Harrah�s is one of only three companies to receive the 2000 Enterprise Value Award. This year�s other winners include Office Depot and Tufts University. Previous Enterprise Value Award winners include Charles Schwab & Co., Dell Computers and Pfizer Inc.

The Enterprise Value Award honors organizations that have achieved business value through the innovative use of information technology. Applications are judged on business value criteria such as strategic, customer, social or financial impact as well as technical excellence.

The Enterprise Value Award is Harrah�s second award this year from CIO Magazine. In August, Harrah�s was the only gaming company included among the winners of the 2000 CIO-100 Award for customer-service excellence.

Phil Satre, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Harrah�s Entertainment, said the CIO Enterprise Value Award recognizes that the company�s investment in information technology has fundamentally changed the way Harrah�s manages its relationships with customers.

�We are very proud to receive this prestigious award from CIO,� said Satre. �Several years ago, Harrah�s decided to chart a unique direction in the casino industry and developed the first and only national customer data base and marketing analysis capabilities.  Our plan was to build on top of this a national, branded, customer recognition reward and loyalty program that is now known as Total Rewards. That investment was expected to create value as a result of the stronger and broader relationships we would build with our customers.

�Through Total Rewards and other innovative marketing initiatives, our talented marketing professionals have made us a leading consumer marketing company. In addition, our operations have been able to enhance customers� experiences at our properties by tailoring and differentiating those experiences based upon their preferences.�

CIO Editor-In-Chief Abbie Lundberg said this year�s winners of the Enterprise Value Award exemplify the optimum use of information technology in a business environment.

�The CIO Enterprise Value Award represents the highest attainment of value and return on investment from technology today,� said Lundberg.

�The 2000 award winners prove once again what heights can be reached when the technology and business folks work together toward a common goal. Not only do they demonstrate impressive technology innovation, but they have shown themselves to be true industry leaders.�

�Although our IT and marketing organizations have won numerous awards, CIO�s Enterprise Value Award is of particular note as it recognizes the value created by our Total Rewards system across our entire company,� said Harrah�s Entertainment Chief Operating Officer Gary Loveman.

�The CIO Enterprise Value Award recognizes the strategic importance of our ability to gather and analyze information on the 19 million Harrah�s customers in our database,� said John Boushy, Harrah�s Senior Vice President of Operations Products & Services and Chief Information Officer.

�That information is the engine that drives our highly sophisticated marketing and customer-loyalty programs,� Boushy said. �We are honored that CIO has chosen to recognize the immense talents of Harrah�s IT and marketing and operations professionals.�

Harrah�s will receive the Enterprise Value Award at CIO�s annual awards presentation today at the Weston La Paloma hotel in Tucson, Ariz. The company will also be profiled in the February 2001 issue of CIO Magazine.

CIO magazine is published by CXO Media, Inc. CXO Media serves CIOs, CEOs, CFOs, COOs and other corporate officers who use technology to thrive and prosper in this new era of business. The company strives to enhance partnerships between CIOs and CXOs, as well as create opportunities for information technology (IT) and consumer marketers to reach them. 

Founded more than 60 years ago, Harrah�s Entertainment, Inc. is the most recognized and respected name in the casino-entertainment industry, operating 21 casinos in the United States under the Harrah�s, Showboat, and Rio brand names.