Las Vegas, NV., February 25, 2005 – NASCAR owner/driver Robby Gordon will hit the track this year sporting a lucky No. 7 and a casino logo on his car.
Harrah’s Operating Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Harrah’s Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE: HET), announced today that it has reached agreement in principle to sponsor Robby Gordon Motorsports throughout the 2005 NASCAR Nextel Cup season. Subject to a definitive agreement, the arrangement calls for Harrah’s to be the primary sponsor for 14 Cup races and an associate sponsor for 13 races.
The sponsorship includes a multi-faceted marking program and exposes several Harrah’s-owned brands to the more than 75 million NASCAR fans in the United States. In addition to the Harrah’s logo, Gordon’s car hood will feature the World Series of Poker logo for select races.
Harrah’s primary sponsorship begins with the February 27th Nextel Cup race at California Speedway and will include several races held at tracks in proximity to Harrah’s casinos across the country, including Las Vegas Motor Speedway (Harrah’s Las Vegas and the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino), Atlanta Motor Speedway (Harrah’s Cherokee Casino), Phoenix International Raceway (Harrah’s Phoenix Ak-Chin Casino), Dover International Speedway (Harrah’s Atlantic City and Showboat Atlantic City) and Kansas Speedway (Harrah’s North Kansas City).
Components of the Harrah’s sponsorship include at-track customer promotions, VIP entertainment and pre-race pit tours, Fan Fest event at casinos, personal appearances and Harrah’s-branded Robby Gordon Motorsports merchandise.
Gordon made personal appearances and hosted Fan Fest events for Harrah’s last year. He also helped raise awareness for Harrah’s participation in the Meals on Wheels Association of America “March For Meals” campaign.
“Robby Gordon is a winner and has been a great ambassador for Harrah’s,” said Gary Loveman, Harrah’s chairman, president and chief executive officer. “We’re thrilled to take our relationship to a new level and back Robby during this historic season as he becomes the only team owner and driver racing in the NASCAR Nextel Cup.”
Gordon’s past NASCAR highlights include victories at the Emerson Radio 250 Busch race in 2004 and three Cup victories in 2003 at Daytona International Speedway
(Gatorade 125), Watkins Glen International Raceway and Infineon Raceway. In 2003, he became third driver in history to lead laps in both the Indianapolis 500 and the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
“I can’t remember a time when I’ve been so excited to go racing,” said Gordon. “I’m grateful to Harrah’s for helping to make this season a reality. Serving as an owner and driver in the Cup series is dream, and I’m determined to bring the Harrah’s name to Victory Lane.”
Gordon has driven virtually every type of racing vehicle on four wheels. He was discovered in the deserts of Baja, Mexico by Ford Racing executives at a time when he was running off five consecutive series championships (1986-1990). Ford later introduced the teenager to Jack Roush and the IMSA GTO series (four consecutive class wins in the famed Rolex 24 at Daytona), and he would eventually drive for a series of legendary owners in Indy cars, NASCAR, off-road trucks and sports cars.
In 2005, Gordon continued to build on his relationship as a driver with unlimited boundaries by becoming the first American in the history of the Dakar Rally (a 16-day, 5,700-mile race from Barcelona, Spain to Dakar, Senegal) to win a daily stage. Gordon completed his inaugural Dakar Rally with two stage victories and an overall 12th place finish in a field of more than 460 cars, bikes and trucks.
Various subsidiaries of Harrah's Entertainment, Inc. own or manage 28 casinos in the United States, primarily under the Harrah's and Horseshoe brand names. Founded 67 years ago, Harrah's Entertainment is focused on building loyalty and value with its valued customers through a unique combination of great service, excellent products, unsurpassed distribution, operational excellence and technology leadership.
Additional information about Harrah's Entertainment is available at
www.harrahs.com.
And, then again, some people don't know how to say good things. Although I may not have posted in very many of those threads, I did enjoy reading them.