Park Place Says It Will Change Name to Caesars Entertainment

Park Place Entertainment Corp., the world’s largest casino operator, said Tuesday that it would rename itself Caesars Entertainment Inc., adopting the moniker of its flagship Las Vegas casino.

The change is the biggest by Chief Executive Wally Barr, who vowed when he took over in November to focus on the company’s top 10 properties and integrate its various brands, which include Flamingo, Bally’s, Paris and Hilton.

Park Place also is moving forward on plans for a $350-million expansion of Caesars Palace, spokesman Robert Stewart said.

Caesars Palace already has added a $95-million arena for singer Celine Dion and has spent millions more on a new parking garage and restaurants and on expanding its Forum Shops mall to revitalize what used to be the highest-profile casino on the Strip, now eclipsed by MGM Mirage’s Bellagio and other rivals.

The company revived consideration of adding a hotel tower in February. The Wall Street Journal said Barr would ask for board approval at a meeting next week and may finance the project by selling assets in smaller markets.

Financial analysts were slightly positive on the decision to rename the company, which must be ratified by shareholders in September and would take effect in January, but said the company had lingering problems integrating its operations.

“With only four Caesars-branded properties, we question how the company intends to leverage its other brands under this new strategy,” Deutsche Bank analyst Marc Falcone wrote.

Las Vegas-based Park Place operates or has stakes in 27 casinos around the world. Its name comes from the Monopoly board game, which is based on the streets of Atlantic City, N.J.

Shares of Park Place fell 15 cents to $8.80 on the New York Stock Exchange.