Caesars Entertainment Inc

The accompanying consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Caesars Entertainment, Inc., a Delaware corporation, and its consolidated subsidiaries which may be referred to as the “Company,” “CEI,” “Caesars,” “we,” “our,” “us,” or the “Registrant” within these financial statements.

We also refer to (i) our Consolidated Financial Statements as our “Financial Statements,” (ii) our Consolidated Statements of Operations and Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (Loss) as our “Statements of Operations,” (iii) our Consolidated Balance Sheets as our “Balance Sheets,” and (iv) our Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows as our “Statements of Cash Flows,” which are prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“GAAP”). References to numbered “Notes” refer to Notes to our Consolidated Financial Statements included herein.

Note 1. Organization and Basis of Presentation

Organization

The Company is a geographically diversified gaming and hospitality company that was founded in 1973 by the Carano family with the opening of the Eldorado Hotel Casino in Reno, Nevada. Beginning in 2005, the Company grew through a series of acquisitions, including the acquisition of MTR Gaming Group, Inc. in 2014, Isle of Capri Casinos, Inc. in 2017, Tropicana Entertainment, Inc. in 2018, Caesars Entertainment Corporation in 2020, and William Hill PLC (the “William Hill Acquisition”) on April 22, 2021. The Company’s ticker symbol on the NASDAQ Stock Market is “CZR”.

The Company owns, leases, brands or manages an aggregate of 52 domestic properties in 18 states with approximately 51,300 slot machines, video lottery terminals and e-tables, approximately 2,700 table games and approximately 44,700 hotel rooms as of December 31, 2023. The Company operates and conducts sports wagering across 31 jurisdictions in North America,25 of which offer online sports betting, and operates iGaming infive jurisdictions in North America. In addition, the Company has other properties in North America that are authorized to use the brands and marks of Caesars Entertainment, Inc., as well as other non-gaming properties. The Company’s primary source of revenue is generated by its casino properties’ gaming operations, which includes retail and online sports betting and online gaming, and the Company utilizes its hotels, restaurants, bars, entertainment, racing, retail shops and other services to attract customers to its properties.

The Company’s operations for retail and online sports betting, iGaming, and online poker are included under the Caesars Digital segment. The Company has made significant investments into the interactive business in recent years with, among other investments, the William Hill Acquisition, strategic expansion into new markets as legalization permits, and marketing campaigns with distinguished actors, former athletes and media personalities promoting the Caesars Sportsbook app. The Company expects to continue to expand its operations in the Caesars Digital segment as new jurisdictions legalize retail and online gaming and sports betting.

The Company has divested certain properties and other assets, including non-core properties and divestitures required by regulatory agencies. See Note 4 for a discussion of properties recently sold and Note 19 for segment information.

Basis of Presentation

Our Financial Statements are prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States, which requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues, and expenses and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities. Management believes the accounting estimates are appropriate and reasonably determined. Actual amounts could materially differ from those estimates.

The presentation of financial information herein for the periods after the Company’s acquisitions or before divestitures of various properties is not fully comparable to the periods prior to their respective purchase or after the sale dates. See Note 3 for further discussion of the acquisitions and related transactions and Note 4 for properties recently divested.

Our Financial Statements include the accounts of Caesars Entertainment, Inc. and its subsidiaries after elimination of all intercompany accounts and transactions. See Note 2 for policy on consolidation of subsidiaries.

Note 2. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Additional significant accounting policy disclosures are provided within the applicable Notes to the Financial Statements.

Consolidation of Subsidiaries and Variable Interest Entities

We consolidate all subsidiaries in which we have a controlling financial interest and variable interest entities (“VIEs”) for which we or one of our consolidated subsidiaries is the primary beneficiary. Control generally equates to ownership percentage, whereby (i) affiliates that are more than 50% owned are consolidated; (ii) investments in affiliates of 50% or less but greater than 20% are generally accounted for using the equity method where we have determined that we have significant influence over the entities; and (iii) investments in affiliates of 20% or less are generally accounted for as investments in equity securities.

We consider ourselves the primary beneficiary of a VIE when we have both the power to direct the activities that most significantly affect the results of the VIE and the right to receive benefits or the obligation to absorb losses of the entity that could be potentially significant to the VIE. We review investments for VIE consideration if a reconsideration event occurs to determine if the investment qualifies, or continues to qualify, as a VIE. If we determine an investment qualifies, or no longer qualifies, as a VIE, there may be a material effect to our Financial Statements.

Cash and Cash Equivalents

Cash equivalents include investments in money market funds that can be redeemed immediately at the current net asset value per share. A money market fund is a mutual fund whose investments are primarily in short-term debt securities designed to maximize current income with liquidity and capital preservation, usually maintaining per share net asset value at a constant amount, such as one dollar. The carrying amounts approximate the fair value because of the short maturity of those instruments (Level 1). Cash and cash equivalents also include cash maintained for gaming operations.

Restricted Cash

Restricted cash includes cash equivalents held in certificates of deposit accounts or money market type funds, that are not subject to remeasurement on a recurring basis, which are restricted under certain operating agreements or restricted for future capital expenditures in the normal course of business.

Advertising

Advertising costs are expensed in the period the advertising initially takes place. Advertising costs were $259 million, $571 million and $518 million for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively, and are included within operating expenses. During the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, the Company launched significant television, radio and internet marketing campaigns promoting the Caesars Sportsbook. Advertising costs related to the Caesars Digital segment are primarily recorded in Casino expense.

Interest Expense, Net

Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements

Pronouncements to Be Implemented in Future Periods

In December 2023, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2023-09, “Income Taxes: Improvements to Income Tax Disclosures,” which requires disaggregated information about an entity’s effective tax rate reconciliation as well as information on income taxes paid. These updates apply to all entities subject to income taxes and will be effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2024. Early adoption is permitted. Updates will be applied on a prospective basis with the option to apply the standard retrospectively. We do not expect the amendments in this update to have a material impact on our Financial Statements.

In November 2023, the FASB issued ASU 2023-07, “Segment Reporting: Improvements to Reportable Segment Disclosures,” which requires public entities to disclose information about their reportable segments’ significant expenses on an interim and annual basis. This guidance is effective for years beginning after December 15, 2023, and interim period within years beginning after December 15, 2024. Early adoption is permitted. Amendments in this update should be applied retrospectively to all prior periods presented in the financial statements. We do not expect the amendments in this update to have a material impact on our Financial Statements.

In October 2023, the FASB issued ASU 2023-06, “Disclosure Improvements: Codification Amendments In Response to the SEC’s Disclosure Update and Simplification Initiative,” to clarify or improve disclosure and presentation requirements on a variety of topics and align the requirements in the FASB accounting standard codification with the Securities and Exchange Commission regulations. This guidance is effective for the Company no later than June 30, 2027. We do not expect the amendments in this update to have a material impact on our Financial Statements.