LAS VEGAS, Sep 11, 2003/ FW/ -- A new 949-room, 26-story luxury hotel tower, designed to be among the most elegant in Las Vegas, is the latest project in the ongoing program to bring exciting new attractions to Caesars Palace, the best-known casino resort in the world.

A new 949-room hotel tower (foreground), slated for completion in 2005

The $289 million tower will be the centerpiece of a $376 million expansion that includes a $76 million addition to the resort's convention and meeting facilities and $11 million in related enhancements. Those costs exclude capitalized interest and pre-opening expenses.

When completed in 2005, the new 345-foot-tall luxury tower will bring the total number of rooms available at Caesars Palace to more than 3,370. The tower will join Caesars' new 4,100-seat Colosseum; open-air Roman Plaza; expanded Forum Shops; sweeping new Forum Casino entrance and host of other new world-class attractions to make the new Caesars Palace a "must-see," "must-stay," "must-play" stop on every Las Vegas visitor's itinerary.

"Caesars Palace always has been first in the hearts of everyone who loves Las Vegas. With the completion of our new attractions, including the new luxury hotel tower, we will create a virtually new resort that will exceed the high expectations driven by the legendary Caesars brand," said Wallace R. Barr, president and chief executive officer of Park Place Entertainment Corporation (NYSE: PPE), the parent company of Caesars Palace and 28 other casino resorts around the world.

The company plans to change its name to Caesars Entertainment, Inc., effective in January 2004.

"Caesars Palace has pioneered some of the city's and the industry's most popular trends," said Caesars Palace President Mark Juliano. "The Palace was at the forefront of themed resorts in Las Vegas, hosted the first casino mega-boxing event, debuted the city's first celebrity chef restaurant, created the first luxury retail environment connected to a casino, and, with our partners, created the city's first world-renowned theatrical spectacular to feature a major recording star.

"With the new tower and the other new attractions planned or underway, we'll become the first major Las Vegas resort to completely remake itself without using dynamite," Juliano added.

"With annual hotel occupancy averaging more than 94 percent during the past five years and record cash room rates reported for six out of the last eight months, Caesars Palace clearly has room to grow," Juliano said. "The new tower will enable us to capture significantly more hotel business, both from meetings and conventions, as well as independent travelers. That will drive incremental revenue from gaming and non-gaming venues alike."

Overlooking the Garden of the Gods pools and located on the south property perimeter, the new all-suite tower will comprise:

• 23 three-bay suites (2,470 square feet - each can be set up as two separate rooms)
• 6 two-bay suites (1,470 square feet)
• 23 1 1/2-bay suites (1,060 square feet)
• 874 petite suites (650 to 760 square feet)

Expansive guest rooms will be designed and equipped to create a regal environment, with nine-foot ceilings and floor plans that begin at 650 square feet - approximately 50 percent larger than typical fine hotel accommodations in major U.S. cities. Luxurious bathrooms will feature spa tubs and individual televisions. Petite suites will feature separate sitting areas, with premium quality televisions linked to property-wide digital television systems with on-screen high-speed Internet access.

The tower addition will bring to the Palace a fourth large swimming pool, complementing the three expansive pools that already make the 4.5-acre Garden of the Gods pool complex one of the most attractive in Las Vegas.

The existing registration area at Caesars Palace will be upgraded and significantly expanded to serve the new tower, along with the Palace's 2,420 other rooms.

Other features to be incorporated into the tower are a VIP Lounge, wedding chapels, new retail space and new dining and restaurant facilities.

The new meeting and convention space will be attached on two levels to the west end of the resort's Palace Tower convention area, which is centrally located adjacent to the hotel's guest rooms. Measuring 140,000 square feet in gross area, the expansion will add 86,000 square feet of meeting and convention space to the Palace Tower, bringing the resort total to 241,000 square feet.

