Condensed Consolidating Financial Information of Guarantors and Issuers - Condensed Consolidating Statement of Cash Flows (Detail) (USD $) In Millions, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Cash flows from operating activities	$ 26.5	$ 60.3	$ 104.4
Cash flows from investing activities
Acquisitions of property and equipment, net of change in related payables	(507.7)	(272.5)	(151.3)
Change in restricted cash	(680.5)	(517.7)	0
Return of investment in subsidiary	0
Payments to acquire certain gaming rights	0	(22.7)	(16.5)
Payments to acquire businesses, net of transaction costs and cash acquired	(37.9)	(19.0)	(30.6)
Investments in non-consolidated affiliates and other	(28.1)	(76.0)	(64.0)
Purchase of additional interests in subsidiaries	0	(75.4)	(19.5)
Proceeds from the sale of a subsidiary	42.4	0	0
Purchases of investment securities	(39.2)	(35.7)	(25.8)
Proceeds from the sale and maturity of investment securities	31.6	22.6	14.8
Other	(5.5)	(9.9)	14.4
Cash flows used in investing activities	(1,224.9)	(1,006.3)	(278.5)
Cash flows from financing activities
Proceeds from the issuance of long-term debt	3,709.4	863.8	1,332.2
Assumption of debt issued by non-guarantors	0
Debt issuance costs and fees	(50.6)	(18.1)	(64.6)
Borrowings under lending agreements	453.0	358.0	1,175.0
Repayments under lending agreements	(608.0)	(203.0)	(1,625.8)
Cash paid for early extinguishments of debt	(2,036.6)	(128.5)	(369.1)
Scheduled debt retirements	(15.8)	(43.7)	(237.0)
Purchase of additional interests in subsidiary	(9.6)	0	0
Proceeds from sale of additional interest in a subsidiary	32.2	0	0
Issuance of common stock, net of fees	17.4	0	0
Other	(18.8)	(17.0)	(23.3)
Transfer (to)/from affiliates	0	0	0
Cash flows provided by financing activities	1,472.6	811.5	187.4
Cash flows from discontinued operations
Cash flows from operating activities	(16.9)	62.8	66.4
Cash flows from investing activities	600.3	(10.7)	(9.4)
Cash flows from financing activities	0	0	0
Net cash provided by discontinued operations	583.4	52.1	57.0
Net increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents	857.6	(82.4)	70.3
Effect of deconsolidation of variable interest entities	0	0	(1.4)
Change in cash classified as assets held for sale	8.7	2.5	0.1
Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period	891.2	971.1	902.1
Cash and cash equivalents, end of period	1,757.5	891.2	971.1
CEC (Parent Guarantor) [Member]
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Cash flows from operating activities	258.6	182.9	753.9
Cash flows from investing activities
Acquisitions of property and equipment, net of change in related payables	0	0	0
Change in restricted cash	0	0
Return of investment in subsidiary	0
Payments to acquire certain gaming rights		0	0
Payments to acquire businesses, net of transaction costs and cash acquired	0	(123.5)	0
Investments in non-consolidated affiliates and other	0	0	0
Purchase of additional interests in subsidiaries	(232.5)	0	0
Proceeds from the sale of a subsidiary	0
Purchases of investment securities	0	0	0
Proceeds from the sale and maturity of investment securities	0	0	0
Other	(0.8)	0	0
Cash flows used in investing activities	(233.3)	(123.5)	0
Cash flows from financing activities
Proceeds from the issuance of long-term debt	0	0	0
Assumption of debt issued by non-guarantors	0
Debt issuance costs and fees	0	0	0
Borrowings under lending agreements	0	0	0
Repayments under lending agreements	0	0	0
Cash paid for early extinguishments of debt	0	0	0
Scheduled debt retirements	0	0	0
Purchase of additional interests in subsidiary	0
Proceeds from sale of additional interest in a subsidiary	0
Issuance of common stock, net of fees	17.4
Other	0	(1.7)	(1.6)
Transfer (to)/from affiliates	(39.2)	(189.8)	(739.0)
Cash flows provided by financing activities	(21.8)	(191.5)	(740.6)
