UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

(Mark One)

☒ ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023

OR

☐ TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the transition period           to           

Commission File No. 001-36629

CAESARS ENTERTAINMENT, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Delaware

(State or other jurisdiction of

incorporation or organization)

46-3657681

(I.R.S. Employer

Identification No.)

100 West Liberty Street, 12th Floor

Reno, Nevada 89501

(Address of principal executive offices)

Telephone: (775) 328-0100

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Title of each class	Trading symbol	Name of each exchange on which registered
Common Stock, $0.00001, par value	CZR	NASDAQ Stock Market

Securities registered pursuant to section 12(g) of the Act:  None

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.    Yes  ☒    No  ☐

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act.    Yes  ☐    No  ☒

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.    Yes  ☒    No  ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files).    Yes  ☒    No  ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

Large accelerated filer	☒	Accelerated filer	☐	Non-accelerated filer	☐
Smaller reporting company	☐	Emerging growth company	☐

If an emerging growth company, indicate by checkmark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☒

If securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant included in the filing reflect the correction of an error to previously issued financial statements. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that require a recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation received by any of the registrant’s executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to Section §240.10D-1(b). ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).    Yes  ☐    No  ☒

The aggregate market value of the common stock held by non-affiliates of the Registrant was $10.5 billion at June 30, 2023 based upon the closing price for the shares of CZR’s common stock as reported by The Nasdaq Stock Market.

As of February 15, 2024, there were 216,299,768 outstanding shares of the Registrant’s Common Stock, net of treasury shares.

Documents Incorporated by Reference

Portions of the Registrant’s definitive proxy statement to be filed with the Commission pursuant to Regulation 14A in connection with the Registrant’s Annual Meeting of Stockholders (the “Proxy Statement”) are incorporated by reference into Part III of this report. Such Proxy Statement will be filed with the Commission not later than 120 days after the conclusion of the Registrant’s fiscal year ended December 31, 2023.

CAESARS ENTERTAINMENT, INC.

ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2023

TABLE OF CONTENTS

		Page
Part I
Item 1.	Business	4
Item 1A.	Risk Factors	17
Item 1B.	Unresolved Staff Comments	29
Item 1C.	Cybersecurity	29
Item 2.	Properties	31
Item 3.	Legal Proceedings	32
Item 4.	Mine Safety Disclosures	32
Part II
Item 5.	Market for Registrants’ Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities	33
Item 6.	[Reserved]	34
Item 7.	Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations	34
Item 7A.	Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk	58
Item 8.	Financial Statements and Supplementary Data	60
Item 9.	Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure	109
Item 9A.	Controls and Procedures	109
Item 9B.	Other Information	111
Item 9C.	Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections	111
Part III
Item 10.	Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance	112
Item 11.	Executive Compensation	112
Item 12.	Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters	112
Item 13.	Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence	112
Item 14.	Principal Accounting Fees and Services	112
Part IV
Item 15.	Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules - Schedule I	113
Item 16.	Form 10-K Summary	118
Signatures		123

PART I

In this filing, Caesars Entertainment, Inc., a Delaware corporation, and its subsidiaries may be referred to as the “Company,” “CEI,” “Caesars,” “we,” “us” or “our” or the “Registrant.”

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 in Item 8.

Item 1.    Business

Overview

We are 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, we 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. Our ticker symbol on the NASDAQ Stock Market is “CZR.”

Our primary source of revenue is generated by our casino properties’ gaming operations, which includes our retail and online sports betting and online gaming, and we utilize our hotels, restaurants, bars, entertainment, racing, retail shops and other services to attract customers to our properties.

As of December 31, 2023, we own, lease or manage an aggregate of 52 domestic properties in 18 states. We also operate and conduct sports wagering across 31 jurisdictions in North America, 25 of which offer online sports betting, and operate iGaming in five jurisdictions in North America. We continue to expand into additional markets as jurisdictions legalize forms of retail and online gaming and sports betting. In addition, we have 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. We lease certain real property assets from third parties, including GLP Capital, L.P., the operating partnership of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (“GLPI”) and VICI Properties L.P., a Delaware limited partnership (“VICI”). See Item 2, “Properties,” for more information about our properties.

Business Operations

Our consolidated business is composed of complementary businesses that reinforce, cross-promote, and build upon each other: casino, which includes our retail and online sports betting and iGaming, food and beverage, hotel, casino management services, entertainment, retail and other business operations.

Casino Operations

Our casino operations generate revenues from approximately 51,300 slot machines, 2,700 table games, including poker, sports betting from our retail and online sportsbooks, iGaming and other games such as keno, all of which comprised approximately 55% of our total net revenues in 2023. Slot revenues generate the majority of our casino revenues.

Retail and Online Sports Betting and iGaming

We operate and conduct retail and online sports wagering across 31 jurisdictions in North America as of December 31, 2023. In addition to our online poker operations, we operate iGaming in five jurisdictions in North America and continue to leverage the World Series of Poker (“WSOP”) brand and license the WSOP trademarks for a variety of products and services. We offer hundreds of online casino games including slots, table games, live dealer and video poker and we expect to increase our product offerings as iGaming is legalized in additional states.

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We launched our Caesars Sportsbook app on our owned and integrated technology platform we have labeled Liberty (“Liberty”) in 2021. The app offers extensive pre-match and live markets, extensive odds and flexible limits, player props, and same-game parlays. In addition to the Caesars Sportsbook app, the Company and NYRABets LLC, the official online wagering platform of the New York Racing Association, Inc., launched the Caesars Racebook app in 2022. The Caesars Racebook app operates in 20 states and provides access for pari-mutuel wagering at over 300 racetracks around the world as well as livestreaming of races. Additionally, we launched our new Caesars Palace Online Casino application in states and territories where we operate iGaming in 2023. Wagers placed can earn credits towards the Caesars Rewards loyalty program or points which can be redeemed for free wagering credits. No customers under 21 years old are allowed to wager on any of our Caesars Sportsbook, Caesars Racebook and iGaming mobile apps. Growth in the Caesars Digital segment continues to be realized with the strategic expansion into new states as jurisdictions legalize retail and online sports betting and online horse race wagering.

Sports Brand Partnerships — Caesars Sportsbook has partnerships with the NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, and several individual teams. We have continued to create new partnerships among professional sports teams and, in 2021, entered into a 20-year exclusive naming-rights partnership branding the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. Our strategy includes developing local and national partnerships that align our sportsbooks, casinos, resorts and brands with sports fans. We have high-profile exclusive sports entertainment partnerships with the NFL, making Caesars the first-ever “Official Casino Sponsor” in the history of the league. This historic partnership combines the NFL’s legendary events with our properties to bring unique experiences to our patrons. This includes exclusive rights to use NFL trademarks to promote our properties and enabling Caesars to host exclusive special events and experiences. We expect to continue to host brand activations at prominent, high-profile NFL events, including the NFL Draft, NFL playoffs, and the Super Bowl during this multi-year partnership.

Food and Beverage Operations

Our food and beverage operations generate revenues from our dining venues, bars, nightclubs, and lounges located throughout our casinos and represented approximately 15% of our total net revenues in 2023. Many of our properties include several dining options, ranging from upscale dining experiences to moderately-priced restaurants, some of which offer pickup or in-room delivery options.

Hotel Operations

Hotel operations generate revenues from hotel stays at our properties in our approximately 44,700 guest rooms and suites worldwide and represented approximately 18% of our total net revenues in 2023. Our properties operate at various price and service points, allowing us to host a variety of casino guests, who are visiting our properties for gaming and other casino entertainment options, and non-casino guests who are visiting our properties for other purposes, such as vacation travel or conventions.

Management and Branding Arrangements

We earn revenue from fees paid for the management of other hotels and casinos in North America. Managed properties represent Caesars-branded properties where we provide certain staffing and management services under management agreements. In addition, we authorize the use of certain brands and marks of Caesars Entertainment, Inc. from which we earn revenue from fees received based on the arrangements.

Entertainment and Other Non-Gaming Operations

We provide a variety of retail and entertainment offerings at our properties. We operate various entertainment venues across the United States, including the Colosseum at Caesars Palace Las Vegas and Bakkt Theater at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino. These award-winning entertainment venues host or have announced plans to host, prominent headliners such as Garth Brooks, The Killers, Kelly Clarkson, Jerry Seinfeld, Shania Twain and Miranda Lambert.

The LINQ Promenade is an open-air dining, entertainment, and retail development located between The LINQ Hotel & Casino and Flamingo Las Vegas, which features The High Roller, a 550-foot observation wheel, and Fly LINQ, the first and only zipline on the Las Vegas Strip. The retail stores offer guests a wide range of options from high-end brands and accessories to souvenirs and decorative items.

CAESARS FORUM is a 550,000 square-foot state-of-the-art conference center located at the center of the Las Vegas Strip. CAESARS FORUM can accommodate more than 10,000 participants and features more than 300,000 square feet of flexible meeting space, the two largest pillarless ballrooms in the world, a LEED silver-rated FORUM Plaza, and the first 100,000 square-foot outdoor meeting and event space in Las Vegas.

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Market Activities

Trends

Economic Factors Impacting Discretionary Spending — Gaming and other leisure activities we offer represent discretionary expenditures which may be sensitive to economic downturns. The resurgence of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 continued to impact the beginning of 2022, however, many of our properties experienced positive trends during much of the year ended December 31, 2022 including higher hotel occupancy and rates, particularly in Las Vegas, and increased gaming and food and beverage volumes coupled with improved product mix.

We continue to monitor the effects of recent inflation and the possible implications on certain customers most affected by lower discretionary income. Although we have seen periods of reduced visitation from those customers, visitation from customers who are not as affected by inflation remains steady or has slightly improved. In addition, our leases with VICI are impacted by inflation as they are subject to annual escalators based on the Consumer Price Index (“CPI”).

We are also continuing to monitor rising interest rates which have a direct impact on certain of our debt instruments, in addition to an effect on consumer spending. We evaluate projected changes in interest rates when entering into borrowing arrangements and manage our mix of fixed versus variable debt.

We continue to manage the economic challenges affecting our industry and our Company that arise including labor shortages, higher labor costs, supply chain disruptions, increased costs of goods and services, among other impacts. Further discussion of the effects of these trends are described throughout this Form 10-K. The extent and duration of these trends is uncertain and may intensify.

Online Betting and Gaming — Online betting and gaming is a rapidly developing sector of the e-commerce industry and we believe the digital segment of the global betting and gaming industry will continue to grow in popularity and consumer confidence. The market for online betting platforms is being driven by the increased use of digital processes and global, growing bettor demand. We anticipate that the United States market will continue to have a strong and steady uptake in active wagers as state-by-state legislation in the United States continues to evolve resulting in new opportunities in the United States sports betting market. The extent and future effects of online betting and gaming on our casino properties is uncertain but we expect that our online betting and gaming offerings will be complementary to our brick-and-mortar casino business.

Competition

The casino entertainment business is highly competitive. The industry is comprised of a diverse group of competitors that vary considerably in size and geographic diversity, quality of facilities and amenities available, marketing and growth strategies, and financial condition. In most regions, we compete directly with other casino facilities operating in the immediate and surrounding areas. There has been increased competition from openings of newly developed casinos and plans of development in certain regions, as well as increased competition from recent legalization of casino gambling and sports betting in states such as Nebraska. In Las Vegas, our largest jurisdiction, competition is expected to increase in the coming years. In response to changing trends, Las Vegas operators have been focused on expanding their non-gaming offerings, including upgrades to hotel rooms, new food and beverage offerings, and new entertainment offerings. There have also been openings and proposals for other large scale gaming and non-gaming development projects in Las Vegas by various other developers. Our Las Vegas Strip hotels and casinos also compete, in part, with each other.

In recent years, many casino operators, including us, have been reinvesting in existing facilities, developing or rebranding new casinos or complementary facilities, and acquiring established facilities. These reinvestment and expansion efforts combined with aggressive marketing strategies by us and many of our competitors have resulted in increased competition in many regions. As companies have completed new expansion projects, supply has grown at a faster pace than demand in some areas. The expansion of properties and entertainment venues into new jurisdictions also presents competitive issues.

Our properties also compete with legalized gaming from casinos located on Native American tribal lands. While the competitive impact on operations in Las Vegas from the continued growth of Native American gaming establishments in California remains uncertain, the proliferation of gaming in California and other areas located in the same regions as our properties could have an adverse effect on our results of operations. In some instances, particularly in the case of Native American casinos, our competitors pay lower taxes or no taxes. In addition, certain states have legalized, and others may legalize, casino gaming in specific areas, including metropolitan areas from which we traditionally attract customers. These factors create additional challenges for us in competing for customers and accessing cash flow or financing to fund improvements for our casino and entertainment products that enable us to remain competitive.

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We also compete with other non-gaming resorts and vacation areas, various other entertainment businesses, and other forms of gaming, such as state lotteries, on-track and off-track wagering, video lottery terminals, and card parlors. Our non-gaming offerings also compete with other retail facilities, amusement attractions, food and beverage offerings, and entertainment venues. Internet gaming and sports betting also create additional competition for our brick-and-mortar operations.

We face significant competition in our online sports betting, online horse racing wagering and iGaming businesses in jurisdictions where we currently operate and those jurisdictions in which we wish to expand. Although we have experienced recent success in obtaining approval for sports betting and iGaming licenses in new jurisdictions, new state launches may require significant upfront investment and may not be successful.

Resources Material to Business

Rewards Programs

We believe Caesars Rewards, one of the largest loyalty programs, enables us to compete more effectively and capture a larger share of our customers’ entertainment spending when they travel among regions or engage in online wagering and gaming versus that of a standalone property, which is core to our cross-market strategy.

Caesars Rewards members earn Reward Credits for qualifying gaming activities, including sports betting, online gaming and iGaming apps and wagering in the Caesars Sportsbook and Caesars Racebook apps. Members also earn Reward Credits for qualifying hotel, dining and retail spending at all Caesars Entertainment destinations in the United States and Canada. Additionally, Reward Credits are earned when members use their Caesars Rewards VISA credit card or make a purchase through a Caesars Rewards partner. Members can redeem their earned Reward Credits for those same experiences.

Caesars Rewards is structured by member tier level (designated as Gold, Platinum, Diamond, Diamond Plus, Diamond Elite or Seven Stars) and member value. This structure allows a member to progressively access the full range of benefits available across our portfolio of destinations as they progress through tier levels. Caesars Rewards is designed to cultivate a gratifying and frictionless relationship with our customers, motivating members to enhance both their frequency of visits and expenditures. Additionally, member data is utilized in conjunction with diverse marketing promotions. This includes campaigns spanning direct mail, email, our websites, mobile devices, social media, and interactive slot machines.

Intellectual Property and Resources

We use a variety of trade names, service marks, trademarks, patents and copyrights in our operations and believe that we have the rights necessary to conduct our continuing operations. The development of intellectual property is part of our overall business strategy. We regard our intellectual property to be an important element of our success. We file applications for and obtain patents, trademarks and copyrights in the United States and foreign countries where we believe filing for such protection is appropriate. While our business as a whole is not substantially dependent on any one patent, trademark, or copyright, we seek to establish and maintain our proprietary rights in our business operations and technology through the use of patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secret laws. We also seek to maintain our trade secrets and confidential information by nondisclosure policies and through the use of appropriate confidentiality agreements. Our United States patents have varying expiration dates.

We have not applied for the registration of all of our trademarks, copyrights, proprietary technology, or other intellectual property rights, as the case may be, and may not be successful in obtaining all intellectual property rights for which we have applied. Despite our efforts to protect our proprietary rights, parties may infringe upon our intellectual property and use information that we regard as proprietary, and our rights may be invalidated or unenforceable. The laws of some foreign countries do not protect proprietary rights or intellectual property to as great of an extent as do the laws of the United States. In addition, others may independently develop substantially equivalent intellectual property.

We own or have the right to use proprietary rights to a number of trademarks that we consider, along with the associated name recognition, to be valuable to our business, including Eldorado, Silver Legacy, Isle, Lady Luck, Tropicana, Circus Circus, Caesars, Flamingo, Harrah’s, Horseshoe, Paris, Planet Hollywood, Caesars Rewards, Caesars Sportsbook, William Hill and WSOP.

7

As of December 31, 2023, our Caesars Sportsbook app is powered by our Liberty platform. The Liberty platform resulted in a significant upgrade to our user interface and significant product upgrades including numerous pre-match and live markets, extensive odds and flexible limits, player props, and same-game parlays. Our Liberty platform also integrates customers with the Caesars Rewards loyalty program. In addition, we and NYRABets LLC, the official online wagering platform of the New York Racing Association, Inc., have launched the Caesars Racebook app in more than 20 jurisdictions. The Caesars Racebook app provides access for pari-mutuel wagering at over 300 racetracks around the world. Wagers placed can earn credits towards the Caesars Rewards loyalty program.

Industry Overview

See Item 7, “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.” See also Exhibit 99.1, “Gaming and Regulatory Overview,” to this Annual Report on Form 10-K, which is incorporated herein by reference.