Featured in the addition will be a 36,400 square-foot ballroom, junior ballrooms and pre-function space with added pantries and expanded banquet kitchens. The addition will utilize existing Palace Tower support services, including warehouse loading docks, storage facilities, and helicopter-sized convention loading elevators.

The tower's highest floor initially will be left largely unfinished to accommodate future development. That development could ultimately increase the total number of rooms and suites in the tower.

Accompanying the tower and convention addition will be support and related projects, estimated to cost $11 million. Those projects include expansion of the resort's health spa and additions to back-of-house employee support areas.

New and expanded facilities are expected to create 500 to 600 new jobs at Caesars Palace.

The hotel tower will follow several major improvements to Caesars Palace:

• The Colosseum at Caesars Palace - This luxurious, new 4,100-seat theater with state-of-the-art electronics and unsurpassed acoustics is home to "A New Day...," the theatrical spectacular starring Celine Dion. On nights when Dion is not performing, the Colosseum is hosting a 'Who's Who' of A-list entertainers. First up was Jerry Seinfeld; followed by Tim McGraw, Mariah Carey and Gloria Estefan. Construction of The Colosseum was completed on time and on budget in November, 2002. The facility opened on March 25, 2003.
• The Roman Plaza - Situated at the corner of Las Vegas Boulevard and Flamingo Road, the Plaza will serve as a vibrant welcome center to the new Caesars Palace. Sitting atop a recently constructed 500-bay underground parking garage, the Plaza will offer guests entering the property an array of enticing dining, retail and entertainment experiences before carrying visitors on their way into the Palace proper. Construction is underway and is scheduled to be finished in the first half of 2004.
• New Forum Casino Entrance - As broad as a Roman boulevard, the sweeping new gateway to the Forum casino will directly connect the new Colosseum with the historic porte cochere entrance to Caesars Palace. In addition to a major new restaurant, the facility will feature the latest in high-tech slots surrounding an aquatically themed bar. The Forum Casino entrance is a key component of the new traffic flow design that will pull guests from The Plaza, into the casino and through The Forum Shops. Construction has begun and is set to be completed by the end of 2003.
• Expanded Forum Shops - Already one of the highest-yielding retail spaces in North America, The Forum Shops at Caesars will grow by 175,000 square feet to a total of 675,000 square feet. The three-level expansion will extend the current retail, dining and entertainment venue out to Las Vegas Boulevard. The expansion will include an additional array of upscale specialty retail tenants as well as several new restaurants. Construction has begun and will be completed in the fall of 2004.
• Restaurant additions - Bradley Ogden, the namesake restaurant of the famed Bay-area chef, opened on March 17, 2003, followed by the March 24 opening of the multi-cuisine casual dining attraction Cypress Street Marketplace. In early 2004, acclaimed Chef Bobby Flay will open Mesa Grill at Caesars Palace, just steps from the Colosseum. The James Beard award-winning Flay is widely known for his television programs on The Food Network and appearances on the CBS "Early Show."
• Porte cochere - The historic porte cochere that has welcomed visitors to Caesars since 1981 will be renovated and refaced with a classic pediment and Corinthian columns, similar to those on the Palace Tower.
• Hotel guest room renovation - Since 2000, Caesars Palace has completed a major reconstruction/renovation of 600 guest rooms, primarily in its Roman Tower.

Recently completed projects at Caesars Palace include:

• New high-limit slot salon (May 2003)
• New high-tech electronic/video marquee (February 2003)
• Pool villa suites - 10,000 and 11,000 square feet (May 2001)
• Palace Court Casino, high-limit table game salon (December 2001)
• Shadow: A Bar at Caesars Palace (June 2001)
• New classically inspired facades were added to the resort's three original towers, complementing exterior architectural features of the Palace Tower. (January 2001)
• Two restaurants:
  • 808 featuring the Pan-Pacific-inspired cuisine of French Chef Jean-Marie Josselin (November 2000) and
  • Café Lago 24-hour café (September 2000).