Cash flows from discontinued operations
Cash flows from operating activities	0	0	0
Cash flows from investing activities	0	0	0
Cash flows from financing activities	0	0	0
Net cash provided by discontinued operations	0	0	0
Net increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents	3.5	(132.1)	13.3
Effect of deconsolidation of variable interest entities			0
Change in cash classified as assets held for sale	0	0	0
Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period	3.9	136.0	122.7
Cash and cash equivalents, end of period	7.4	3.9	136.0
Subsidiary Issuer [Member]
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Cash flows from operating activities	94.6	(507.6)	(516.6)
Cash flows from investing activities
Acquisitions of property and equipment, net of change in related payables	(9.6)	(12.3)	(5.3)
Change in restricted cash	0	0
Return of investment in subsidiary	0
Payments to acquire certain gaming rights		0	0
Payments to acquire businesses, net of transaction costs and cash acquired	0	(136.7)	(18.8)
Investments in non-consolidated affiliates and other	0	0	0
Purchase of additional interests in subsidiaries	(28.1)	0	0
Proceeds from the sale of a subsidiary	0
Purchases of investment securities	0	0	0
Proceeds from the sale and maturity of investment securities	0	0	0
Other	0	0	0
Cash flows used in investing activities	(37.7)	(149.0)	(24.1)
Cash flows from financing activities
Proceeds from the issuance of long-term debt	432.2	418.3	740.8
Assumption of debt issued by non-guarantors	1,981.3
Debt issuance costs and fees	(38.9)	(3.2)	(17.8)
Borrowings under lending agreements	453.0	358.0	1,175.0
Repayments under lending agreements	(608.0)	(203.0)	(1,602.0)
Cash paid for early extinguishments of debt	(1,574.3)	0	(219.9)
Scheduled debt retirements	(14.4)	(25.2)	(198.5)
Purchase of additional interests in subsidiary	0
Proceeds from sale of additional interest in a subsidiary	0
Issuance of common stock, net of fees	0
Other	0	0	(2.3)
Transfer (to)/from affiliates	207.5	67.3	742.0
Cash flows provided by financing activities	838.4	612.2	617.3
Cash flows from discontinued operations
Cash flows from operating activities	0	0	0
Cash flows from investing activities	0	0	0
Cash flows from financing activities	0	0	0
Net cash provided by discontinued operations	0	0	0
Net increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents	895.3	(44.4)	76.6
Effect of deconsolidation of variable interest entities			0
Change in cash classified as assets held for sale	0	0	0
Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period	16.6	61.0	(15.6)
Cash and cash equivalents, end of period	911.9	16.6	61.0
Subsidiary Guarantors of Parent and Subsidiary Guaranteed Debt [Member]
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Cash flows from operating activities	(505.1)	72.7	(20.6)
Cash flows from investing activities
Acquisitions of property and equipment, net of change in related payables	(205.3)	(108.1)	(92.1)
Change in restricted cash	0	0
Return of investment in subsidiary	92.5
Payments to acquire certain gaming rights		0	0
Payments to acquire businesses, net of transaction costs and cash acquired	0	(49.1)	(2.1)
Investments in non-consolidated affiliates and other	0	0	(64.0)
Purchase of additional interests in subsidiaries	0	0	0
Proceeds from the sale of a subsidiary	0
Purchases of investment securities	0	0	0
Proceeds from the sale and maturity of investment securities	0	0	0
Other	(6.8)	(3.8)	8.6
Cash flows used in investing activities	(119.6)	(161.0)	(149.6)
Cash flows from financing activities
Proceeds from the issuance of long-term debt	0	0	0
Assumption of debt issued by non-guarantors	0
Debt issuance costs and fees	0	0	0
Borrowings under lending agreements	0	0	0
Repayments under lending agreements	0	0	0
Cash paid for early extinguishments of debt	0	(2.6)	0