Seasonality

We believe that business at our regional properties outside of Las Vegas is subject to seasonality, including seasonality based on the weather in the region in which they operate and the travel habits of visitors. Business in our properties can also fluctuate due to specific holidays or other significant events, particularly when a holiday falls in a different quarter than the prior year, the timing of the WSOP tournament (with respect to our Las Vegas properties), city-wide conventions, large sporting events or concerts, or visits by our premium players. We also believe that any seasonality, holiday, or other significant event may affect our various properties or regions differently. We may also experience seasonality with retail and online sports betting which coincides with certain sporting events, as well as seasons of professional sports teams.

Gaming Licenses and Governmental Regulations

The gaming and racing industries are highly regulated, and we must maintain our licenses and pay gaming taxes to continue our operations. We are subject to extensive regulation under laws, rules and supervisory procedures. These laws, rules and regulations generally concern the responsibility, financial stability and characters of the owners, managers, and persons with financial interests in the gaming operations. If additional gaming regulations are adopted in a jurisdiction in which we operate, such regulations could impose restrictions or costs that could have a significant adverse effect on us. From time to time, various proposals have been introduced in legislatures of jurisdictions in which we have operations that, if enacted, could adversely affect the tax, regulatory, operational or other aspects of the gaming industry and us. We do not know whether or when such legislation will be enacted. Gaming companies are currently subject to significant state and local taxes and fees in addition to normal federal and state corporate income taxes, and such taxes and fees are subject to increase at any time. Any material increase in these taxes or fees could adversely affect us.

Some jurisdictions, including those in which we are licensed, empower their regulators to investigate participation by licensees in gaming outside their jurisdiction and require access to periodic reports respecting those gaming activities. Violations of laws in one jurisdiction could result in disciplinary action in other jurisdictions.

Under provisions of gaming laws in jurisdictions in which we have operations, and under our organizational documents, certain of our securities are subject to restriction on ownership which may be imposed by specified governmental authorities. The restrictions may require a holder of our securities to dispose of the securities or, if the holder refuses, or is unable to dispose of the securities, we may be required to repurchase the securities.

A more detailed description of the regulations to which we are subject is contained in Exhibit 99.1 to this Annual Report on Form 10-K, which is incorporated herein by reference.

Internal Revenue Service Regulations

The Internal Revenue Service requires operators of casinos and online sports betting apps located in the United States to file information returns for U.S. citizens, including names and addresses of winners for certain table games, keno, bingo, slot machine and retail and online sports betting winnings in excess of stipulated amounts. The Internal Revenue Service also requires operators to withhold taxes on some table games, keno, bingo, slot machine and retail and online sports betting winnings of nonresident aliens. We are unable to predict the extent to which these requirements, if extended, might impede or otherwise adversely affect operations of, and/or income from, other games.

Regulations adopted by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network of the Treasury Department (“FINCEN”) requires the reporting of currency transactions in excess of $10,000 occurring within a gaming day, including identification of the patron by name and social security number. This reporting obligation began in May 1985 and may have resulted in the loss of gaming revenues to jurisdictions outside the United States which are exempt from the ambit of these regulations. In addition to currency transaction reporting requirements, suspicious financial activity is also required to be reported to FINCEN.

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Other Laws and Regulations

Our businesses are subject to various federal, state and local laws and regulations in addition to gaming regulations. These laws and regulations include, but are not limited to, restrictions and conditions concerning alcoholic beverages, food service, smoking, environmental matters, employees and employment practices, currency transactions, taxation, zoning and building codes, and marketing and advertising. Such laws and regulations could change or could be interpreted differently in the future, or new laws and regulations could be enacted. Material changes, new laws or regulations, or material differences in interpretations by courts or governmental authorities could adversely affect our operating results.

The sale of alcoholic beverages is subject to licensing, control and regulation by applicable local regulatory agencies. All licenses are revocable and are not transferable. The agencies involved have full power to limit, condition, suspend or revoke any license, and any disciplinary action could, and revocation would, have a material adverse effect upon our operations.

We also deal with significant amounts of cash in our operations and are subject to various reporting and anti-money laundering regulations. Such laws and regulations could change or could be interpreted differently in the future, or new laws and regulations could be enacted. Material changes, new laws or regulations, or material differences in interpretations by courts or governmental authorities could adversely affect our operating results. See Item 1A, “Risk Factors,” for additional discussion.

Taxation

Gaming companies are typically subject to significant taxes and fees in addition to normal federal, state and local income taxes, and such taxes and fees are subject to increase at any time. We pay substantial taxes and fees with respect to our operations. From time to time, federal, state, local and provincial legislators and officials have proposed changes in tax laws, or in the administration of such laws, affecting the gaming industry. It is not possible to determine with certainty the likelihood of changes in tax laws or in the administration of such laws.

Environmental Matters

We are subject to various federal, state and local environmental, health and safety laws and regulations, including but not limited to air quality, indoor air quality, water quality, bulk storage of regulated materials, and disposal of waste, including hazardous waste. Such laws and regulations can impose liability on potentially responsible parties (owner/operators of real property) to clean up, or contribute to the cost of cleaning up, sites at which regulated materials were disposed of or released. In addition to investigation and remediation liabilities that could arise under such laws and regulations, we could face personal injury, property damage, fines or other claims by third parties concerning environmental compliance, contamination or exposure to hazardous conditions. Environmental regulatory violations also include monetary penalties assessed by the jurisdictional regulatory agency and civil or criminal penalties for intentional negligence. Occasionally and under certain circumstances, we have investigated and remediated (or contributed to remediation costs) contamination located at or near our facilities. Examples included contamination related to underground storage tanks and groundwater contamination arising from prior uses of land on which certain facilities are located. In addition, we have and continue to contain, manage, and dispose of manure and wastewater generated by concentrated animal feeding operations due to our racetrack operations; manage, abate, or remove indoor air quality concerns such as mold, lead, or asbestos-containing materials; and manage operations within applicable environmental permitting requirements. Although we have incurred and expect to incur costs related to various environmental matters such as investigations, remediation, and management of hazardous materials or conditions known or discovered to exist at our properties, those costs have not had, and are not expected to have, a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations or cash flow. However, such matters in the future could have a material adverse effect on our business.

Climate Change

There has been an increasing focus of international, national, state, regional and local regulatory bodies on greenhouse gas (“GHG”), including carbon emissions, and climate change issues. The United States is a member of the Paris Agreement, a climate accord reached at the Conference of the Parties (“COP 21”) in Paris, that set many new goals, and many related policies are still emerging. The Paris Agreement requires set GHG emission reduction goals every five years beginning in 2020. Stronger GHG emission targets were set at COP 26 in Glasgow in November 2021.

Future regulation could impose stringent standards to substantially reduce GHG emissions. Legislation to regulate GHG emissions has periodically been introduced in the U.S. Congress. The current Administration has taken steps to further regulate GHG emissions. Those reductions could be costly and difficult to implement or estimate.

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Beyond financial and regulatory effects, the projected severe effects of climate change – such as property damage or supply chain issues stemming from extreme weather events – has already and may continue to directly affect our facilities and operations. Caesars recognizes the impacts of climate change and is engaged in long-term initiatives to identify, assess, and manage the risks and opportunities associated with climate change (see “Environmental Stewardship” below).

Reporting and Record-Keeping Requirements

We are required periodically to submit detailed financial and operating reports and furnish any other information about us and our subsidiaries that gaming authorities may require. We are required to maintain a current stock ledger that may be examined by gaming authorities at any time. If any securities are held in trust by an agent or by a nominee, the record holder may be required to disclose the identity of the beneficial owner to gaming authorities. A failure to make such disclosure may be grounds for finding the record holder unsuitable. Gaming authorities may, and in certain jurisdictions do, require certificates for our securities to bear a legend indicating that the securities are subject to specified gaming laws.

Human Capital Management

We aim to provide a workplace that is engaging, empowering, inclusive and respectful for all employees (our “Team Members”), embracing a culture of openness, passion for service and recognition. Our ongoing investment in professional training and development, safety, health and wellbeing, and Team Member recognition linked to guest satisfaction are all important drivers of our success in delivering strong financial results and creating value for our communities. We have approximately 51,000 Team Members throughout our organization, excluding the Team Members of certain of our tribal partners.

Labor Relations

Approximately 24,000, or 47% of our Team Members, are covered by collective bargaining agreements with certain of our subsidiaries. The majority of these employees in various job positions are covered by the following agreements:

Employee Group	Approximate Number of Active Employees Represented	Union	Date on which Collective Bargaining Agreement Becomes Amendable
Las Vegas Culinary Employees	11,000	Culinary Workers Union, Local 226	September 30, 2028
Atlantic City Food & Beverage and Hotel Employees	5,400	UNITE HERE, Local 54	May 31, 2026
Las Vegas Dealers	2,000	United Auto Workers	September 30, 2023*
Las Vegas Teamsters	1,100	Teamsters, Local 986	March 31, 2024
Las Vegas Bartenders	1,300	Bartenders Union, Local 165	September 30, 2028

____________________

*The agreement is currently under negotiation.

Hiring and Development

We aim to support Team Members throughout their career with Caesars. We are committed to providing opportunities to help Team Members achieve their professional goals. We maintain a wide range of channels for diverse recruiting, including outreach to academic institutions and nonprofits that help us source diverse candidates. Our leadership receives training on our inclusive and equitable talent management recruitment and retention processes. Additionally, to support hiring initiatives across the enterprise, we maintain a recruiting website that includes information describing our culture, benefits and diversity initiatives. The website highlights our commitment to corporate social responsibility (“CSR”) diversity, equity and inclusion (“DEI”), and we welcome candidates from all backgrounds.

We strive to inspire our Team Members through our mission, vision and values, and our Code of Commitment (described below). To evaluate our Team Member experience and our retention efforts, we monitor a number of Team Member measures, such as turnover rates and Team Member satisfaction. We send out Team Member experience surveys to help us further understand the drivers of engagement and areas where we can improve. These surveys are completed on a regular basis alongside additional surveys targeted at specific events within a Team Member cycle such as new hire onboarding and exit inquiries.

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Our compensation and benefits programs are designed to attract, retain and motivate our Team Members. In addition to competitive salaries and wages, we provide a variety of short-term, long-term and incentive-based compensation programs to reward performance relative to key metrics relevant to our business. We offer comprehensive benefit options including, but not limited to, retirement savings plans, health insurance coverage (including medical, mental health, dental, vision and pharmacy), parental leave, educational assistance, training opportunities, company-paid life insurance and a Team Member assistance program.

We place utmost importance on creating a safe workplace for our Team Members, embedding procedures so that all our Team Members have the awareness, knowledge and tools to make safe working a habit.

We also maintain a wellness program to help our Team Members improve their health and wellbeing. This program has demonstrated improved health metrics for participating Team Members and their covered family members helping reduce the cost of healthcare for Team Members and for the Company. We continue to make enhancements to our offerings and wellness programs with a wide range of affordable options, mental health initiatives and onsite primary care clinics across the US.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

We embrace diversity and aim to create an inclusive working environment that celebrates all our Team Members as individuals. Our diversity, equity and inclusion framework identifies five pillars of activity: advocacy, Team Members, suppliers, communities and guests for a holistic approach to embedding DEI in everything we do. We publish our DEI data in our annual CSR report (described below).

We set goals to increase the representation of women and people of color in leadership roles (supervisory and above). Our 2025 goals outlined 50% of management roles to be held by women in both the mid-level and senior leadership populations, and 50% of leadership roles to be held by people of color. We also committed to increase the representation of people of color in senior leadership roles by 50%. As of December 31, 2023, 45% of mid-level roles and 29% of senior leadership roles in the Company were held by women. Additionally, 44% of leadership roles were held by people of color and the representation of people of color in senior leadership positions has increased by 116% since October 2020.

Corporate Social Responsibility

Caesars’ Board of Directors (the “Board”) and senior executives view CSR as an integral element in the way we do business, with the belief that being a good corporate citizen helps protect the Company against risk, contributes to improved performance and helps foster positive relationships with all those with whom we connect. The Board and our executive management are committed to being an industry leader in CSR (which includes diversity, equity and inclusion, social impact, and environmental sustainability). In 2023, the Board and our leadership continued to engage with our CEO-level external CSR Advisory Board comprised of experts representing DEI, sustainability, business strategy, academia and investors, and used their guidance to confirm our CSR priorities. These priorities are reflected in our 14th annual CSR report, published in 2023 in accordance with Global Reporting Initiative Standards.

CSR Committee of the Board

Caesars’ Board has a CSR committee that defines the duties and responsibilities of the Board in supporting delivery of our corporate purpose and CSR strategy.

Code of Commitment

Caesars is committed to being a responsible corporate citizen and environmental steward through our CSR strategy, PEOPLE PLANET PLAY. This is reflected in our Code of Commitment which is our public pledge to our guests, Team Members, communities, business partners and all those we reach that we will honor the trust they have placed in us through ethical conduct and integrity. We commit to:

•PEOPLE: Supporting the wellbeing of our Team Members, guests and local communities.

•PLANET: Taking care of the world we all call home.

•PLAY: Creating memorable experiences for our guests and leading responsible gaming practices in the industry.

PEOPLE PLANET PLAY Strategy

Our PEOPLE PLANET PLAY strategy defines how we meet the obligations of our Code of Commitment and is aligned with global priorities articulated by the United Nations as the Sustainable Development Goals. PEOPLE PLANET PLAY establishes multi-year targets in key areas of impact, including science-based greenhouse gas emissions-reduction goals aligning with global best practices on climate change action. In 2022, we conducted a comprehensive CSR assessment to evaluate our

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assumptions. With the help of an external specialist, our assessment gathered input from internal and external stakeholders, reviewed multiple industry and environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) disclosures, standards and frameworks and yielded 21 material topics. Our materiality assessment is available on our website at www.investor.caesars.com within the ESG resource hub on our Corporate Social Responsibility page.

Responsible Gaming

For more than thirty years, Caesars has maintained its Responsible Gaming (“RG”) program. We train tens of thousands of Team Members each year and a cohort of RG Ambassadors throughout our properties to identify guests in need of assistance and provide support. In recent years, Caesars has contributed to the National Center for Responsible Gaming, the National Council on Problem Gaming and other state programs to help advance responsible practices in the gaming industry. Caesars Digital also maintains responsible gaming programs tailored to each state in which it operates, participates in Caesars’ overarching Responsible Gaming program, and offers users in-application RG tools such as time on device restrictions and wagering limits. No customers under 21 years old are allowed to wager on any of our Caesars Sportsbook, Caesars Racebook and iGaming mobile apps.

Caesars maintains a comprehensive risk-based Bank Secrecy Act (“BSA”) and Anti-Money Laundering (“AML”) program. It includes strong governance and effective internal controls and procedures to comply with applicable BSA requirements, regulatory guidance, and any related laws, and to take measures to prevent its affiliated casinos from being used for money laundering or other criminal activity. Execution of the program is governed with reference to FINCEN’s guidance on the Culture of Compliance. Caesars’ internal AML Policy, Know Your Customer Policy and BSA Identification Policy outline the Caesars AML Program and set the minimum standards for the related procedures and internal controls of the Caesars casino affiliates. Certain employees are required to complete annual trainings related company policies, including AML.

Caesars also maintains a Code of Ethics and Business Conduct (the “Code”) that includes standards designed to deter wrongdoing and to promote, amongst other standards, honest and ethical conduct and full, fair, accurate, timely and understandable disclosure in reports and documents that the Company files with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Caesars’ Chief Legal Officer serves as the compliance officer of the Code and Caesars provides periodic training regarding the contents and importance of the Code.

Caesars also maintains an Amended and Restated Gaming Compliance Plan (the “Plan”), which is approved by various gaming regulators. The Plan is designed to implement procedures to enhance the likelihood that no activities of the Company or any affiliate of the Company will impugn the reputation and integrity of Caesars. The Plan also establishes a Compliance Committee that assists the Company in implementing its strict policy that its business be conducted with honesty and integrity, and in accordance with high moral, legal and ethical standards. Caesars’ Senior Vice President & Assistant General Counsel – Regulatory & Compliance serves as the Compliance Officer as defined by the Plan.

Environmental Stewardship

We take a proactive approach to environmental sustainability through our CodeGreen strategy established in 2007, striving to improve our performance across energy and GHG emissions efficiencies, reduction of water consumption and increasing diversion of waste from landfills. Caesars recognizes the impact climate change can play both on our business and the guests we serve. Identifying, assessing, and managing the risks and opportunities therefore plays a vital role in our long-term strategic thinking on climate and water, and how we approach our CSR goals. Our goals are based in science as part of our strategy to reduce our environmental impact. In 2023, we began the process to establish new goals to align with a 1.5-degree Celsius limit to global warming, measured against a 2019 base-year and we expect to announce our new goals in 2024.

Our existing GHG targets, established in 2018 to be in line with SBTi’s guidance to achieve a level of decarbonization required to keep global temperature increase below 2 degrees Celsius, are (i) reducing absolute Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions by 35% by 2025, and 100% by 2050, from a 2011 base-year and (ii) having 60% of suppliers by spend institute science-based GHG reduction targets for their operations by 2023. Between 2011 and 2022, Caesars estimated a reduction in absolute Scopes 1 and 2 GHG emissions of 41.8%, thereby achieving our interim Scope 1 and 2 reduction target ahead of schedule. We fell short of our supplier engagement goal; however, in 2023 we revisited our Scope 3 emissions and intend to set an absolute reduction target in 2024 as part of our new GHG goals that better align with a 1.5-degree Celsius pathway.

