palace, one the Strip's most recognizable hotel-casinos.

University of Nevada, Las Vegas public administration professor Bill Thompson, who specializes in gaming matters, said the name change should have been done when Harrah's bought Caesars.

"Caesars is a high-class name with world reknown identity," Thompson said. "Harrah's is a good name, but it's middle-class. Harrah's is like Kmart. They should have done it when they merged."

Source:http://www.casinonews.org/