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CZR 2018-12-31

Part I

Item 1. Business

Item 1A. Risk Factors

Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments

Item 2.

Item 3. Legal Proceedings

Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures

Part II

Item 5. Market for The Registrant's Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

Item 6. Selected Financial Data

Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk

Note 1 - Description of Business

Note 2 - Basis of Presentation and Principles of Consolidation

Note 3 - Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Note 4 - Business Combinations

Note 5 - Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements

Note 6 - Property and Equipment

Note 7 - Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets

Note 8 - Fair Value Measurements

Note 9 - Accrued Expenses and Other Current Liabilities

Note 10 - Leases

Note 11 - Litigation, Contractual Commitments, and Contingent Liabilities

Note 12 - Debt

Note 13 - Stockholders' Equity

Note 14 - Earnings per Share

Note 15 - Revenue Recognition

Note 16 - Stock-Based Compensation

Note 17 - Deferred Compensation and Employee Benefit Plans

Note 18 - Income Taxes

Note 20 - Related Party Transactions

Note 21 - Segment Reporting

Note 22 - Quarterly Results of Operations (Unaudited)

Item 9. Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure

Item 9A. Controls and Procedures

Item 9B. Other Information

Part III

Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers, and Corporate Governance

Item 11. Executive Compensation

Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters

Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence

Item 14. Principal Accounting Fees and Services

Part IV

Item 15. Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules

Item 16. Form 10-K Summary

EX-10.88	ex1088mfrissoraseparat.htm
EX-10.89	ex1089amendmenttomfris.htm
EX-10.97	ex1097rmorseseparation.htm
EX-10.111	ex10111formofcec2017pi.htm
EX-10.112	ex10112amendmenttoform.htm
EX-14	exhibit14codeofconduct.htm
EX-21	a2018q4cecex21-listofs.htm
EX-23	a2018q4cecex23-deloitt.htm
EX-31.1	a2018q4cecex311ceosect.htm
EX-31.2	a2018q4cecex312cfosect.htm
EX-32.1	a2018q4cecex321ceosect.htm
EX-32.2	a2018q4cecex322cfosect.htm
EX-99.1	a2018q4cecex991gamingr.htm

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PART I

ITEM 1.	Business

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•	People: supporting the wellbeing of our team members, guests and local communities.

•	Planet: taking care of the world we all call home.

•	Play: creating memorable experiences for our guests and leading Responsible Gaming practices in the industry.

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•	#3: Good Health and Well-Being

•	#8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

•	#11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

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ITEM 1A.    Risk Factors

•	limit our ability to borrow money for our working capital, capital expenditures, development projects, debt service requirements, rent payment requirements, strategic initiatives or other purposes;

•	make it more difficult for us to satisfy our obligations with respect to our indebtedness and the Lease Agreements, and any failure to comply with the obligations of any of our debt instruments or Lease Agreements, including restrictive covenants and borrowing conditions, could result in an event of default under the agreements governing our indebtedness or such Lease Agreements;

•	require that a substantial portion of our cash flow from operations be dedicated to the payment of rent and interest and repayment of our indebtedness, thereby reducing funds available to us for other purposes;

•	limit our flexibility in planning for or reacting to changes in our operations or business;

•	make us more highly-leveraged than certain of our competitors, which may place us at a competitive disadvantage;

•	make us more vulnerable to downturns in our business or the economy;

•	restrict the availability for us to make strategic acquisitions, develop new gaming facilities, introduce new technologies or exploit business opportunities;

•	affect our ability to renew certain gaming and other licenses;

•	limit, along with the financial and other restrictive covenants in our indebtedness and the Lease Agreements, among other things, our ability to borrow additional funds or dispose of assets; and

•	expose us to the risk of increased interest rates as certain of our borrowings are at variable rates of interest.

•	our future financial and operating performance, which will be affected by prevailing economic conditions and financial, business, regulatory and other factors, many of which are beyond our control; and

•	our future ability to borrow under our credit facilities, the availability of which depends on, among other things, our complying with the covenants thereunder.