To achieve our goals, we have taken initiatives such as pursuing renewable energy sources and low-carbon options, including on site solar developments. For example, we have contracts to purchase energy from solar covered parking canopies recently completed at two Atlantic City properties and we installed solar covered parking at Harrah’s Pompano Beach. Our long-term goals include a continued focus on energy efficiency and conservation as well as evaluating renewable energy supply opportunities for each of our properties.

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We voluntarily participate in the CDP (formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project), an international nonprofit that runs a global disclosure system for investors, companies, and regions to manage their environmental impacts. In 2023, Caesars scored an A-for water security and a B for climate change. Approximately 2% of companies assessed by CDP in 2023 made the A List for either climate change or water security.

We are engaged in extensive waste reduction efforts across our facilities, including recycling, food donation, and manure composting. In 2022, we diverted 59% of our total waste from landfills.

Community Investment

Caesars contributes to our local communities to help them develop and prosper, through funding community projects, Team Member volunteering and cash donations from the Caesars Foundation, a private foundation funded from our operating income. In 2023, the Caesars Foundation contributed $3.7 million to communities across the United States. The Caesars Foundation also continued to support significant national relationships that support diversity, equity and inclusion. During 2023, our Team Members volunteered over 82,000 hours through the HERO program.

We focus on multi-faceted support of our non-profit partners. For example, in 2023 we demonstrated our commitment to the mission of Boys & Girls Clubs of America through regional giving to local Clubs, HERO volunteering, hosting fundraising events, collecting customer donations through Caesars Makes Change, in addition to providing several Caesars Foundation grants at the national and local levels, all totaling nearly $1 million in value to the organization and the communities where we operate.

We seek to encourage DEI dialogue in our communities as part of our advocacy approach to raise awareness. In 2023, we hosted our DEI Summit which bring together corporate partners, nonprofit partners, advocacy groups and suppliers in supporting and promoting efforts to advance DEI initiatives. The Summit included several educational sessions and panel discussions led by notable DEI leaders and practitioners.

Available Information

We are required to file annual, quarterly and other current reports and information with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). Because we submit filings to the SEC electronically, access to this information is available at the SEC’s website (www.sec.gov). This site contains reports and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC.

We make our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, our Current Reports on Form 8-K, and all amendments to these reports, available free of charge on our corporate website (www.caesars.com/corporate) as soon as reasonably practicable after such reports are filed with, or furnished to, the SEC. In addition, our Code of Ethics and Business Conduct and charters of the Audit Committee, Compensation Committee, Corporate Social Responsibility Committee, and the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee are available on our website. We will provide reasonable quantities of electronic or paper copies of filings free of charge upon request. In addition, we will provide a copy of the above referenced charters to stockholders upon request.

References in this document to our website address do not incorporate by reference the information contained on the website into this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

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Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This Annual Report on Form 10-K includes “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements include statements regarding our strategies, objectives and plans for future development or acquisitions of properties or operations, as well as expectations, future operating results, trends and other information that is not historical information. When used in this report, the terms or phrases such as “anticipates,” “believes,” “projects,” “plans,” “intends,” “expects,” “might,” “may,” “estimates,” “could,” “should,” “would,” “will likely continue,” and variations of such words or similar expressions and their negative forms are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements are made on the basis of management’s current views and assumptions regarding future events.

Forward-looking statements are based upon certain underlying assumptions, including any assumptions mentioned with the specific statements, as of the date such statements were made. Such assumptions are in turn based upon internal estimates and analyses of market conditions and trends, management plans and strategies, economic conditions and other factors. Such forward-looking statements are only predictions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control, and are subject to change. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties because they relate to events and depend upon future circumstances that may not occur. Actual results and trends may differ materially from any future results, trends, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and we assume no duty to update forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements should not be regarded as a representation by us or any other person that the forward-looking statements will be achieved. Undue reliance should not be placed on any forward-looking statements. Some of the contingencies and uncertainties to which any forward-looking statement contained herein are subject include, but are not limited to, the following:

•our sensitivity to reductions in discretionary consumer spending as a result of downturns in the economy and other factors outside our control;

•projections of future results of operations or financial condition;

•expectations regarding our business and results of operations of our existing casino properties and prospects for future development;

•the impact of economic trends, inflation and public health emergencies on our business and financial condition;

•expectations regarding trends that will affect our market and the gaming industry generally, including expansion of internet betting and gaming, and the impact of those trends on our business and results of operations;

•our ability to comply with the covenants in the agreements governing our outstanding indebtedness and leases;

•our ability to meet our projected debt service obligations, operating expenses, and maintenance capital expenditures;

•expectations regarding availability of capital resources;

•our intention to pursue development opportunities and additional acquisitions and divestitures;

•the impact of regulation on our business and our ability to receive and maintain necessary approvals for our existing properties and future projects and operation of online sportsbook, poker and gaming.

•the impact of the Data Incident (as defined below) and any other future cybersecurity breaches on our business, financial conditions and results of operations;

•factors impacting our ability to successfully operate our digital betting and iGaming platform and expand its user base;

•our ability to adapt to the very competitive environments in which we operate, including the online market;

•the impact of economic downturns and other factors that impact consumer spending;

•the impact of win rates and liability management risks on our results of operations;

•our reliance on third parties for strategic relationships and essential services;

•costs associated with investments in our online offerings and technological and strategic initiatives;

•risk relating to fraud, theft and cheating;

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•our ability to collect gaming receivables from our credit customers;

•the impact of our substantial indebtedness and significant financial commitments, including our obligations under our lease arrangements;

•restrictions and limitations in agreements governing our debt and leased properties could significantly affect our ability to operate our business and our liquidity;

•financial, operational, regulatory or other potential challenges that may arise as a result of leasing of a number of our properties;

•the effect of disruptions or corruption to our information technology and other systems and infrastructure;

•the ability to identify suitable acquisition opportunities and realize growth and cost synergies from any future acquisitions;

•the impact of governmental regulation on our business and the cost of complying or the impact of failing to comply with such regulations;

•changes in gaming taxes and fees in jurisdictions in which we operate;

•risks relating to pending claims or future claims that may be brought against us;

•changes in interest rates and capital and credit markets;

•the effect of seasonal fluctuations;

•our particular sensitivity to energy and water prices;

•deterioration in our reputation or the reputation of our brands;

•potential compromises of our information systems or unauthorized access to confidential information and customer data;

•our reliance on information technology, particularly for our digital business;

•our ability to protect our intellectual property rights;

•our reliance on licenses to use the intellectual property of third parties and our ability to renew or extend our existing licenses;

•the effect of war, terrorist activity, acts of violence, natural disasters, public health emergencies and other catastrophic events;

•increased scrutiny and changing expectations regarding our environmental, social and governance practices and reporting;

•our reliance on key personnel and the intense competition to attract and retain management and key employees in the gaming industry;

•work stoppages and other labor problems;

•our ability to retain performers and other entertainment offerings on acceptable terms; and

•other factors described in Part II, Item 1A. “Risk Factors” contained herein and our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K filed with the SEC.

In light of these and other risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the forward-looking events discussed in this report might not occur. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which this statement is made, even if subsequently made available on our website or otherwise, and we do not intend to update publicly any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances that occur after the date on which the statement is made, except as may be required by law.

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You should also be aware that while we from time to time communicate with securities analysts, we do not disclose to them any material non-public information, internal forecasts or other confidential business information. Therefore, you should not assume that we agree with any statement or report issued by any analyst, irrespective of the content of the statement or report. To the extent that reports issued by securities analysts contain projections, forecasts or opinions, those reports are not our responsibility and are not endorsed by us.

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Item 1A.    Risk Factors

Risks Relating to Operating Our Business

We face substantial competition and expect that such competition will continue.

The gaming industry is highly competitive and competition is intense in most of the markets in which we operate. We compete with a variety of gaming operations, including land-based casinos, dockside casinos, riverboat casinos, casinos located on racing tracks, casinos located on Native American reservations and other forms of legalized gaming such as video gaming terminals at bars, restaurants and truck stops and online gambling and sports betting. We also compete, to a lesser extent, with other forms of legalized gaming and entertainment such as bingo, pull tab games, card parlors, sportsbooks, fantasy sports websites, cruise line operations, pari-mutuel or telephonic betting on horse racing and dog racing, state-sponsored lotteries and, in the future, may compete with gaming at other venues. In addition, we compete more generally with other forms of entertainment for the discretionary spending of our customers. In some instances, particularly in the case of Native American casinos, our competitors pay lower taxes or no taxes.

In recent years, many casino and online gaming operators, including us, have reinvested in existing jurisdictions to attract new customers or to gain market share, thereby increasing competition in those jurisdictions. In particular, we and other online betting and gaming operators have undertaken extensive marketing campaigns and made significant investments in customer acquisition through pricing and promotional policies. In addition, in response to changing trends, Las Vegas operators have focused on expanding their non-gaming offerings, including upgrades to hotel rooms, new food and beverage offerings, and new entertainment offerings. The expansion of online betting and gaming in new jurisdictions and the growth of the number of competitors in the online betting and gaming market, the expansion of existing casino entertainment properties, the increase in the number of properties, and the aggressive marketing strategies of many of our competitors have increased competition in many markets in which we operate, and this intense competition is expected to continue. These competitive pressures have and are expected to continue to adversely affect our financial performance.

Our brick-and-mortar operations face increasing competition as a result of the expansion of legalized online gaming and betting, including our own online betting and gaming operations, in a number of the jurisdictions in which we operate. While we believe that we are well positioned to compete with new entrants to the betting and gaming market through our online betting and gaming offerings, the competitive dynamic is evolving and we cannot assure you that our results of operations will not be adversely impacted by the expansion of legalized online gaming and betting.

States that already have legalized casino gaming may further expand gaming, and other states that have not yet legalized gaming may do so in the future. We also compete with Native American gaming operations in California and other jurisdictions where Native American tribes operate large-scale gaming facilities or otherwise conduct gaming activities on Native American lands, which we expect will continue to expand. Further expansion of legalized casino gaming in jurisdictions in or near our markets or changes to gaming laws in states in which we have operations and in states near our operations could increase competition and could adversely affect our operations.

Increased competition may require us to make substantial expenditures in marketing, customer development and capital projects to maintain and enhance the competitive positions of our online and brick and mortar operations to increase the attractiveness and add to the appeal of our facilities and product offerings. Because a significant portion of our cash flow is required to pay obligations under our outstanding indebtedness and our lease obligations, there can be no assurance that we will have sufficient funds to undertake, or that we will be able to obtain sufficient financing to fund, such expenditures. If we are unable to make such expenditures, our competitive position could be negatively affected.

Our business is sensitive to reductions in discretionary consumer spending as a result of downturns in the economy and other factors outside our control.

Consumer demand for casino hotel and racetrack properties and online betting and gaming is particularly sensitive to downturns in the economy and the associated impact on discretionary spending on leisure activities. Changes in discretionary consumer spending or consumer preferences brought about by factors such as perceived or actual general economic conditions, effects of declines in consumer confidence in the economy, the impact of high energy and food costs, rising interest rates, the increased cost of travel, decreased disposable consumer income and wealth, fears of war and future acts of terrorism, or widespread illnesses or epidemics, including COVID-19, can have a material adverse effect on leisure and business travel, discretionary spending and other areas of economic behavior that directly impact the gaming and entertainment industries in general and could further reduce customer demand for the amenities and products that we offer. In addition, increases in gasoline prices, including increases prompted by global political and economic instabilities, can adversely affect our casino operations because most of our patrons travel to our properties by car or on airlines that may pass on increases in fuel costs to passengers in the form of higher ticket prices.

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Win rates (hold rates) for our casino operations depend on a variety of factors, some of which are beyond our control, and participation in the sports betting industry exposes us to trading, liability management and pricing risks. We may experience lower than expected profitability and potentially significant losses as a result of factors beyond our control or a failure to accurately determine odds.

The gaming industry is characterized by an element of chance. Accordingly, we employ theoretical win rates to estimate what a certain type of game, on average, will win or lose in the long run. In addition to the element of chance, win rates (hold percentages) are also affected by the spread of table limits and factors that are beyond our control, such as a player’s skill, experience, and behavior, the mix of games played, the financial resources of players, the volume of bets placed, and the amount of time players spend gambling. As a result of the variability in these factors, the actual win rates at our casinos may differ from the theoretical win rates we have estimated and could result in the winnings of our gaming customers exceeding those anticipated. The variability of win rates (hold rates) also have the potential to negatively impact our financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.

Our fixed-odds betting products involve betting where winnings are paid on the basis of the amounts wagered and the odds quoted. Odds are determined with the objective of providing an average return to the bookmaker over a large number of events. However, there can be significant variation in gross win percentage event-by-event and day-by-day. We have systems and controls that seek to reduce the risk of daily losses occurring on a gross-win basis, but there can be no assurance that these will be effective in reducing our exposure to this risk. As a result we may experience (and we have from time to time experienced) significant losses with respect to individual events or betting outcomes, in particular if large individual bets are placed on an event or betting outcome or series of events or betting outcomes. Any significant losses on a gross-win basis could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

In addition, the odds that we offer in our sportsbook operations may occasionally contain an obvious error. Examples of such errors are inverted lines between teams, or odds that are significantly different from the true odds of the outcome in a way that all reasonable persons would agree is an error. If regulatory restrictions do not permit us to void or re-set odds to correct odds on bets associated with large obvious errors in odds making, we could be subject to covering significant liabilities.

We rely on third parties to provide services that are essential to the operation of our online betting and gaming business, including, player account management, geolocation and identity verification, payment processing and sports data.

We rely on third parties to provide services that are essential to the operation of our online betting and gaming business, including player account management, geolocation and identity verification systems to ensure we comply with laws and regulations, processing deposits and withdrawals made by our online users and providing information regarding schedules, results, performance and outcomes of sporting events to determine when and how bets are settled. The software, systems and services provided by our third-party providers may not meet our expectations, contain errors or weaknesses, be compromised or experience outages. A failure of such third-party systems to perform effectively, or any service interruption to those systems, could adversely affect our business by preventing users from accessing our online platform, delaying payment or resulting in errors in settling bets, which could give rise to regulatory issues relating to the operation of our business. By way of example, incorrect or misleading geolocation and identity verification data with respect to current or potential users received from third-party service providers may result in us inadvertently allowing access to our offerings to individuals who are not permitted to access them or otherwise inadvertently denying access to individuals who are permitted to access them, and errors or failures by our payment processors and sports data providers could result in a failure to timely and accurately process payments to and from users or errors in settling bets. Any such errors or failures could result in violations of applicable regulatory requirements and adversely affect our reputation and our ability to attract and retain our online users. Furthermore, negative publicity related to any of our third-party partners could adversely affect our reputation and brand, and could potentially lead to increased regulatory or litigation exposure.

In addition, if any of our third-party services providers terminates its relationship with us, is unable to maintain necessary regulatory approvals, or refuses to renew its agreement with us on commercially reasonable terms, we would have to find alternate service providers. We cannot be certain that we would be able to secure favorable terms from alternative service providers that are critical to the operation of our business or enter into alternative arrangements in a timely manner. Our digital business, results of operations and prospects would be adversely impacted by our inability or delay in securing replacement services that are sufficient to support our online business or are on comparable terms.

The growth of our digital business will depend, in part, on the success of our strategic relationships with third parties.

We rely on relationships with sports leagues and teams, media companies and other third parties in order to attract users to our offerings. For example, in 2019 we entered into an exclusive sports entertainment partnership with the NFL, making us the first ever “Official Casino Sponsor” in the history of the league. These relationships, along with providers of online services, search engines, social media, directories and other websites and e-commerce businesses direct consumers to our offerings. While we

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believe there are other third parties that could drive users to our online offerings, adding or transitioning to them may disrupt our business and increase our costs, and may require us to modify, limit or discontinue certain offerings. Furthermore, sports leagues, teams and venues may enter into exclusive partnerships with our competitors which could adversely affect our ability to offer certain types of wagers. In the event that any of our existing relationships or our future relationships fail to provide services to us in accordance with the terms of our arrangement, or at all, and we are not able to find suitable alternatives, our ability to cost effectively attract consumers could be impacted and our online betting and gaming business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects could be adversely affected.

The growth of our digital business will require investments in our online offerings, technology and strategic marketing initiatives, which could be costly and negatively impact the economics of our online business.

The online betting and gaming industry is subject to rapid and frequent changes in standards, technologies, products and service offerings, as well as in customer demands and preferences and regulations, which will require us to continually introduce and successfully implement new and innovative technologies, marketing strategies, product offerings and enhancements to remain competitive and effectively stimulate customer demand, acceptance and engagement. The process of developing new online offerings and systems is inherently complex and uncertain, and new offerings may not be well received by users, even if they are well-reviewed and of high quality. Developing new offerings and marketing strategies can also divert our management’s attention from other business issues and opportunities. New online offerings that attain market acceptance and aggressive marketing strategies implemented in the competitive online market environment could impact the mix of our existing business, including our casino business, or the share of our patron’s wallets in a manner that could negatively impact our results of operations. In addition, online betting and gaming operates in a competitive environment that requires significant investment in marketing initiatives, including free play and use of a variety of free and paid marketing channels, including television, radio, social media platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly known as Twitter), and other digital channels. We cannot be sure that our investments in technology, products, service offerings and marketing initiatives will be successful or generate the return on investment that we expect. We have incurred losses in the past in our digital business and cannot be sure that our profitability will continue. If new or existing competitors offer more attractive offerings or engage in marketing initiatives that are better received by customers, we may lose users or users may decrease their spending on our offerings. Further, new customer demands, superior competitive offerings, new industry standards or changes in the regulatory environment could render our offerings unattractive, unmarketable or obsolete and require us to make substantial unanticipated changes to our technology or business model. Failure to adapt to a rapidly changing market or evolving customer demands, and costs required to be incurred to react to dynamic market conditions, could harm our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

We face the risk of fraud, theft, and cheating.

