Park Place Earnings Will Miss Forecasts

Park Place Entertainment Corp. said fourth-quarter earnings would miss forecasts because winnings fell at all of its Las Vegas casinos and poor weather hurt business in its other markets, sending its shares down 16%. The world’s largest casino company also said that a planned sale of the Las Vegas Hilton to Los Angeles real estate developer Ed Roski Jr. for $365 million is “in dispute” and unlikely to happen because Roski missed a deposit deadline. Roski has alleged that Park Place breached the sale agreement, the Las Vegas-based company said. A spokesman declined to elaborate. Roski, who developed Staples Center, didn’t return calls for comment. Park Place, whose casinos include Caesars and Bally’s, said it expects to break even on a per-share basis in its fourth quarter, before charges. Analysts on average were expecting 12 cents. The company will take a $15-million charge in the quarter to fulfill the employment contract of Chief Executive Arthur Goldberg, who died in October. Park Place shares fell $1.94 to close at $10 on the New York Stock Exchange.