•	incur additional debt or issue certain preferred shares;

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•	pay dividends on or make distributions in respect of our capital stock or make other restricted payments;

•	make certain investments;

•	sell certain assets;

•	create liens on certain assets;

•	consolidate, merge, sell or otherwise dispose of all or substantially all of our assets;

•	enter into certain transactions with our affiliates; and

•	designate our subsidiaries as unrestricted subsidiaries.

•	will not be required to lend any additional amounts to such borrowers;

•	could elect to declare all indebtedness outstanding, together with accrued and unpaid interest and fees, to be due and payable and terminate all commitments to extend further credit; or

•	require such borrowers to apply all of our available cash to repay such indebtedness.

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•	make it more difficult for the applicable entity to satisfy their obligations with respect to their indebtedness and to obtain additional indebtedness;

•	increase the applicable entity’s vulnerability to general or regional adverse economic and industry conditions or a downturn in its business;

•	require the applicable entity to dedicate a substantial portion of its cash flow from operations to making lease payments, thereby reducing the availability of its cash flow to fund working capital, capital expenditures and other general corporate purposes;

•	limit the applicable entity’s flexibility in planning for, or reacting to, changes in its business and the industry in which it operates; and

•	restrict the applicable entity’s ability to raise capital, make acquisitions and divestitures and engage in other significant transactions.

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•	the existence of acceptable market conditions and demand for the completed project;

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•	general construction risks, including cost overruns, change orders and plan or specification modification, shortages of construction resources, labor disputes, unforeseen environmental, engineering or geological problems, work stoppages, fire and other natural disasters, construction scheduling problems, and weather interferences;

•	changes and concessions required by governmental or regulatory authorities;

•	the ability to finance the projects, especially in light of our substantial indebtedness;

•	delays in obtaining, or inability to obtain, all licenses, permits and authorizations required to complete and/or operate the project; and

•	disruption of our existing operations and facilities.

•	coordinating marketing functions;

•	undisclosed liabilities;

•	unanticipated issues in integrating information, communications and other systems;

•	unanticipated incompatibility of purchasing, logistics, marketing, and administration methods;

•	retaining key employees;

•	consolidating corporate and administrative infrastructures;

•	the diversion of management attention from ongoing business concerns; and

•	coordinating geographically separate organizations.

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•	political and economic instability;

•	variation in local economies;

•	currency fluctuation;

•	greater difficulty in accounts receivable collection;

•	trade barriers; and

•	burden of complying with a variety of international laws.

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•	our operating and financial performance and prospects;

•	our quarterly or annual earnings or those of other companies in our industry;

•	conditions that impact demand for our products and services;

•	the public’s reaction to our press releases, other public announcements and filings with the SEC;

•	changes in earnings estimates or recommendations by securities analysts who track our common stock;

•	market and industry perception of our success, or lack thereof, in pursuing our growth strategy;

•	strategic actions by us or our competitors, such as acquisitions or restructurings;

•	changes in government and environmental regulation, including gaming taxes;

•	changes in accounting standards, policies, guidance, interpretations, or principles;

•	arrival and departure of key personnel;

•	changes in our capital structure;

•	sales of common stock by us or members of our management team;

•	the expiration of contractual lockup agreements; and

•	changes in general market, economic, and political conditions in the United States and global economies or financial markets, including those resulting from natural disasters, terrorist attacks, acts of war, and responses to such events.