We face the risk that gaming customers may attempt or commit fraud or theft or cheat in order to increase winnings. Such acts of fraud, theft, or cheating could involve the use of counterfeit chips or other tactics, possibly in collusion with our employees. Internal acts of cheating could also be conducted by employees through collusion with dealers, surveillance staff, floor managers, or other casino or gaming area staff. Additionally, we also face the risk that customers may attempt or commit fraud or theft with respect to our non-gaming offerings or against other customers. Such risks include stolen credit or charge cards or cash, falsified checks, theft of retail inventory and purchased goods, and unpaid or counterfeit receipts. Failure to discover such acts or schemes in a timely manner could result in losses in our operations. Negative publicity related to such acts or schemes could have an adverse effect on our reputation, potentially causing a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.

We extend credit to a portion of our customers, and we may not be able to collect gaming receivables from our credit customers.

We conduct our gaming activities on a credit and cash basis. Any such credit we extend is unsecured. High-stakes players typically are extended more credit than customers who tend to wager lower amounts. High-end gaming is more volatile than other forms of gaming, and variances in win-loss results attributable to high-end gaming may have a significant positive or negative impact on cash flow and earnings in a particular period. We extend credit to those customers whose level of play and financial resources warrant, in the opinion of management, an extension of credit. These large receivables could have a significant impact on our results of operations if deemed uncollectible. Gaming debts evidenced by a credit instrument, including what is commonly referred to as a “marker,” and judgments on gaming debts are enforceable under the current laws of the jurisdictions in which we allow play on a credit basis, and judgments on gaming debts in such jurisdictions are enforceable in all U.S. states under the Full Faith and Credit Clause of the U.S. Constitution; however, other jurisdictions may determine that enforcement of gaming debts is against public policy. Although courts of some foreign nations will enforce gaming debts directly and the assets in the U.S. of foreign debtors may be reached to satisfy a judgment, judgments on gaming debts from U.S. courts are not binding on the courts of many foreign nations.

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In addition, the Chinese government has taken steps to prohibit the transfer of cash for the payment of gaming debts. These developments may have the effect of reducing the collectability of gaming debts of players from China. It is unclear whether these and other measures will continue to be in effect or become more restrictive in the future. These and any future foreign currency control policy developments that may be implemented by foreign jurisdictions could significantly impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.

The outbreak of pandemics and other public health matters and related impacts have had, and may once again have, a significant impact on our operations and results of operations.

Public health issues and mitigation measures recommended or required by public health officials have had a material adverse effect on our operations. For example, all of our casino properties were temporarily closed for several weeks during 2020 due to orders issued by various government agencies and tribal bodies. Following re-opening of our properties, our operations were affected by social distancing measures, including reduced gaming operations, limitations on number of customers present in our facilities, restrictions on hotel, food and beverage outlets and limits on events that would otherwise attract customers to our properties. While restrictions on our operations were eased in 2021 and we experienced positive operating trends, prolonged impacts on the economy, our industry and our business continued, with increased challenges arising from labor shortages, higher labor costs, supply chain challenges, increasing costs of goods and services, inflation and rising interest rates, among other impacts. The extent and duration of the impact of such measures on our business is difficult to predict and such impacts may intensify.

Acts of terrorism, war, natural disasters, severe weather, and political, economic and military conditions may impede our ability to operate or may negatively impact our financial results.

Terrorist attacks and other acts of war or hostility have created many economic and political uncertainties. For example, a substantial number of the customers of our properties in Las Vegas use air travel. As a result of terrorist acts that occurred on September 11, 2001, domestic and international travel was severely disrupted, which resulted in a decrease in customer visits to our properties in Las Vegas. Visitation to Las Vegas also declined for a period of time following the mass shooting tragedy on October 1, 2017. We cannot predict the extent to which disruptions in air or other forms of travel as a result of any further terrorist act, security alerts or war, uprisings, or hostilities in places such as Iraq, Afghanistan, Israel, Ukraine, and/or Syria or other countries throughout the world, and governmental responses to those acts or hostilities, will directly or indirectly impact our business and operating results. For example, a third party that is responsible for our player account management has employees located internationally in countries impacted by such hostility and further negative developments in such countries could negatively impact our digital business. As a consequence of the threat of terrorist attacks and other acts of war or hostility in the future, premiums for a variety of insurance products have increased, and some types of insurance may no longer be available. If any such event were to affect our properties, we would likely be adversely affected.

In addition, natural and man-made disasters such as major fires, floods, severe snowstorms, hurricanes, earthquakes, and oil spills could also adversely impact our business and operating results. Severe weather and natural disasters may increase in frequency and severity as a result of climate change. Such events could lead to the loss of use of one or more of our properties for an extended period of time and disrupt our ability to attract customers to certain of our gaming facilities. For example, our property in Lake Charles, Louisiana was closed in August 2020 until December 2022 due to damage resulting from Hurricane Laura. Inadequate insurance or lack of available insurance for these and other certain types or levels of risk could expose us to significant losses in the event that a catastrophe occurred for which we are underinsured. In most cases, we have insurance that covers portions of any losses from a natural disaster, but it is subject to deductibles and maximum payouts in many cases. Although we may be covered by insurance from a natural disaster, the timing of our receipt of insurance proceeds, if any, may be out of our control. In some cases, however, we may receive no proceeds from insurance. In addition, if such events increase in frequency and/or severity, insurance premiums may increase significantly or insurance may not be available to protect against future events. Further, if properties subject to our leases with VICI and GLPI are impacted by a casualty event, such leases require us to repair or restore the affected properties even if the cost of such repair or restoration exceeds the insurance proceeds that we receive. Under such circumstances, the rent under such leases is required to be paid during the period of repair or restoration even if all or a portion of the affected property is not operating. In addition to the damage caused to our properties by a casualty loss, we may suffer business disruption as a result of the casualty event or be subject to claims by third parties that may be injured or harmed. While we carry general liability insurance and business interruption insurance, there can be no assurance that insurance will be available or adequate to cover all loss and damage to which our business or our assets might be subjected and the timing and receipt of insurance proceeds, if any, may be out of our control.

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Increased scrutiny and changing expectations from investors, consumers, employees, regulators, and others regarding our environmental, social and governance practices and reporting could cause us to incur additional costs, devote additional resources and expose us to additional risks, which could adversely impact our reputation, customer attraction and retention, access to capital and employee recruitment and retention.

Companies across all industries are facing increasing scrutiny related to their environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) practices and reporting. Investors, consumers, employees and other stakeholders have focused increasingly on ESG practices and placed increasing importance on the implications and social cost of their investments, purchases and other interactions with companies. With this increased focus, public reporting regarding ESG practices is becoming more broadly expected. If our ESG practices and reporting do not meet investor, consumer or employee expectations, which continue to evolve, our brand, reputation and customer retention may be negatively impacted.

As ESG best practices and reporting standards continue to develop, we may incur increasing costs related to ESG monitoring and reporting and compliance with ESG initiatives. We publish an annual Corporate Social Responsibility Report, which highlights, among other things, our climate change mitigation activities and how we are supporting our workforce, including our diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging efforts. Our disclosures on these matters, or a failure to meet evolving stakeholder expectations for ESG practices and reporting, may potentially harm our reputation and customer relationships.

Furthermore, if our competitors’ ESG performance is perceived to be better than ours, potential or current investors may elect to invest with our competitors instead. In addition, in the event that we communicate certain initiatives or goals regarding ESG matters, we could fail, or be perceived to fail, in our achievement of such initiatives or goals, or we could be criticized for the scope of such initiatives or goals. If we fail to satisfy the expectations of investors, customers, employees and other stakeholders, or our initiatives are not executed as planned, our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects could be adversely affected.

Our ability to achieve any ESG objective is subject to numerous risks, many of which are outside of our control. Examples of such risks include:

•the availability and cost of low- or non-carbon-based energy sources;

•the evolving regulatory requirements affecting ESG standards or disclosures;

•the availability of suppliers that can meet sustainability, diversity and other ESG standards that we may set;

•our ability to recruit, develop and retain diverse talent in our labor markets; and

•the success of our organic growth and acquisitions or dispositions of businesses or operations.

If we fail, or are perceived to be failing, to meet the standards or objectives included in any sustainability disclosure or the expectations of our various stakeholders, it could negatively impact our reputation, customer attraction and retention, access to capital and employee retention. In addition, new sustainability rules and regulations have been adopted and may continue to be introduced. Our failure to comply with any applicable rules or regulations could lead to penalties and adversely impact our reputation, customer attraction and retention, access to capital and employee retention.

Climate change regulations and greenhouse gas effects may adversely impact our operations.

We may become subject to legislation and regulation regarding climate change, and compliance with any new rules could be difficult, burdensome and costly. Concerned parties, such as legislators and regulators, stockholders and nongovernmental organizations, as well as companies in many business sectors, are considering ways to reduce greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions. Many states have announced or adopted programs to stabilize and reduce GHG emissions and, in the past, federal legislation has been proposed in Congress. We expect to incur increased energy, environmental and other costs and capital expenditures to comply with new regulations and legislation. Further, regulation of GHG emissions may limit our customers’ ability to travel to our properties (e.g. as a result of increased fuel costs or restrictions on transport-related emissions).

Our business may be subject to fluctuations due to seasonality and other factors that could result in volatility and have an adverse effect on our operating results.

Our business may fluctuate due to seasonality and other factors. Our casino business is impacted by weather conditions that may deter or prevent customers from reaching the facilities or undertaking trips, which would particularly affect customers who are traveling longer distances to visit our properties. Our casino business can also fluctuate due to specific holidays or other significant events, particularly when the holiday falls in a different quarter than the prior year, the World Series of Poker tournament (with respect to our Las Vegas properties), city-wide conventions, a large sporting event or a concert, or visits by our premium players. Our sportsbook business may also be impacted by availability or scheduling of major sporting events or the cancellation or postponement of sporting events or races, including lockouts, strikes or similar disruptions. Seasonality,

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holiday, or other significant events may affect our digital operations, properties or regions differently. These factors, among other things, could adversely affect our business, financial condition, and operating results, cause volatility in the trading price of our stock and impact our cash flow from quarter to quarter.

Our business is particularly sensitive to energy or water prices and a rise in these prices could harm our operating results.

We are a large consumer of electricity, water and other energy and utility services and, therefore, higher prices may have an adverse effect on our results of operations. Accordingly, increases in energy costs may have a negative impact on our operating results. Additionally, higher electricity and gasoline prices that affect our customers may result in reduced visitation to our resorts and a reduction in our revenues. Further, our operations or the operations of our critical supplies could be negatively impacted by the duration of drought conditions, or other cause of water stress or shortages, such as those experienced in the southwest United States, or other areas in which we operate. We may be indirectly impacted by regulatory requirements aimed at reducing the impacts of climate change directed at up-stream utility providers, and we could experience potentially higher utility, fuel, water and transportation costs.

Any deterioration in our reputation or the reputation of our brands could adversely impact our business, financial condition, or results of operations.

Our business is dependent on the quality and reputation of our Company and brands. Events beyond our control could affect the reputation of one or more of our properties, including our digital operations, or more generally impact our corporate or brand image. Other factors that could influence our reputation include the quality of the services we offer and our actions with regard to social issues such as diversity, human rights and support for local communities. Broad access to social media makes it easy for anyone to provide public feedback that can influence perceptions of us, our brands or our properties. It may be difficult to control or effectively manage negative publicity, regardless of whether it is accurate. Negative events and publicity could quickly and materially damage perceptions of us, our brands or our properties, which, in turn, could adversely impact our business, financial condition or results of operations through loss of customers, loss of business opportunities, lack of acceptance of our Company to operate in host communities, employee retention or recruiting difficulties or other difficulties.

Risks Relating to Information Systems and Technology

Compromises of our information systems or unauthorized access to confidential information or our customers’ personal information could materially harm our reputation and business.

We collect and store confidential, personal information relating to our customers for various business purposes, including marketing and financial purposes, and credit card information for processing payments. For example, we handle, collect and store personal information in connection with our customers staying at our hotels and enrolling in Caesars Rewards. We may share this personal and confidential information with vendors or other third parties in connection with processing of transactions, operating certain aspects of our business, or for marketing purposes. Our collection and use of personal data are governed by state and federal privacy laws and regulations as well as the applicable laws and regulations in other countries in which we operate. Privacy law is subject to frequent changes and varies significantly by jurisdiction. We may incur significant costs in order to ensure compliance with the various applicable privacy requirements. In addition, privacy laws and regulations may limit our ability to market to our customers.

We assess and monitor the security of collection, storage, and transmission of customer information on an ongoing basis, including utilizing commercially available software and technologies to monitor, assess and secure our network. Further, some of the systems currently used for transmission and approval of payment card transactions and the technology utilized in payment cards themselves, all of which can put payment card data at risk, are determined and controlled by the payment card industry, and other such systems are determined and controlled by us. Although we had taken steps designed to safeguard our customers’ confidential personal information and important internal company data, on September 14, 2023, we announced that we identified suspicious activity in our information technology network resulting from a social engineering attack on one of our outsourced IT support vendors and that we determined that the unauthorized actor acquired a copy of, among other data, our loyalty program database, which includes driver’s license numbers and/or social security numbers for a significant number of members in the database (the “Data Incident”). We took steps to ensure that the stolen data was deleted by the unauthorized actor and are working with industry-leading third-party IT advisors, to harden our systems and implement corrective measures to protect against future attacks that could pose a threat to our systems. We have also taken steps to require that the specific outsourced IT support vendor involved in this matter implemented corrective measures to protect against future attacks that could pose a threat to our systems. While we took these actions, we cannot assure that the stolen data was deleted by the unauthorized actor or that our network and other systems and those of third parties, such as service providers, will not be compromised, damaged, or disrupted by a third-party breach of our system security or that of a third-party provider or as a result of purposeful or accidental actions of third parties, our employees, or those employees of a third party, power outages, computer viruses, system failures, natural disasters, or other catastrophic events in the future. Our third-party information

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system service providers face risks relating to cybersecurity similar to ours, and we do not directly control any of such parties’ information security operations. As an example, the Data Incident arose from a social engineering attack on one of our outsourced IT vendors. Advances in computer and software capabilities, encryption technology, new tools, and other developments may increase the risk of a future security breach. As a result of the Data Incident, customer information and other data was accessed by an unauthorized actor. Any future security breach may also result in customer information or other proprietary data being accessed or transmitted by or to a third party. Despite the measures we have implemented to safeguard our information, including actions taken following the Data Incident, there can be no assurance that we are adequately protecting our information.

As a result of the Data Incident, we have become subject to multiple lawsuits and inquiries from state regulators and we may become subject to additional lawsuits, claims and inquiries related to the Data Incident. While the Data Incident did not impact our customer-facing operations, we are unable to predict the full impact of the Data Incident, including any regulatory effects or changes in guest behavior in the future, including whether a change in our guests’ behavior could negatively impact our financial condition and results of operations on an ongoing basis.

We have cybersecurity insurance to respond to a breach which is designed to cover expenses associated with a cybersecurity incident, including costs related to notification, credit monitoring, investigation, crisis management, public relations and legal advice. We also carry other insurance which may cover ancillary aspects of cybersecurity events. While we have submitted claims for insurance coverage relating to the costs incurred as a result of the Data Incident, we are not certain of the extent to which such coverage or third-party indemnification will cover of such future costs.

Any future data security breaches giving rise to a loss, disclosure of, misappropriation of, or access to customers’ or other proprietary information or other breach of our information security could result in additional legal claims or legal proceedings, including regulatory investigations and actions, or liability for failure to comply with privacy and information security laws, including for failure to protect personal information or for misusing personal information could damage our reputation, and expose us to additional claims from customers, financial institutions, regulators, payment card associations, employees, and other persons, any of which could have an adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations, and cash flow. Any such damages and claims arising from a future breach may not be completely covered or may exceed the amount of any insurance available.

Our operations, and particularly our digital betting and gaming operations, are reliant on information technology and other systems and services, and any failures, errors, defects or disruptions in our systems or services could adversely affect our operations.

