According to Moody's Corporation, the company which performs international financial research and analysis, Harrah’s Entertainment is in some serious financial trouble. Harrah’s management seems more interested in jump-starting growth initiatives than in reducing debt: the company has enormous debts, but rarely takes the opportunity to pay them down. Instead, it keeps spending on new initiatives, hoping that the payouts will constitute salvation. Harrah’s annual interest burden consumes a whopping 90% of property income leaving insufficient free cash flow for debt reduction or capital spending. Harrah’s Entertainment owns the World Series of Poker since 2005.

Now Harrah’s will likely need to reduce debt by selling assets, going public or restructuring its debt burden. Restructuring would likely result in impairment to debt holder claims, and obstacles accompany all of these options. Moody's report noted Harrah's, like other casino operators, faces challenges in boosting revenue as “gaming demand isn’t likely to rebound or to reach previous peaks quickly”.