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•	our ability to respond to changes in the industry, particularly digital transformation, and to take advantage of the opportunity for legalized sports betting in multiple jurisdictions in the United States (which may require third-party arrangements and/or regulatory approval);

•	development of our announced convention center in Las Vegas, CAESARS FORUM, and certain of our other announced projects are subject to risks associated with new construction projects, including those described below;

•	we may not be able to realize the anticipated benefits of our acquisition of Centaur, including anticipated benefits from introducing table games to the acquired properties which is subject to approvals and may not occur;

•	the impact of our operating structure following CEOC’s emergence from bankruptcy;

•	the effects of local and national economic, credit, and capital market conditions on the economy, in general, and on the gaming industry, in particular;

•	the effect of reductions in consumer discretionary spending due to economic downturns or other factors and changes in consumer demands;

•	the ability to realize improvements in our business and results of operations through our property renovation investments, technology deployments, business process improvement initiatives, and other continuous improvement initiatives;

•	the ability to take advantage of opportunities to grow our revenue;

•	the ability to use NOLs to offset future taxable income as anticipated;

•	the ability to realize all of the anticipated benefits of current or potential future acquisitions;

•	the ability to effectively compete against our competitors;

•	the financial results of our consolidated businesses;

•	the impact of our substantial indebtedness, including its impact on our ability to raise additional capital in the future and react to changes in the economy, and lease obligations and the restrictions in our debt and lease agreements;

•	the ability to access available and reasonable financing or additional capital on a timely basis and on acceptable terms or at all, including our ability to refinance our indebtedness on acceptable terms;

•	the ability of our customer tracking, customer loyalty, and yield management programs to continue to increase customer loyalty and hotel sales;

•	changes in the extensive governmental regulations to which we are subject and (i) changes in laws, including increased tax rates, smoking bans, regulations, or accounting standards; (ii) third-party relations; and (iii) approvals, decisions, disciplines and fines of courts, regulators, and governmental bodies;

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•	compliance with the extensive laws and regulations to which we are subject, including applicable gaming laws, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and other anti-corruption laws, and the Bank Secrecy Act and other anti-money laundering laws;

•	our ability to recoup costs of capital investments through higher revenues;

•	growth in consumer demand for non-gaming offerings;

•	abnormal gaming holds (“gaming hold” is the amount of money that is retained by the casino from wagers by customers);

•	the effects of competition, including locations of competitors, growth of online gaming, competition for new licenses, and operating and market competition;

•	our ability to protect our intellectual property rights and damages caused to our brands due to the unauthorized use of our brand names by third parties in ways outside of our control;

•	the ability to timely and cost-effectively integrate companies that we acquire into our operations;

•	the ability to execute on our brand licensing and management strategy is subject to third-party agreements and other risks associated with new projects;

•	not being able to realize all of our anticipated cost savings;

•	the potential difficulties in employee retention, recruitment, and motivation, including in connection with our Chief Executive Officer transition;

•	our ability to retain our performers or other entertainment offerings on acceptable terms or at all;

•	the risk of fraud, theft, and cheating;

•	seasonal fluctuations resulting in volatility and an adverse effect on our operating results;

•	any impairments to goodwill, indefinite-lived intangible assets, or long-lived assets that we may incur;

•	construction factors, including delays, increased costs of labor and materials, availability of labor and materials, zoning issues, environmental restrictions, soil and water conditions, weather and other hazards, site access matters, and building permit issues;

•	the impact of adverse legal proceedings and judicial and governmental body actions, including gaming legislative action, referenda, regulatory disciplinary actions, and fines and taxation;

•	acts of war or terrorist incidents, severe weather conditions, uprisings, or natural disasters, including losses therefrom, losses in revenues and damage to property, and the impact of severe weather conditions on our ability to attract customers to certain facilities of ours;

•	fluctuations in energy prices;

•	work stoppages and other labor problems;

•	our ability to collect on credit extended to our customers;

•	the effects of environmental and structural building conditions relating to our properties and our exposure to environmental liability, including as a result of unknown environmental contamination;

•	a disruption, failure, or breach of our network, information systems, or other technology, or those of our vendors, on which we are dependent;

•	risks and costs associated with protecting the integrity and security of internal, employee, and customer data;

•	access to insurance for our assets on reasonable terms;

•	the impact, if any, of unfunded pension benefits under multi-employer pension plans; and

•	the other factors set forth under Item 1A, “Risk Factors.”

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ITEM 1B.	Unresolved Staff Comments

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ITEM 2.