Our technology infrastructure is critical to the performance of our digital betting and gaming operations and to user satisfaction and we rely significantly on our computer systems and software to receive and properly process internal and external data, including data related to Caesars Rewards. We devote significant resources to our technology infrastructure, but our systems may not be adequate to avoid performance delays or outages that could be harmful to our online business. In addition, while we believe we have taken appropriate steps, working with industry-leading third-party IT advisors, to harden our systems following the Data Incident and implement corrective measures to protect against future attacks that could pose a threat to our systems. We cannot assure you that such measures or any additional measures we take to prevent cyber-attacks and protect our systems, data and user information and to prevent outages, data or information loss, fraud and to prevent or detect security breaches will be sufficient to ensure uninterrupted operation of our digital platform and provide absolute security. We have experienced, and we may in the future experience, website disruptions, outages and other performance problems due to a variety of factors, including infrastructure changes, human or software errors and capacity constraints. Disruptions from unauthorized access to, fraudulent manipulation of, or tampering with our computer systems and technological infrastructure, or those of third parties that provide support to our operations, could result in a wide range of negative outcomes, each of which could materially adversely affect the operation of our online business and our financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

Additionally, our computer systems and software may fail or may contain errors, bugs, flaws or corrupted data, and these defects may only become apparent after the launch of our online products. These types of issues could disrupt our operations or render a product unavailable when users attempt to access it or cause access to our offerings to be slower than our users expect. Inaccessibility or slow access to our products could make users less likely to return to our digital platform as often, if at all, or to recommend our offerings to other potential users, which could harm our brand perception, cause our users to stop utilizing our online offerings, divert our resources and delay market acceptance of our online offerings.

Our information systems are not fully redundant and our disaster recovery planning cannot account for all eventualities. If our systems are damaged, breached, attacked, interrupted, or otherwise cease to function properly, we may have to make a significant investment to repair or replace them, and may experience loss or corruption of critical data as well as suffer interruptions in our business operations in the interim.

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We expect that we will continue to expand our online betting and gaming offerings as our user base grows and we enter into new markets, which will require an enhancement of our technical infrastructure, including network capacity and computing power, and may require additional reliance on third party providers to support the growth of our digital business and to satisfy our users’ needs. Such infrastructure expansion may be complex and costly, and unanticipated delays in completing these projects or availability of components may lead to increased project costs, operational inefficiencies, or interruptions in the delivery or degradation of the quality of our offerings. In addition, there may be issues related to our online infrastructure that are not identified during the testing phases of design and implementation and become evident after we have started to fully use the underlying equipment or software, which could impact the user experience or increase our costs. An inability to effectively scale our technical infrastructure to accommodate increased demands could adversely impact our ability to grow our digital betting and gaming business.

Our online business is dependent on the Internet and we rely on Amazon Web Services and other third-party technology, platforms and services to deliver our offerings to users.

A substantial portion of the infrastructure that is required to enable users to access our digital betting and gaming offerings is provided by third parties, including Internet service providers and other technology-based service providers. In particular, we currently host our online betting and gaming offerings and support our operations using Amazon Web Services (“AWS”) and other third-party technology, platforms and services. Our third-party providers may experience service interruptions, delays, outages or damage, including due to capacity constraints, an event causing an unusually high volume of Internet use (such as a pandemic or public health emergency), infrastructure changes or upgrades (such as 5G or 6G services), human or software errors, website hosting disruptions, natural disasters, cybersecurity attacks, terrorist attacks, power outages and similar events or acts of misconduct. We exercise little control over our third-party providers and any difficulties that these providers experience, including the potential of certain network traffic receiving priority over other traffic (i.e., lack of net neutrality), may adversely affect our business. Because our ability to provide our users with continuing and uninterrupted access to our platform is critical to the success of our digital business, we use our best efforts to ensure that our facilities and infrastructure and the facilities and infrastructure of our third-party providers support our current and expected operations and are designed to mitigate the impacts of system malfunctions. Nevertheless, there can be no guarantee that such systems will be able to meet the demand of our current and future digital business, the overall online betting and gaming industry and the growth of the Internet. Furthermore, if we do not maintain business relationships with our third-party providers, and in particular, AWS, we may not be able to secure required third-party services on terms that are acceptable to us or on an acceptable time frame. Any of these risks could result in a loss of revenue and cause us to incur unexpected costs that could be significant, which could have a material adverse effect on our online business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

Our online business model depends upon the continued compatibility between our apps and the major mobile operating systems and upon third-party platforms for the distribution of our product offerings, which depend on factors beyond our control such as the design of third-party operating systems and continued access to our apps on third-party distribution platforms like the Apple App Store.

Our digital business is dependent on the interoperability of our technology with popular mobile operating systems, technologies, networks and standards as our users access our online betting and gaming product offerings primarily on mobile devices. As a result, our business model depends upon the continued compatibility between our app and the major mobile operating systems, such as the Android and iOS operating systems, and we rely upon third-party platforms for distribution of our product offerings. We do not have formal or informal relationships with parties that control design of mobile devices and operating systems and there is no guarantee that popular mobile devices will start or continue to support or feature our product offerings. Any changes, bugs, technical or regulatory issues in such operating systems, our relationships with mobile manufacturers and carriers, or in their terms of service or policies that degrade our offerings’ functionality, reduce or eliminate our ability to distribute our offerings, give preferential treatment to competitive products, limit our ability to deliver high quality offerings, or impose fees or other charges related to delivering our offerings, could adversely affect our product usage and monetization on mobile devices. In addition, if any of the third-party platforms used for distribution of our product offerings were to limit or disable the availability of our app or advertising on their platforms, our ability to generate revenue could be harmed. These changes could materially impact the way we do business, and if we are unable to adjust to those changes quickly and effectively, there could be an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

Risks Related to Human Capital

We rely on our key personnel and we may face difficulties in attracting and retaining qualified employees for our casinos and racetracks.

Our future success will depend upon, among other things, our ability to keep our senior executives and highly qualified employees. The operation of our business requires qualified executives, managers and skilled employees with gaming and horse

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racing industry experience and qualifications who are able to obtain the requisite licenses and approval from the applicable gaming authorities. We compete with other potential employers for employees, and we may not succeed in hiring or retaining the executives and other employees that we need. A sudden loss of or inability to replace key employees could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Moreover, there has from time to time been a shortage of skilled labor in our markets and the continued expansion of gaming near our facilities, including the expansion of Native American gaming and internet betting and gaming, may make it more difficult for us to attract qualified candidates. While we believe that we will continue to be able to attract and retain qualified employees, shortages of skilled labor will make it increasingly difficult and expensive to attract and retain the services of a satisfactory number of qualified employees, and we may incur higher costs than expected as a result.

Work stoppages and other labor problems could negatively impact our future profits.

As of December 31, 2023, we had collective bargaining agreements covering approximately 24,000 employees. A lengthy strike or other work stoppages at any of our casino properties could have an adverse effect on our business and results of operations. New contracts, such as the ones we signed in 2023, increase our labor costs.

From time to time, we have also experienced attempts by labor organizations to organize certain of our non-union employees, which has achieved some past success. We cannot provide any assurance that we will not experience additional and successful union activity in the future. The impact of this union activity is undetermined and could negatively impact our results of operations.

We cannot assure you that we will be able to retain our performers and other entertainment offerings on acceptable terms or at all.

Historically, our performers have drawn customers to our properties and have been a significant source of our revenue. We cannot assure you that we will be able to retain our performers or other shows on acceptable terms or at all. In addition, the third parties that we depend on for our properties’ entertainment offerings may become incapable or unwilling to provide their services at the level agreed upon or at all. Disruptions in the performance schedule can leave us without entertainment offerings, which could negatively impact our business.

Risks Relating to Our Capital Structure

Our substantial indebtedness and the fact that a significant portion of our cash flow is used to make interest payments and rent payments under our debt and lease agreements could adversely affect our ability to raise additional capital to fund our operations, limit our ability to react to changes in the economy or our industry and prevent us from making debt service payments and rent payments.

As of December 31, 2023 we had $12.4 billion of outstanding indebtedness, in addition to leases with VICI and GLPI that require an annual rent payment of $1.3 billion in 2024 and are subject to annual escalation, including annual escalations based on the CPI. See Note 10 for a description of our obligations under our leases with VICI and GLPI and Note 12 for details regarding our debt outstanding and related restrictive covenants. As a result, a significant portion of our cash flow is applied to make interest payments with respect to our outstanding debt and payments under our leases. These financial obligations may have important negative consequences for us, including:

•limiting our ability to use operating cash flow in other areas of our business because we must dedicate a significant portion of these funds to make payments on our debt and lease obligations;

•limiting our flexibility in planning for, or reacting to, changes in our businesses and the markets in which we operate;

•placing us at a competitive disadvantage compared to competitors with debt and rent obligations that are less than ours;

•increasing our vulnerability to, and limiting our ability to react to, changing market conditions, public health emergencies and related public health restrictions, changes in our industry and economic downturns;

•limiting our ability to obtain additional financing to fund working capital requirements, capital expenditures, debt service, acquisitions, general corporate or other obligations;

•subjecting us to a number of restrictive covenants that, among other things, require us to make capital expenditures and limit our ability to pay dividends and distributions, make acquisitions and dispositions, borrow additional funds and make other investments;

•exposing us to interest rate risk due to the variable interest rate on borrowings under our credit facilities; and

•affecting our ability to renew gaming and other licenses necessary to conduct our business.

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Our ability to service our current and future levels of indebtedness will depend upon, among other things, our future financial and operating performance, which will be affected by prevailing economic conditions, including the interest rate environment and financial, business, regulatory and other factors, some of which are beyond our control.

There is no assurance that we will generate cash flow from operations or that future debt or equity financings will be available to us to enable us to pay our indebtedness or to fund other needs and we may be forced to take actions such as reducing or delaying business activities, acquisitions, investments or capital expenditures, selling assets, restructuring or refinancing debt, reducing or discontinuing dividends we may pay in the future, or seeking additional equity capital. These actions may not be effected on satisfactory terms, or at all. Any inability to generate sufficient cash flow or refinance our indebtedness on favorable terms could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. While we expect to refinance or replace our debt facilities when they mature, we cannot be sure that we will be able to obtain financing on commercially reasonable terms.

Despite our current indebtedness levels, we and our subsidiaries may still incur significant additional indebtedness. Incurring more indebtedness could increase the risks associated with our substantial indebtedness.

We and our subsidiaries may be able to incur substantial additional indebtedness, including additional secured indebtedness, and may enter into financing obligations similar to our leases with VICI and GLPI in the future. As of December 31, 2023, we had $2.1 billion of borrowing capacity under our CEI Revolving Credit Facility, after consideration of $70 million in outstanding letters of credit and $46 million committed for regulatory purposes, and $40 million of other reserves which is only available for certain permitted uses. Further, our existing debt agreements currently permit, and we expect that agreements governing debt that we incur in the future will permit, us to incur certain other additional secured and unsecured debt. Further, we may incur other liabilities that do not constitute indebtedness. The risks that we face based on our outstanding indebtedness may intensify if we incur additional indebtedness or financing obligations in the future.

Our variable rate indebtedness exposes us to interest rate volatility, which could cause our debt service obligations to increase significantly.

Borrowings under certain of our facilities are at variable rates of interest and expose us to interest rate volatility. As of December 31, 2023, $3.2 billion of aggregate principal amount of our debt had variable rates. If interest rates increase, our debt service obligations on certain of our variable rate indebtedness will increase even though the amount borrowed remains the same.

A significant portion of our casinos are located on leased property. If we default on one or more leases, the applicable lessors could terminate the affected leases and we could lose possession of the affected casino.

We currently lease certain parcels of land on which a significant portion of our properties are located. As a ground lessee, we have the right to use the leased land; however, we do not hold fee ownership of the underlying land. Accordingly, we have no interest in the leased land or improvements thereon at the expiration of the ground leases. If our use of the land underlying our casino properties is disrupted permanently or for a significant period of time, then the value of our assets could be impaired and our business and operations could be adversely affected. Our leases provide that they may be terminated for a number of reasons, including failure to pay rent, taxes or other payment obligations or the breach of other covenants contained in the leases. In particular, our leases with VICI and GLPI require annual rent payments of $1.3 billion in 2024, which is subject to escalation annually, and obligate us to make specified minimum capital expenditures with respect to the leased properties. If our business and properties fail to generate sufficient earnings, the payments required to service the rent obligations under our leases with VICI and GLPI could materially and adversely limit our ability to react to changes in our business and make acquisitions and investments in our properties. If we were to default on any one or more of these leases, the applicable lessors could terminate the affected leases and we could lose possession of the affected land and any improvements on the land, including the hotels and casinos. A termination of our ground leases or our leases with GLPI or VICI could result in a default under our debt agreements and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Further, in the event that any lessor of our leased properties, including GLPI or VICI, encounters financial, operational, regulatory or other challenges, there can be no assurance that such lessor will be able to comply with its obligations under the applicable lease.

Certain of our leases, including our leases with VICI and GLPI, are “triple-net” leases. Accordingly, in addition to rent, we are required to pay, among other things, the following: (1) lease payments to the underlying ground lessor for properties that are subject to ground leases; (2) facility maintenance costs; (3) all insurance premiums for insurance with respect to the leased properties and the business conducted on the leased properties; (4) taxes levied on or with respect to the leased properties (other than taxes on the income of the lessor); and (5) all utilities and other services necessary or appropriate for the leased properties and the business conducted on the leased properties. We are responsible for incurring the costs described in the preceding sentence notwithstanding the fact that many of the benefits received in exchange for such costs shall in part accrue to the lessor

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as the owner of the associated facilities. In addition, we remain obligated for lease payments and other obligations under our leases with VICI and GLPI and other ground leases even if one or more of such leased facilities is unprofitable or if we decide to withdraw from those locations. We could incur special charges relating to the closing of such facilities including lease termination costs, impairment charges and other special charges that would reduce our net income and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Legal and Regulatory Risks

We are subject to extensive governmental regulation, taxation policies and licensing, and gaming authorities have significant control over our operations, which could have an adverse effect on our business.

Licensing Requirements. The ownership and operation of casino gaming, online betting and gaming, riverboat and horse racing facilities are subject to extensive federal, state and local regulation, and regulatory authorities at local, state and national levels have broad powers with respect to the licensing of gaming businesses. We currently hold all state and local licenses and related approvals necessary to conduct our present gaming operations, but we must periodically apply to renew many of our licenses and registrations. We cannot assure you that we will be able to obtain such renewals. Any failure to maintain or renew our existing licenses, registrations, permits or approvals would have a material adverse effect on us. In addition, we are required to provide information relating to our operations to various gaming regulatory agencies. A failure to provide accurate information could result in the imposition of fines or other penalties by the relevant regulatory authority. Furthermore, if additional laws or regulations are adopted or existing laws or regulations are amended or interpreted differently, these regulations could impose additional restrictions or costs that could have a significant adverse effect on us.

Gaming authorities with jurisdiction over our operations may, in their discretion, require the holder of any securities issued by us to file applications, be investigated, and be found suitable to own our securities, and, if a holder is found unsuitable, we can be sanctioned, including the loss of approvals that are required for us to continue our gaming operations in the relevant jurisdictions, if such unsuitable person does not timely sell our securities. Our officers, directors and key employees are also subject to similar findings of unsuitability and the gaming authorities may require us to terminate the employment of any person who refuses to file appropriate applications. See “Item 1 - Gaming Licenses and Governmental Regulations” and Exhibit 99.1 for further description of the regulations to which we are subject. We may be required under applicable gaming laws and regulations to obtain approval of applicable gaming authorities to issue securities, incur debt and undertake other financing activities and our financing counterparties, including lenders, might be subject to various licensing and related approval procedures in the various jurisdictions in which we operate gaming facilities.

Compliance with Other Laws. We are also subject to a variety of other federal, state and local laws, rules, regulations and ordinances that apply to non-gaming businesses, including restrictions enacted in response to public health concerns such as pandemics, zoning, environmental, construction and land-use laws and regulations governing smoking and the serving of alcoholic beverages. Our operations have been and may again be adversely impacted by regulations enacted to limit the impact of public health concerns. In addition, legislation in various forms to ban indoor tobacco smoking has been enacted or introduced in many states and local jurisdictions, including several of the jurisdictions in which we operate. If additional restrictions are enacted in our jurisdictions, we could experience a significant decrease in gaming revenue and operating results at our properties and, particularly if such restrictions are not applicable to all competitive facilities in that gaming market, our business could be materially adversely affected. The likelihood or outcome of similar legislation in other jurisdictions and referendums in the future cannot be predicted, though any additional limitations on our operations would be expected to negatively impact our financial performance.

Regulations adopted by FINCEN require us to report currency transactions in excess of $10,000 occurring within a gaming day. U.S. Treasury Department regulations also require us to report certain suspicious activity, including any transaction that exceeds $5,000, if we know, suspect or have reason to believe that the transaction involves funds from illegal activity or is designed to evade federal regulations or reporting requirements. Substantial penalties can be imposed if we fail to comply with these regulations. FINCEN has recently increased its focus on gaming companies.

We are required to report certain customer’s gambling winnings via Form W-2G to comply with current Internal Revenue Service regulations. Should these regulations change, we would expect to incur additional costs to comply with the revised reporting requirements.

Taxation and Fees. In addition, gaming companies are generally subject to significant revenue-based taxes and fees in addition to normal federal, state and local income taxes, and such taxes and fees are subject to increase at any time. We pay substantial taxes and fees with respect to our operations. Tax laws are dynamic and subject to change as new laws are passed and new interpretations of the law are issued or applied, affecting the gaming industry. The large number of state and local governments with significant current or projected budget deficits makes it more likely that those governments that currently permit gaming will seek to fund such deficits with new or increased gaming taxes and/or property taxes and worsening economic conditions

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could intensify those efforts. Any material increase, or the adoption of additional taxes or fees, could have a material adverse effect on our future financial results.

