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Nashville's Gaylord Opryland Resort, Which Sits Adjacent to the Cumberland River,
Suffers Severe Flood Damage; the 2,881 room Hotel Likely
to be Closed for Several Months

 
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - May 3, 2010 - Gaylord Entertainment Co. (NYSE: GET) today provided the following information on the flooding in Nashville, Tennessee:

Over the last 48 hours, Middle Tennessee and in particular Davidson County, Tennessee has experienced a historic series of storms that resulted in record rainfall and now widespread flooding.

Gaylord Opryland Resort, which sits adjacent to the Cumberland River and is protected by levees approved by FEMA and built to sustain the 100 year flood standard, suffered flood damage in the early hours of Monday, May 3, 2010 as the river rose to levels that have not been seen in the last 50 years and breached the levees. The resort is currently closed.

The Company reports that it is too early to determine how long the hotel will be closed, but it is reasonable to conclude that the hotel will likely be closed for several months. Gaylord will assess the damage as soon as it is feasible to do so. The Company carries business interruption and property insurance associated with flood damage with an aggregate limit of $50 million.

The first priority for the Company, however, was and is the safety of its guests and employees. At approximately 8:00 PM Central Time on Sunday, May 2, 2010 the Company fully evacuated approximately 1,500 hotel guests and employees by bus to higher ground to a shelter near Gaylord Opryland Resort. Fortunately, the evacuation occurred long before the levees were breached and all the guests and employees of the resort are safe.


Over the next 24 hours, the Company will be determining how to arrange for the conventions that are booked for the next several months as well as a remediation plan once the full extent of the damage has been determined. In the meantime, the Company has decided that it is prudent to withdraw its 2010 financial guidance, but it is likely that financial results for Gaylord Opryland and thus Gaylord Entertainment will be impacted for the next two quarters.

The Company will be releasing its first quarter 2010 earnings release later today but is cancelling the earnings call scheduled for Tuesday, May 4, 2010, so the Company can focus its attention on its customers, employees, and building a remediation plan. The Company will update shareholders and other constituents frequently as more information becomes available.

About Gaylord Entertainment

Gaylord Entertainment (NYSE: GET), a leading hospitality and entertainment company based in Nashville, Tenn., owns and operates Gaylord Hotels (www.gaylordhotels.com), its network of upscale, meetings-focused resorts, and the Grand Ole Opry (www.opry.com), the weekly showcase of country music�s finest performers for more than 80 consecutive years. The Company's entertainment brands and properties include the Radisson Hotel Opryland, Ryman Auditorium, General Jackson Showboat, Gaylord Springs Golf Links, Wildhorse Saloon, and WSM-AM. For more information about the Company, visit www.GaylordEntertainment.com.

This press release contains statements as to the Company�s beliefs and expectations of the outcome of future events that are forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the statements made. These include the risks and uncertainties associated with the flood damage to the Gaylord Opryland and other Nashville-based Gaylord facilities, economic conditions affecting the hospitality business generally, rising labor and benefits costs, the timing of any new development projects, increased costs and other risks associated with building and developing new hotel facilities, the geographic concentration of our hotel properties, business levels at the Company�s hotels, our ability to successfully operate our hotels and our ability to obtain financing for new developments. Other factors that could cause operating and financial results to differ are described in the filings made from time to time by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission and include the risk factors described in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2009. The Company does not undertake any obligation to release publicly any revisions to forward-looking statements made by it to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date hereof or the occurrence of unanticipated events.
 

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Contact: 

Gaylord Entertainment
Patrick Chaffin, Vice President of Strategic
Planning and Investor Relations
615-316-6282
[email protected]
 

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