The growth of our online betting and gaming business will depend on expansion of online betting and gaming into new jurisdictions and our ability to obtain required licenses.

Our ability to achieve growth in our online betting and gaming business will depend, in large part, upon expansion of online betting and gaming into new jurisdictions, the terms of regulations relating to online betting and gaming and our ability to obtain required licenses. Following the 2018 decision of the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the federal ban on sports betting, a number of jurisdictions have legalized sports betting and online gaming and we expect that additional jurisdictions may do so in the future. Our ability to further expand our sports betting and online operations is dependent on the adoption of regulations permitting such activities. However, the expansion of betting and online gaming in new jurisdictions is dependent on a number of factors that are beyond our control and there can be no assurances of when, or if, such regulations will be adopted or the terms of such regulations, including restrictions, tax rates and license fees and availability of such licenses to casino owners exclusively or at all.

We may not be able to protect the intellectual property rights we own or may be prevented from using intellectual property necessary for our business.

The development of intellectual property is part of our overall business strategy, and we regard our intellectual property to be an important element of our success. We rely primarily on trade secret, trademark, domain name, copyright, and contract law to protect the intellectual property and proprietary technology we own. We also actively pursue business opportunities in the United States and in international jurisdictions involving the licensing of our trademarks to third parties. It is possible that third parties may copy or otherwise obtain and use our intellectual property or proprietary technology without authorization or otherwise infringe on our rights. For example, while we have a policy of entering into confidentiality, intellectual property invention assignment, and/or non-competition and non-solicitation agreements or restrictions with our employees, independent contractors, and business partners, such agreements may not provide adequate protection or may be breached, or our proprietary technology may otherwise become available to or be independently developed by our competitors. In addition, the laws of some foreign countries may not protect proprietary rights or intellectual property to as great an extent as do the laws of the United States. Despite our efforts to protect our proprietary rights, the unauthorized use or reproduction of our trademarks could diminish the value of our trademarks and our market acceptance, competitive advantages, or goodwill, which could adversely affect our business.

Our technology contains software modules licensed to us by third-party authors under “open source” licenses. Use and distribution of open source software may entail greater risks than use of third-party commercial software, as open source licensors generally do not provide support, warranties, indemnification or other contractual protections regarding infringement claims or the quality of the code. In addition, the public availability of such software may make it easier for others to compromise our technology and, under certain open source licenses, we could be required to release the source code of our proprietary software to the public. This would allow our competitors to create similar offerings with lower development effort and time and ultimately could result in a loss of our competitive advantages.

Third parties have alleged and may in the future allege that we are infringing, misappropriating, or otherwise violating their intellectual property rights. Third parties may initiate litigation against us without warning or may send us letters or other communications that make allegations without initiating litigation. We may elect not to respond to these letters or other communications if we believe they are without merit, or we may attempt to resolve these disputes out of court by negotiating a license, but in either case it is possible that such disputes will ultimately result in litigation. Any such claims could interfere with our ability to use technology or intellectual property that is material to the operation of our business. Such claims may be made by competitors seeking to obtain a competitive advantage or by other parties, such as entities that purchase intellectual property assets for the purpose of bringing infringement claims. We also periodically employ individuals who were previously employed by our competitors or potential competitors, and we may therefore be subject to claims that such employees have used or disclosed the alleged trade secrets or other proprietary information of their former employers.

We may have to rely on litigation to enforce our intellectual property rights, protect our trade secrets, determine the validity and scope of the proprietary rights of others, or defend against claims of infringement or invalidity, including with respect to technology that we believe to be “open source.” Any such litigation could result in substantial costs and the diversion of resources and the attention of management. If unsuccessful, such litigation could result in the loss of important intellectual property rights, require us to pay substantial damages, subject us to injunctions that prevent us from using certain intellectual property, require us to make admissions that affect our reputation in the marketplace, or require us to enter into license agreements that may not be available on favorable terms, re-engineer our technology or discontinue or delay the provision of our offerings. Finally, even if we prevail in any litigation, the remedy may not be commercially meaningful or fully compensate

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us for the harm we suffer or the costs we incur. Any of the foregoing could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We rely on licenses to use the intellectual property rights of third parties which are incorporated into our products and services. Failure to renew or expand existing licenses may require us to modify, limit or discontinue certain offerings.

We rely on products, technologies and intellectual property that we license from third parties, for use in our business-to-business and business-to-consumers offerings. Certain of our offerings and services use intellectual property licensed from third parties and we expect that our future products will require the use of third-party intellectual property. The future success of our business may depend, in part, on our ability to obtain, retain and/or expand licenses for popular technologies and games in a competitive market. We cannot assure that third-party licenses that may be necessary or desirable for the operation of our products, or support for such licensed products and technologies, will be available to us on commercially reasonable terms, if at all. If we are unable to renew and/or expand existing licenses or obtain new licenses, including as a result of reluctance of third parties to subject themselves to regulatory review that may be required to operate as our supplier, we may be required to discontinue or limit our use of the products that include or incorporate the licensed intellectual property, which could adversely impact our business, results of operations and prospects.

We are or may become involved in legal proceedings that, if adversely adjudicated or settled, could impact our business and financial condition.

From time to time, we are named in lawsuits or other legal proceedings relating to our respective businesses. Some of these matters involve commercial or contractual disputes, intellectual property claims, legal compliance, personal injury claims, and employment claims. As with all legal proceedings, no assurances can be given as to the outcome of these matters. Moreover, legal proceedings can be expensive and time consuming, and we may not be successful in defending or prosecuting these lawsuits, which could result in settlements or damages that could significantly impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Item 1B.    Unresolved Staff Comments

None.

Item 1C.    Cybersecurity

Risk management and strategy

We maintain a cybersecurity team responsible for the development and implementation of a program intended to protect the confidentiality, integrity and availability of our critical systems and information. A component of our program is a cybersecurity Incident Response Plan (“IRP”) which has been built by the team utilizing current and historical industry knowledge and experience.

Key elements of our risk management procedures and processes include:

•risk assessments to help mitigate material cybersecurity risks to our critical systems, information, services, and our broader enterprise IT environment;

•a team comprised of IT security, IT infrastructure, and IT compliance personnel principally responsible for directing (1) our cybersecurity risk assessment processes, (2) our security processes, and (3) our response to cybersecurity incidents;

•the use of external cybersecurity service providers, where appropriate, to assess, test or otherwise assist with aspects of our security processes;

•formal information security training program for all team members as well as supplemental training on specific matters such as phishing and email security best practices;

•a cybersecurity incident response plan and Security Operations Center (SOC) to respond to cybersecurity incidents;

•attack and response simulations at the technical level and execute tabletop response exercises at the management level;

•a third-party risk management process for service providers; and

•cybersecurity insurance to cover certain expenses in the event of a cybersecurity incident.

The cybersecurity team reports to the Chief Information Officer and in January 2024, we hired a Chief Information Security Officer (“CISO”) with significant experience in leading cybersecurity teams to assume the leadership of management’s responsibilities and governance discussed below.

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We evaluate our cybersecurity risk management processes and continue to integrate our procedures into our overall enterprise risk management program, which shares common methodologies, reporting channels and governance processes that apply across the enterprise risk management program to other legal, compliance, strategic, operational, and financial risk areas.

Incidents are investigated by the cybersecurity team as they are identified and may be resolved or escalated based upon the specific details and severity of each incident. Incidents are evaluated throughout the investigation and remediation processes and incidents determined to be insignificant may be resolved by the cybersecurity team without further escalation at that time. Incidents determined to be more severe, such as those that may have compromised the confidentiality, integrity and availability of our critical systems and information, are escalated by the cybersecurity team to notify legal counsel, our Cybersecurity & Privacy Executive Steering Committee, our Board of Directors, or various regulators, as required.

Our cybersecurity team evaluates the risk profile of new third party service providers and maintains communication channels with key third party service providers to evaluate and respond to possible effects of incidents within a service provider’s organization. We rely on, and in certain cases require, our third parties to communicate such incidents timely.

As previously disclosed, on September 14, 2023, we announced that an unauthorized actor had gained access to our information technology network as a result of a social engineering attack on an outsourced IT support vendor used by the Company, and acquired a copy of, among other data, our loyalty program database (“Data Incident”). After detecting suspicious activity in our information technology network, we activated our IRP, which included containment measures, and commenced an investigation of the incident. We also notified law enforcement and state gaming regulators, engaged legal counsel and other third-party incident response and cybersecurity professionals, as well as forensic professionals.

We have received, and continue to pursue, reimbursements from insurance carriers for costs incurred as a result of the Data Incident. Based on our assessment, the incident has not had a material impact, and we do not believe the incident has materially affected or will materially affect us, including our operations, business strategy, results of operations, or financial condition.

As a result of the Data Incident, numerous putative class action lawsuits have been filed against us purporting to represent various classes of persons whose personal information was affected by the Data Incident. These class actions assert a variety of common law and statutory claims based on allegations that we failed to use reasonable security procedures and practices to safeguard customers’ personal information, and seek monetary and statutory damages, injunctive relief and other related relief. In addition to those putative class action lawsuits, individual claims have been filed or threatened against us as well.

We have also received inquiries from numerous state regulators related to the Data Incident. We are responding to these inquiries and cooperating fully with regulators. See Note 11 for further discussion.

We face certain ongoing risks from cybersecurity threats that, if realized, are reasonably likely to materially affect us, including our operations, business strategy, results of operations, or financial condition.

Governance

Our Board considers cybersecurity risk as critical to the enterprise and is responsible for reviewing our cybersecurity risk profile, including management’s design, implementation and enforcement of our cybersecurity risk management program. The Board of Directors receives periodic updates from our Chief Information Officer (“CIO”) on cybersecurity risks and threats. Board members also receive periodic presentations on cybersecurity topics from our CIO, supported by our internal security staff, or external experts as part of the Board’s continuing education on topics that impact public companies.

The Board has determined that retaining responsibility for risks related to cybersecurity oversight is appropriate, given the complexity of the risks associated with cybersecurity and the attention required to appropriately review and monitor such risks. The full Board lends its collective experience and attention to discussing and overseeing potential risks identified by management and stays up to date on management’s risk-mitigation processes related to cybersecurity.

Our CIO supervises efforts to prevent, detect, mitigate, and remediate cybersecurity risks and incidents through various means, which include briefings from internal security personnel; threat intelligence and other information obtained from governmental, public or private sources, including external cybersecurity service providers; and alerts and reports produced by security tools deployed in the IT environment.

Our CIO is responsible for assessing and managing our material risks from cybersecurity threats. Our CIO has the primary responsibility for leading our overall cybersecurity risk management program and supervises both our internal cybersecurity personnel and our external cybersecurity service providers. Our CIO has significant global experience in managing and leading IT and cybersecurity teams. Members of the cybersecurity team hold various credentials and certificates with respect to information systems and they participate in continuing education.

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Item 2.    Properties

As of December 31, 2023, the following are our properties, including properties that were divested during the year. All amounts are approximations.

Property	Location	Casino Space– Sq. Ft.	Slot Machines	Table Games	Hotel Rooms and Suites
Las Vegas Segment
Owned-Domestic
The Cromwell	Las Vegas, NV	40,600	350	30	190
Flamingo Las Vegas	Las Vegas, NV	72,300	840	60	3,450
Horseshoe Las Vegas (a)	Las Vegas, NV	61,100	770	50	2,060
The LINQ Hotel & Casino	Las Vegas, NV	39,100	620	40	2,240
Paris Las Vegas (a)	Las Vegas, NV	96,700	840	70	3,670
Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino	Las Vegas, NV	63,800	820	70	2,500
Leased
Caesars Palace Las Vegas	Las Vegas, NV	124,500	1,310	160	3,980
Harrah’s Las Vegas	Las Vegas, NV	88,800	1,020	60	2,540
Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino (b)	Las Vegas, NV	117,300	910	40	2,520
Regional Segment
Owned-Domestic
Caesars Virginia (c)	Danville, VA	40,000	820	30	—
Circus Circus Reno	Reno, NV	65,500	420	10	1,570
Eldorado Gaming Scioto Downs	Columbus, OH	108,400	1,870	—	—
Eldorado Resort Casino Reno	Reno, NV	70,000	780	40	810
Grand Victoria Casino	Elgin, IL	42,400	750	50	—
Harrah’s Columbus Nebraska (d)	Columbus, NE	6,300	240	—	—
Harrah’s Hoosier Park Racing & Casino	Anderson, IN	86,100	1,170	40	—
Horseshoe Baltimore	Baltimore, MD	133,300	1,600	170	—
Horseshoe Black Hawk	Black Hawk, CO	26,900	610	30	400
Horseshoe Indianapolis	Shelbyville, IN	99,300	1,520	90	—
Horseshoe Lake Charles	Westlake, LA	63,000	800	50	250
Isle of Capri Casino Boonville	Boonville, MO	28,000	780	20	140
Isle of Capri Casino Lula	Lula, MS	59,300	520	10	150
Harrah’s Pompano Beach	Pompano Beach, FL	71,700	1,260	40	—
Lady Luck Casino - Black Hawk	Black Hawk, CO	11,200	290	—	—
Silver Legacy Resort Casino	Reno, NV	90,100	840	60	1,680
Leased
Caesars Atlantic City	Atlantic City, NJ	114,800	1,750	110	1,140
Harrah’s Atlantic City	Atlantic City, NJ	150,100	1,840	130	2,580
Harrah’s Council Bluffs	Council Bluffs, IA	27,600	690	10	250
Harrah’s Gulf Coast	Biloxi, MS	37,200	640	30	500
Harrah’s Joliet	Joliet, IL	39,000	770	20	200
Harrah’s Lake Tahoe	Lake Tahoe, NV	54,000	720	60	510
Harrah’s Laughlin	Laughlin, NV	58,200	730	30	1,510
Harrah’s Metropolis	Metropolis, IL	23,500	600	20	210
Harrah’s New Orleans	New Orleans, LA	111,100	1,010	110	450
Harrah’s North Kansas City	N. Kansas City, MO	57,500	920	60	390
Harrah’s Philadelphia	Chester, PA	88,700	1,580	50	—
Harveys Lake Tahoe	Lake Tahoe, NV	48,900	580	30	740
Horseshoe Bossier City	Bossier City, LA	34,000	960	60	600
Horseshoe Council Bluffs	Council Bluffs, IA	59,200	1,230	50	150
Horseshoe Hammond	Hammond, IN	109,600	1,650	80	—
Horseshoe St. Louis	St. Louis, MO	75,000	980	30	490

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Property	Location	Casino Space– Sq. Ft.	Slot Machines	Table Games	Hotel Rooms and Suites
Horseshoe Tunica	Tunica, MS	63,000	930	90	510
Isle Casino Bettendorf	Bettendorf, IA	41,200	870	20	510
Isle Casino Waterloo	Waterloo, IA	39,200	820	20	190
Trop Casino Greenville	Greenville, MS	22,800	450	—	—
Tropicana Atlantic City	Atlantic City, NJ	121,100	1,630	100	2,360
Tropicana Laughlin Hotel & Casino	Laughlin, NV	43,200	640	10	1,490
Managed and Branded Segment
Managed
Harrah’s Ak-Chin	Phoenix, AZ	65,200	1,150	30	530
Harrah’s Cherokee	Cherokee, NC	222,600	3,260	160	1,830
Harrah’s Cherokee Valley River	Murphy, NC	66,000	970	50	300
Harrah’s Resort Southern California	Funner, CA	72,900	1,450	50	1,090
Caesars Windsor	Canada	100,000	1,680	80	760
Caesars Dubai (e)	United Arab Emirates	—	—	—	580
Branded
Caesars Southern Indiana	Elizabeth, IN	74,400	980	90	500
Harrah’s Northern California	Ione, CA	30,100	740	10	—

____________________

(a)In December 2023, the Company rebranded a hotel tower as the Versailles tower and moved 750 rooms from Horseshoe Las Vegas to Paris Las Vegas.

(b)As of October 2, 2023, Caesars no longer operates the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino and all operations were assumed by the lessor.

(c)Temporary gaming facility opened on May 15, 2023. The construction of the permanent facility of Caesars Virginia is expected to be completed in late 2024.

(d)Temporary gaming facility opened on June 12, 2023. The construction of the permanent facility of Harrah’s Columbus Nebraska is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2024.

(e)On November 16, 2023, the Company exited the management agreement associated with Caesars Dubai and the property was renamed under new ownership.

Certain of our properties operate off-track betting locations, including Harrah’s Hoosier Park Racing & Casino, which operates Winner’s Circle Indianapolis and Winner’s Circle New Haven, and Horseshoe Indianapolis, which operates Winner’s Circle Clarksville. Other properties of ours include The LINQ Promenade, next to The LINQ Hotel & Casino (the “LINQ”) and the CAESARS FORUM conference center in our Las Vegas segment. The LINQ Promenade is an open-air dining, entertainment, and retail promenade located on the east side of the Las Vegas Strip that features the High Roller, a 550-foot observation wheel, and the Fly LINQ Zipline attraction. The CAESARS FORUM is a 550,000 square feet conference center with 300,000 square feet of flexible meeting space, two of the largest pillarless ballrooms in the world and direct access to the LINQ. We will also open our first non-gaming hotel experience in the first half of 2024 with the opening of Caesars Republic Scottsdale featuring more than 250 hotel rooms, approximately 20,000 square feet of event space and hotel amenities including, pools, bars, lounges, and celebrity partnered restaurants.

Item 3.    Legal Proceedings

For a discussion of our “Legal Proceedings,” refer to Note 11 to our Financial Statements located elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Item 4.    Mine Safety Disclosures

Not applicable.

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PART II

Item 5.    Market for Registrants’ Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

Our Common Stock is quoted on the NASDAQ Stock Market under the symbol “CZR”. As of February 15, 2024, there were approximately 297 holders of record of our common stock.

We have not paid any cash dividends on our common stock. We intend to retain all of our earnings to finance the development of our business, and thus, do not anticipate paying cash dividends on our common stock for the foreseeable future. Payment of any cash dividends in the future will be at the discretion of our Board and will depend upon, among other things, our future earnings, operations and capital requirements, our general financial condition, general business conditions and restrictions that may be in place under our borrowing arrangements or existing lease agreements.

Equity Compensation Plan Information

We maintain long-term incentive plans which allow for granting stock-based compensation awards for directors, employees, officers, and consultants or advisers who render services to the Company or its subsidiaries, based on Company Common Stock, including stock options, restricted stock, restricted stock units (“RSUs”), performance stock units (“PSUs”), market-based performance stock units (“MSUs”), stock appreciation rights, and other stock-based awards or dividend equivalents. Forfeitures are recorded in the period in which they occur. See Note 15 for a description of our stock-based compensation plans.

The following table sets forth information as of December 31, 2023, with respect to compensation plans under which equity securities that we have authorized for issuance.

Plan Category	Number of securities to be issued upon exercise of outstanding options, warrants and rights (1)	Weighted average exercise price of outstanding options, warrants and rights (2)		Number of securities remaining available for future issuance under equity compensation plans (excluding securities reflected in column (a))
	(a)	(b)		(c)
Equity compensation plans approved by security holders	3,122,668	$	—	3,937,123

___________________

(1)Includes unvested RSUs, PSUs, and MSUs only, there were no outstanding options as of December 31, 2023.

(2)RSUs, PSUs, and MSUs do not have an exercise price.

Changes to the Authorized Shares

On June 17, 2021, following receipt of required shareholder approvals, the Company amended its Certificate of Incorporation to increase the number of authorized shares of common stock from 300 million to 500 million, and authorize the issuance of up to 150 million shares of preferred stock. As of December 31, 2023, no shares of preferred stock have been issued.

Share Repurchase Program

In November 2018, our Board authorized a common stock repurchase program of up to $150 million of stock (the “Share Repurchase Program”) pursuant to which we may, from time to time, repurchase shares of common stock on the open market (either with or without a 10b5-1 plan) or through privately negotiated transactions. The Share Repurchase Program has no time limit and may be suspended or discontinued at any time without notice. There is no minimum number of shares of common stock that we are required to repurchase under the Share Repurchase Program. 

As of December 31, 2023, we have acquired 223,823 shares of common stock under this program since 2018 at an aggregate value of $9 million and an average of $40.80 per share. No shares were repurchased during the years ended December 31, 2023 or 2022.

Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities

None.

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Stock Performance Graph

The graph depicted below compares the cumulative total stockholder return on our common stock with the cumulative total return on the Standard & Poor's 500 Stock Index (“S&P 500”) and the Dow Jones U.S. Gambling Total Stock Market Index (“Dow Jones U.S. Gambling”) for the period beginning on December 31, 2018 and ending on December 31, 2023. NASDAQ OMX furnished the data. The performance graph assumes a $100 investment in our stock and each of the two indices, respectively, on December 31, 2018, and that all dividends were reinvested. Stock price performance, presented for the period from December 31, 2018 to December 31, 2023, is not necessarily indicative of future results.

The performance graph should not be deemed filed or incorporated by reference into any other of our filings under the Securities Act or the Exchange Act, unless we specifically incorporate the performance graph by reference therein.

Item 6.    [Reserved]

Not used.

Item 7.    Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

The following discussion should be read in conjunction with, and is qualified in its entirety by, the audited consolidated financial statements and the notes thereto and other financial information included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Caesars Entertainment, Inc., a Delaware corporation, and its subsidiaries, may be referred to as the “Company,” “CEI,” “Caesars,” “we,” “our,” “us,” or the “Registrant.”

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.” References to numbered “Notes” refer to Notes to our Consolidated Financial Statements included in Item 8.

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The statements in this discussion regarding our expectations of our future performance, liquidity and capital resources, and other non-historical statements are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties. Our actual results may differ materially from those contained in or implied by any forward-looking statements. See “Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information.”

Objective

This Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (“MD&A”) is intended to be a narrative explanation of the financial statements and other statistical data that should be read in conjunction with the accompanying financial statements to enhance an investor’s understanding of our financial condition, changes in financial condition and results of operations. Our objectives are: (i) to provide a narrative explanation of our financial statements that will enable investors to see the Company through the eyes of management; (ii) to enhance the overall financial disclosure and provide the context within which financial information should be analyzed; and (iii) to provide information about the quality of, and potential variability of, our earnings and cash flows so that investors can ascertain the likelihood of whether past performance is indicative of future performance.

Overview

We are 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, we 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. Our ticker symbol on the NASDAQ Stock Market is “CZR.”

We currently own, lease or manage 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. In addition, we have other properties in North America that are authorized to use the brands and marks of Caesars Entertainment, Inc. Our primary source of revenue is generated by our casino properties’ gaming operations, which includes our retail and online sports betting and online gaming, and we utilize our hotels, restaurants, bars, entertainment, racing, retail shops and other services to attract customers to our properties.

As of December 31, 2023, we owned 22 of our casinos and leased 24 casinos in the U.S. We lease 18 casinos from VICI Properties L.P., a Delaware limited partnership (“VICI”) pursuant to a regional lease, a Las Vegas lease and a Joliet lease (collectively, “VICI Leases”). We also lease six casinos from GLP Capital, L.P., the operating partnership of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (“GLPI”), pursuant to a Master Lease (as amended, the “GLPI Master Lease”) and a Lumière lease (together with the GLPI Master Lease, the “GLPI Leases”). Additionally, we leased the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino (“Rio”) from a separate third party until October 2, 2023, at which time operations were assumed by the lessor. See descriptions below under the “GLPI Leases” and “VICI Leases.”

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We operate and conduct retail and online sports wagering across 31 jurisdictions in North America, 25 of which offer online sports betting. Additionally, we operate iGaming in five jurisdictions in North America. The map below illustrates Caesars Digital’s presence as of December 31, 2023:

In 2022, we partnered with NYRABets LLC, the official online wagering platform of the New York Racing Association, Inc., and have launched the Caesars Racebook app within 20 states as of December 31, 2023. Caesars Racebook also went live in Illinois in January 2024. The Caesars Racebook app provides access for pari-mutuel wagering at over 300 racetracks around the world as well as livestreaming of races. Wagers placed can earn credits towards our Caesars Rewards loyalty program or points which can be redeemed for free wagering credits.

We are also in the process of continuing the expansion of our Caesars Digital footprint into other states in the near term with our Caesars Sportsbook, Caesars Racebook and iGaming mobile apps as jurisdictions legalize or provide necessary approvals. No customers under 21 years old are allowed to wager on any of our Caesars Sportsbook, Caesars Racebook and iGaming mobile apps.

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We periodically divest of assets in order to raise capital or as a result of a determination that the assets are not core to our business, or due to regulatory requirements. The following is a summary of recently completed divestitures as of December 31, 2023:

Segment	Property	Date Sold	Sales Price
Regional	MontBleu Casino Resort & Spa (“MontBleu”)	April 6, 2021	$15 million
Regional	Tropicana Evansville (“Evansville”)	June 3, 2021	$480 million
Regional	Belle of Baton Rouge Casino & Hotel (“Baton Rouge”)	May 5, 2022	*
Discontinued operations:
Regional	Harrah’s Louisiana Downs	November 1, 2021	$22 million (a)
Regional	Caesars Southern Indiana	September 3, 2021	$250 million
N/A	Caesars UK Group	July 16, 2021	*
N/A	William Hill International	July 1, 2022	£2.0 billion

____________________

*Not meaningful.

(a)The proceeds of this sale were split between the Company and VICI.

In addition to the divestitures above, the operations of Rio were assumed by the lessor on October 2, 2023, and we exited our management agreement with Caesars Dubai on November 16, 2023. See Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data — Note 4 for further discussion on these key transactions and any applicable gain (loss) or impairment charges recorded.

Merger and Acquisitions Related Activities

William Hill Acquisition

On April 22, 2021, we completed the William Hill Acquisition for cash consideration of approximately £2.9 billion, or approximately $3.9 billion, based on the GBP to USD exchange rate on the closing date.

We acquired William Hill PLC and its U.S. subsidiary, William Hill U.S. Holdco (“William Hill US” and together with William Hill PLC, “William Hill”) to better position the Company to address the extensive usage of digital platforms, continued legalization in additional states and jurisdictions, and growing bettor demand, which are driving the market for online sports betting platforms in the U.S. In addition, we continue to leverage the World Series of Poker (“WSOP”) brand and license the WSOP trademarks for a variety of products and services across these digital platforms. At the time that the William Hill Acquisition was consummated, our intent was to divest William Hill International and as such its results were presented in discontinued operations.

On September 8, 2021, we entered into an agreement to sell William Hill International to 888 Holdings Plc for approximately £2.2 billion. On April 7, 2022, we amended the agreement to sell William Hill International to 888 Holdings Plc for a revised enterprise value of approximately £2.0 billion. During the year ended December 31, 2022, we recorded impairments to assets held for sale of $503 million within discontinued operations based on the revised and final sales price. On July 1, 2022, we completed the sale of William Hill International to 888 Holdings Plc.

We recognized acquisition-related transaction costs of $21 million and $68 million for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively, excluding additional transaction cost associated with sale of William Hill International. These costs were associated with legal, professional services and certain severance and retention costs and were primarily recorded in Transaction and other costs on our Statements of Operations.

Consolidation of Horseshoe Baltimore

On August 26, 2021, we increased our ownership interest in CBAC Borrower, LLC (“Horseshoe Baltimore”), a property which we also managed, to approximately 75.8% for cash consideration of $55 million. As a result of the increase in our ownership interest, our previously held investment was remeasured and we recognized a gain of $40 million for the year ended December 31, 2021. Subsequent to the change in ownership, we determined that we have a controlling financial interest and began to consolidate the operations of Horseshoe Baltimore.

Additionally, on July 10, 2023, we completed the acquisition of the remaining 24.2% equity ownership in Horseshoe Baltimore, utilizing cash on hand, for a total of $66 million.

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Investments and Partnerships

We have investments in unconsolidated affiliates accounted for under the equity method which are recorded in Investment in and advances to unconsolidated affiliates on the Balance Sheets. Certain significant investments as of December 31, 2023 and 2022 are discussed below.

Pompano Joint Venture

In April 2018, we entered into a joint venture with Cordish Companies (“Cordish”) to plan and develop a mixed-use entertainment and hospitality destination expected to be located on unused land adjacent to the casino and racetrack at our Pompano property. As the managing member, Cordish will operate the business and manage the development, construction, financing, marketing, leasing, maintenance and day-to-day operation of the various phases of the project. Additionally, Cordish is responsible for the development of the master plan for the project with our input and will submit it for our review and approval. In October 2023 and June 2021, the joint venture issued capital calls and we contributed $3 million each, respectively, for a total of $7 million in cash contributions since inception of the joint venture. On February 12, 2021, we contributed 186 acres to the joint venture with a fair value of $61 million. Total contributions of approximately 209 acres of land have been made with a fair value of approximately $69 million, and we have no further obligation to contribute additional real estate or cash. During the year ended December 31, 2023, the Company recorded income related to the investment of $64 million, primarily due to the joint venture’s gain on the sale of land. As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, our investment in the joint venture was $147 million and $80 million, respectively, and is recorded in Investment in and advances to unconsolidated affiliates on the Balance Sheets.

While we hold a 50% variable interest in the joint venture, we are not the primary beneficiary; as such the investment in the joint venture is accounted for using the equity method. We participate evenly with Cordish in the profits and losses of the joint venture, which are included in Transaction and other costs on our Statements of Operations.

NeoGames

The acquired net assets of William Hill included an investment in NeoGames S.A. (“NeoGames”), a global leader of iLottery solutions and services to national and state-regulated lotteries, and other investments. On September 16, 2021, we sold a portion of our shares of NeoGames common stock for $136 million which decreased our ownership interest from 24.5% to approximately 8.4%. Additionally, on March 14, 2022 we sold our remaining 2 million shares at fair value for $26 million. During the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, we recorded losses related to the investment in NeoGames of $34 million and $54 million, respectively, which is included within Other income (loss) on the Statements of Operations.

Reportable Segments

Segment results in this MD&A are presented consistent with the way our management reviews operating results, assesses performance and makes decisions on a “significant market” basis. Management views each of the Company’s casinos as an operating segment. Operating segments are aggregated based on their similar economic characteristics, types of customers, types of services and products provided, and their management and reporting structure. Our principal operating activities occur in four reportable segments: (1) Las Vegas, (2) Regional, (3) Caesars Digital, and (4) Managed and Branded, in addition to Corporate and Other. See Item 2. “Properties” for listing of properties by segment.

Presentation of Financial Information

The financial information included in this Item 7 for the periods after our acquisition of William Hill on April 22, 2021, and of the increase in our ownership percentage and subsequent consolidation of Horseshoe Baltimore on August 26, 2021, is not fully comparable to the periods prior to the acquisitions. In addition, the presentation of financial information herein for the periods after the Company’s divestiture of various properties, described above, is not fully comparable to the periods prior to the date of divestiture.

This MD&A is intended to provide information to assist in better understanding and evaluating our financial condition and results of operations. Our historical operating results may not be indicative of our future results of operations because of the factors described in the preceding paragraph and the changing competitive landscape in each of our markets, including changes in market and societal trends, increased competition, as well as by factors or trends discussed elsewhere herein. We recommend that you read this MD&A together with our audited consolidated financial statements and the notes to those statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

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Key Performance Metrics

Our primary source of revenue is generated by our gaming operations, which includes our retail and online sports betting and online gaming. Additionally, we utilize our hotels, restaurants, bars, entertainment venues, retail shops, racing and other services to attract customers to our properties. Our operating results are highly dependent on the volume and quality of customers staying at, or visiting, our properties and using our sports betting, horse racing and iGaming applications.

Key performance metrics include volume indicators such as drop or handle, which refer to amounts wagered by our customers. The amount of volume we retain, which is not fully controllable by us, is recognized as casino revenues and is referred to as our win or hold. Slot win percentage is typically in the range of approximately 9% to 11% of slot handle for both the Las Vegas and Regional segments. Table game hold percentage is typically in the range of approximately 16% to 23% of table game drop in both the Las Vegas and Regional segments. Sports betting hold is typically in the range of 5% to 10% and iGaming hold typically ranges from 3% to 5%. In addition, hotel occupancy, which is the average percentage of available hotel rooms occupied during a period, is a key indicator for our hotel business in the Las Vegas segment. See “Results of Operations” section below. Complimentary and discounted rooms are treated as occupied rooms in our calculation of hotel occupancy. The key metrics we utilize to measure our profitability and performance are Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA margin.

Significant Factors Impacting Financial Results

The following summary highlights the significant factors impacting our financial results during the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021.

Acquisitions and Transaction Costs

•William Hill Acquisition – On April 22, 2021, we consummated the acquisition of the entire issued and to be issued share capital (other than shares owned by the Company or held in treasury) of William Hill PLC, in an all-cash transaction of £2.9 billion, or approximately $3.9 billion. We recognized acquisition-related transaction costs of $21 million and $68 million for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively, excluding additional transaction costs associated with sale of William Hill International.

•Consolidation of Horseshoe Baltimore – On August 26, 2021, we increased our ownership interest in Horseshoe Baltimore to approximately 75.8%. Prior to the purchase, we held an interest in Horseshoe Baltimore of approximately 44.3% which was accounted for as an equity method investment. Subsequent to the change in ownership, we determined we have a controlling financial interest and consolidated the operations of Horseshoe Baltimore. As a result of the consolidation, we recognized a gain of $40 million during the year ended December 31, 2021. Additionally, on July 10, 2023, we completed the acquisition of the remaining 24.2% equity ownership in Horseshoe Baltimore, utilizing cash on hand, for a total of $66 million.

Divestitures and Discontinued Operations

•Divestitures and Discontinued Operations – See “Overview” section above for detail of properties divested, including related discontinued operations.

•The operations of Rio were assumed by the lessor on October 2, 2023, and we exited our management agreement with Caesars Dubai on November 16, 2023.

Financing Transactions

•Debt Transactions – We continue to utilize free cash flow to reduce our leverage, extend the maturity of our outstanding debt and balance our mix of fixed and variable debt. The following are the key financing transactions and their effects on our operations, from the use of free cash flow, unless otherwise noted:

◦Issued $2.0 billion CEI Senior Secured Notes due 2030 and amended the CEI Credit Agreement and incurred a new $2.5 billion CEI Term Loan B. Net proceeds received from these transactions were used to repay the $3.4 billion outstanding principal amount of the CRC Term Loan and the $1.0 billion outstanding principal amount of the CRC Incremental Term Loan on February 6, 2023.

◦Fully repaid $267 million of the outstanding principal balance of the Baltimore Term Loan as of July 17, 2023.

◦Prepaid the outstanding $400 million Forum Convention Center Mortgage Loan on May 1, 2023.

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◦For the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021, we recorded extinguishment charges of $200 million, $85 million and $236 million, respectively, which are recorded within Loss on extinguishment of debt on the Statements of Operations due to the aforementioned activity.

◦Refer to the Liquidity and Capital Resources section below for further discussion of our recent debt transactions, including our financing transactions subsequent to December 31, 2023, in which we issued $1.5 billion of new CEI Senior Secured Notes due 2032 and a new $2.9 billion CEI Term Loan B-1. Net proceeds received from these transactions, together with borrowings under our CEI Revolving Credit Facility, were used to tender, redeem, repurchase, defease, and/or satisfy and discharge the CEI Senior Secured Notes due 2025 and the CRC Senior Secured Notes.

Other Significant Factors

•New Developments and Re-openings – During the construction of the permanent facilities for Caesars Virginia and Harrah’s Columbus Nebraska, we opened temporary gaming facilities during the second quarter of 2023. Caesars Virginia’s temporary facility opened on May 15, 2023 and Harrah’s Columbus Nebraska’s temporary facility opened on June 12, 2023. In addition to the temporary facilities, the reopening of Horseshoe Lake Charles in December 2022 has contributed to the Regional segment’s performance when compared to the prior year period.

•Caesars Sportsbook, Caesars Racebook and iGaming mobile apps – During the year ended December 31, 2023, we launched Caesars Sportsbook in new jurisdictions, migrated our sports betting platform to Liberty in Nevada, and launched our new online and mobile iGaming application, Caesars Palace Online Casino. As new states and jurisdictions have legalized sports betting, we have made varying degrees of upfront investments executed through marketing campaigns and promotional incentives to acquire new customers and establish our presence. For example, in connection with the launch of our Caesars Sportsbook app in New York and Louisiana in January 2022, we experienced negative net revenue in the first quarter of 2022 resulting from a substantial amount of bonus cash and matched deposits issued to customers as sign-on incentives, which exceeded our gaming win. We continue to adjust our level of investment during the launch period in new jurisdictions based, in part, on prior experience and do not expect such investment to continue at elevated levels subsequent to the initial launch period. During the year ended December 31, 2023, promotional and marketing expenses have significantly decreased as compared to the prior year period.

•Income Taxes – Management assesses the available positive and negative evidence to estimate if sufficient future taxable income will be generated to use existing deferred tax assets. During the second quarter of 2023, we evaluated our forecasted adjusted taxable income and objectively verifiable evidence and placed substantial weight on our 2022 and 2023 quarterly earnings, adjusted for non-recurring items, including the interest expense disallowed under current tax law. Accordingly, we determined it was more likely than not that a portion of the federal and state deferred tax assets will be realized and, as a result, during the second quarter of 2023, we reversed the valuation allowance related to these deferred tax assets and recorded an income tax benefit of $940 million. We are still carrying a valuation allowance on certain federal and state deferred tax assets that are not more likely than not to be realized in the future. We have assessed the changes to the valuation allowance, including realization of the disallowed interest expense deferred tax asset, using the integrated approach.

•Economic Factors Impacting Discretionary Spending – Gaming and other leisure activities we offer represent discretionary expenditures which may be sensitive to economic downturns, such as the resurgence of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 that negatively impacted the first quarter of 2022. We also monitor recent trends, including higher inflation and interest rates, and the related effects on our customers, and our operations.

•Impairment Charges – As a result of our finalized and approved capital and operating plans and the completion of our 2023 annual impairment testing, we recognized impairment charges during the year ended December 31, 2023 in our Regional segment. These impairments were primarily due to a decrease in projected cash flows at certain regional properties mainly due to increased competition. We identified one reporting unit where the estimated fair value of the associated gaming rights was less than the carrying value and recorded an impairment of $81 million. In addition, we identified one reporting unit with an estimated fair value below its carrying value, resulting in total impairment of $14 million to goodwill.

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During the year ended December 31, 2022, the Company recognized impairment charges in our Regional segment related to goodwill and gaming rights totaling $78 million and $30 million, respectively, due to an increase in the related discount rates, which represents the higher required cost of capital as a result of the macroeconomic environment and projected outlook.

In December 2021, we approved a capital plan which included the planned rebranding of certain of our properties. We utilized an income approach to determine the fair value of the trademarks subject to rebranding based on their expected future cash flows, which resulted in an impairment charge of $102 million during the year ended December 31, 2021.

•Weather Disruption – During the first quarter of 2023, our Regional segment was negatively impacted by severe winter weather, particularly in northern Nevada, which caused poor and unsafe travel conditions reducing visitation to our Lake Tahoe and Reno properties. During the year ended December 31, 2022, we reached a final settlement agreement with the insurance carriers for the damage and disruption caused by Hurricane Laura to our Lake Charles property in 2020 for a total amount of $128 million, before our insurance deductible of $25 million. We recorded gains of $38 million and $21 million during the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively, which are included in Transaction and other costs in our Statements of Operations, as proceeds received for the cost to replace damaged property were in excess of respective carrying value of the assets.

Results of Operations

The following table highlights the results of our operations:

	Years Ended December 31,
(Dollars in millions)	2023			2022			2021
Net revenues:
Las Vegas	$	4,470		$	4,287		$	3,409
Regional	5,778			5,704			5,537
Caesars Digital	973			548			337
Managed and Branded	307			282			278
Corporate and Other (a)	—			—			9
Total	$	11,528		$	10,821		$	9,570
Net income (loss)	$	828		$	(910)		$	(1,016)
Adjusted EBITDA (b):
Las Vegas	$	2,016		$	1,964		$	1,568
Regional	1,962			1,985			1,979
Caesars Digital	38			(666)			(476)
Managed and Branded	76			84			87
Corporate and Other (a)	(154)			(124)			(168)
Total	$	3,938		$	3,243		$	2,990
Net income (loss) margin	7.2		%	(8.4)		%	(10.6)		%
Adjusted EBITDA margin	34.2		%	30.0		%	31.2		%

___________________

(a)Corporate and Other includes revenues related to certain licensing arrangements and various revenue sharing agreements. Corporate and Other Adjusted EBITDA includes corporate overhead costs, which consist of certain expenses, such as: payroll, professional fees and other general and administrative expenses.

(b)See the “Supplemental Unaudited Presentation of Consolidated Adjusted Earnings before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization (“Adjusted EBITDA”)” discussion later in this MD&A for a description of Adjusted EBITDA and a reconciliation of net income (loss) to Adjusted EBITDA.

Consolidated comparison for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021

The following table highlights the results of our operations: Comparisons between 2023 and 2022 are described below. A discussion of changes in our results of operations between year ended December 31, 2022 compared to 2021 has been omitted from this Annual Report on Form 10-K and can be found in “Item 7 - Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations - Year Ended December 31, 2022 Compared to the Year Ended December 31, 2021” of the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022.

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Net Revenues

Net revenues were as follows:

	Years Ended December 31,						Variance		Percent Change		Variance		Percent Change
(Dollars in millions)	2023		2022		2021		2023 vs 2022				2022 vs 2021
Casino	$	6,367	$	5,997	$	5,827	$	370	6.2	%	$	170	2.9	%
Food and beverage	1,728		1,596		1,140		132		8.3	%	456		40.0	%
Hotel	2,090		1,957		1,551		133		6.8	%	406		26.2	%
Other	1,343		1,271		1,052		72		5.7	%	219		20.8	%
Net Revenues	$	11,528	$	10,821	$	9,570	$	707	6.5	%	$	1,251	13.1	%

Consolidated net revenues increased for the year ended December 31, 2023 primarily due to higher gaming revenues in the Caesars Digital segment resulting from higher sports betting hold and additional state launches of our online and retail Caesars Sportsbooks. Promotional allowances offered during launches in new jurisdictions were significantly reduced year over year. Hotel occupancy rates within the Las Vegas segment continued to improve as compared to the same prior year periods and also contributed to the increase in net revenues. The Regional segment benefited from the opening of two temporary gaming facilities, Caesars Virginia on May 15, 2023 and Harrah’s Columbus Nebraska on June 12, 2023, as well as the reopening of Horseshoe Lake Charles in December 2022. Further, the Omicron variant of COVID-19 negatively impacted prior year results during the first quarter of 2022 across substantially all of our properties, including disruptions to group and conventions, banquets, and scheduled concert events. These improved results were partially offset by increased competition associated with new casino resorts opening in some of our regional markets, construction disruptions, and inclement weather across the country, particularly in northern Nevada, which restricted travel in the first quarter of 2023. The Company continues to expand partnerships with iconic entertainers to host concerts and performances, and celebrity chefs to offer new food and beverage venues to drive new and repeat visitation to our properties.

Operating Expenses

Operating expenses were as follows:

	Years Ended December 31,						Variance		Percent Change		Variance		Percent Change
(Dollars in millions)	2023		2022		2021		2023 vs 2022				2022 vs 2021
Casino	$	3,342	$	3,526	$	3,129	$	(184)	(5.2)	%	$	397	12.7	%
Food and beverage	1,049		935		707		114		12.2	%	228		32.2	%
Hotel	570		529		438		41		7.8	%	91		20.8	%
Other	434		411		373		23		5.6	%	38		10.2	%
General and administrative	2,012		2,068		1,782		(56)		(2.7)	%	286		16.0	%
Corporate	306		286		309		20		7.0	%	(23)		(7.4)	%
Impairment charges	95		108		102		(13)		(12.0)	%	6		5.9	%
Depreciation and amortization	1,261		1,205		1,126		56		4.6	%	79		7.0	%
Transaction and other costs, net	(13)		14		144		(27)		*		(130)		(90.3)	%
Total operating expenses	$	9,056	$	9,082	$	8,110	$	(26)	(0.3)	%	$	972	12.0	%

___________________

*    Not meaningful.

Casino expenses consist primarily of salaries and wages associated with our gaming operations, gaming taxes and marketing and promotions attributable to our Caesars Digital segment. Food and beverage expenses consist principally of salaries and wages and costs of goods sold associated with our food and beverage operations. Hotel expenses consist principally of salaries and wages, supplies and costs of services associated with our hotel operations. Other expenses consist principally of salaries and wages and costs of goods sold associated with our retail, entertainment and other operations.

Casino expenses decreased for the year ended December 31, 2023 as compared to the same prior year period due to a reduction in advertising costs from the promotion of our Caesars Sportsbook app and Caesars Digital’s expansion into new jurisdictions, particularly in the first quarter of 2022. Food and beverage and hotel expenses have increased in connection with increased revenues; however, we continue to focus on labor efficiencies to manage rising labor costs and strategically manage our marketing and advertising spend to reduce our casino expenses. Similarly, we continue to manage recent increases in food costs by focusing on efficiencies within food and beverage venues and menu options.

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General and administrative expenses include items such as information technology, facility maintenance, utilities, property and liability insurance, expenses for administrative departments such as accounting, compliance, purchasing, human resources, legal, internal audit, and property taxes. General and administrative expenses also include other marketing expenses indirectly related to our gaming and non-gaming operations.

Corporate expenses include unallocated expenses such as payroll, inclusive of the annual bonus, stock-based compensation, professional fees, and other various expenses not directly related to the Company’s operations.

Transaction and other costs, net for the year ended December 31, 2023 primarily includes non-cash changes in equity method investments and a gain of $29 million associated with proceeds received from the sale of a potential insurance recovery. Offsetting these costs are non-cash losses on the write down and disposal of assets and pre-opening costs in connection with new temporary facility openings. Transaction and other costs, net for the year ended December 31, 2022 primarily represents professional services for integration activities and various contract exit or termination costs, offset by a $38 million gain in the first quarter of 2022 resulting from insurance proceeds received in excess of the respective carrying value of damaged assets associated with our Lake Charles property.

Other Expense

Other expense was as follows:

	Years Ended December 31,						Variance		Percent Change		Variance		Percent Change
(Dollars in millions)	2023		2022		2021		2023 vs 2022				2022 vs 2021
Interest expense, net	$	(2,342)	$	(2,265)	$	(2,295)	$	(77)	(3.4)	%	$	30	1.3	%
Loss on extinguishment of debt	(200)		(85)		(236)		(115)		(135.3)	%	151		64.0	%
Other income (loss)	10		46		(198)		(36)		(78.3)	%	244		*
Benefit for income taxes	888		41		283		847		*		(242)		(85.5)	%

___________________

*    Not meaningful.

For the year ended December 31, 2023, interest expense, net increased year over year due to annual escalators in our financing obligations related to our VICI Leases, including escalators based on the Consumer Price Index (“CPI”) that take effect in November of each year. In addition, although we have reduced our outstanding debt, rising interest rates have negatively impacted our borrowing rates and resulted in interest expense related to debt service to be flat compared to the prior year.

For the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, loss on extinguishment of debt was primarily related to the prepayments of the Caesars Resort Collection (“CRC”) Term Loan and the CRC Incremental Term Loan. In addition, on July 17, 2023, we repaid the Baltimore Term Loan.

Other income decreased for the year ended December 31, 2023, as compared to prior year, mainly due to a change in the fair value of foreign exchange forward contracts and a gain related to the resolution of a disputed claims liability, offset by the change in fair value of investments, all of which were recorded in the prior year.

The income tax benefit was $888 million for 2023 and $41 million for 2022. The reported income tax benefit in 2023 differed from the statutory income tax benefit primarily due to the partial release of federal and state valuation allowances. During the second quarter of 2023, we reversed the valuation allowance related to certain deferred tax assets and recorded a one-time income tax benefit of $940 million, as we determined it was more likely than not that a portion of our federal and state deferred tax assets would be realized. Refer to Item 8. - Note 17 for the effective income tax rate reconciliation.

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Segment comparison for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021

Las Vegas Segment

	Years Ended December 31,									Variance		Percent Change		Variance		Percent Change
(Dollars in millions)	2023			2022			2021			2023 vs 2022				2022 vs 2021
Revenues:
Casino	$	1,212		$	1,247		$	1,226		$	(35)	(2.8)	%	$	21	1.7	%
Food and beverage	1,152			1,063			702			89		8.4	%	361		51.4	%
Hotel	1,447			1,341			968			106		7.9	%	373		38.5	%
Other	659			636			513			23		3.6	%	123		24.0	%
Net revenues	$	4,470		$	4,287		$	3,409		$	183	4.3	%	$	878	25.8	%
Table game drop	$	3,428		$	3,464		$	3,088		$	(36)	(1.0)	%	$	376	12.2	%
Table game hold %	22.2		%	22.0		%	20.2		%			0.2 pts				1.8 pts
Slot handle	$	11,057		$	10,718		$	10,309		$	339	3.2	%	$	409	4.0	%
Hotel occupancy	96.8		%	92.2		%	82.1		%			4.6 pts				10.1 pts
Adjusted EBITDA	$	2,016		$	1,964		$	1,568		$	52	2.6	%	$	396	25.3	%
Adjusted EBITDA margin	45.1		%	45.8		%	46.0		%			(0.7) pts				(0.2) pts
Net income attributable to Caesars	$	1,042		$	1,021		$	641		$	21	2.1	%	$	380	59.3	%

The Las Vegas segment’s net revenues, net income and Adjusted EBITDA increased year over year primarily due to higher hotel, food and beverage and entertainment revenues. The increase in food and beverage revenues was mainly driven by higher restaurant covers and improved product mix associated with the additions of new casual and premier dining venues. Other revenue increased primarily due to entertainment revenues attributable to an increase in both the quality and number of headliner performances in the current year compared to prior year. In addition, during the first quarter of 2022, the resurgence of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 had a significant negative impact on visitation, group and conventions, and scheduled concert events. As a result, the Las Vegas segment experienced increased visitation during 2023 compared to the prior year which has driven higher hotel occupancy, improved room rates, higher food and beverage revenues and additional entertainment revenues.

The increases in net revenues, net income and Adjusted EBITDA were partially offset by growth in overall union and non-union wages and headcount. Additionally, our Las Vegas segment experienced challenges in the middle of 2023, related to construction disruption and roadwork on the Las Vegas Strip. As a result, the Las Vegas segment’s Adjusted EBITDA margin decreased slightly as compared to the prior year.

Slot win percentage in the Las Vegas segment during the year ended December 31, 2023 was within our typical range.

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Regional Segment

	Years Ended December 31,						Variance		Percent Change		Variance		Percent Change
(Dollars in millions)	2023		2022		2021		2023 vs 2022				2022 vs 2021
Revenues:
Casino	$	4,272	$	4,291	$	4,305	$	(19)	(0.4)	%	$	(14)	(0.3)	%
Food and beverage	576		533		438		43		8.1	%	95		21.7	%
Hotel	643		616		583		27		4.4	%	33		5.7	%
Other	287		264		211		23		8.7	%	53		25.1	%