Scheduled debt retirements	(1.4)	0	0
Purchase of additional interests in subsidiary	(9.6)
Proceeds from sale of additional interest in a subsidiary	0
Issuance of common stock, net of fees	0
Other	(10.8)	(8.1)	0
Transfer (to)/from affiliates	0	49.1	4.7
Cash flows provided by financing activities	(21.8)	38.4	4.7
Cash flows from discontinued operations
Cash flows from operating activities	17.5	79.4	80.2
Cash flows from investing activities	600.3	(5.2)	(1.7)
Cash flows from financing activities	0	0	0
Net cash provided by discontinued operations	617.8	74.2	78.5
Net increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents	(28.7)	24.3	(87.0)
Effect of deconsolidation of variable interest entities			0
Change in cash classified as assets held for sale	10.0	3.5	1.8
Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period	372.5	344.7	429.9
Cash and cash equivalents, end of period	353.8	372.5	344.7
Subsidiary Non-Guarantors of Parent and Subsidiary Guaranteed Debt [Member]
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Cash flows from operating activities	141.2	296.2	(126.4)
Cash flows from investing activities
Acquisitions of property and equipment, net of change in related payables	(292.8)	(152.1)	(53.9)
Change in restricted cash	(680.5)	(517.7)
Return of investment in subsidiary	0
Payments to acquire certain gaming rights		(22.7)	(16.5)
Payments to acquire businesses, net of transaction costs and cash acquired	(37.9)	(19.0)	(9.7)
Investments in non-consolidated affiliates and other	(28.1)	(76.0)	0
Purchase of additional interests in subsidiaries	0	(75.4)	(19.5)
Proceeds from the sale of a subsidiary	42.4
Purchases of investment securities	(39.2)	(35.7)	(25.8)
Proceeds from the sale and maturity of investment securities	31.6	22.6	14.8
Other	2.1	(6.1)	557.1
Cash flows used in investing activities	(1,002.4)	(882.1)	446.5
Cash flows from financing activities
Proceeds from the issuance of long-term debt	3,277.2	445.5	40.1
Assumption of debt issued by non-guarantors	(1,981.3)
Debt issuance costs and fees	(11.7)	(14.9)	(46.8)
Borrowings under lending agreements	0	0	0
Repayments under lending agreements	0	0	(23.8)
Cash paid for early extinguishments of debt	(462.3)	(125.9)	(149.2)
Scheduled debt retirements	0	(18.5)	(38.5)
Purchase of additional interests in subsidiary	0
Proceeds from sale of additional interest in a subsidiary	32.2
Issuance of common stock, net of fees	0
Other	(8.0)	(7.2)	(19.4)
Transfer (to)/from affiliates	2.3	382.7	(7.7)
Cash flows provided by financing activities	848.4	661.7	(245.3)
Cash flows from discontinued operations
Cash flows from operating activities	0.3	(0.5)	0.3
Cash flows from investing activities	0	(5.5)	(7.7)
Cash flows from financing activities	0	0	0
Net cash provided by discontinued operations	0.3	(6.0)	(7.4)
Net increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents	(12.5)	69.8	67.4
Effect of deconsolidation of variable interest entities			(1.4)
Change in cash classified as assets held for sale	(1.3)	(1.0)	(1.7)
Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period	498.2	429.4	365.1
Cash and cash equivalents, end of period	484.4	498.2	429.4
Subsidiary Non-Guarantors of Parent-Only Guaranteed Debt [Member]
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Cash flows from operating activities	(363.9)	368.9	(147.0)
Cash flows from investing activities
Acquisitions of property and equipment, net of change in related payables	(498.1)	(260.2)	(146.0)
Change in restricted cash	(680.5)	(517.7)
Return of investment in subsidiary	92.5
Payments to acquire certain gaming rights		(22.7)	(16.5)
Payments to acquire businesses, net of transaction costs and cash acquired	(37.9)	(68.1)	(11.8)
Investments in non-consolidated affiliates and other	(28.1)	(76.0)	(64.0)
Purchase of additional interests in subsidiaries	0	(75.4)	(19.5)
Proceeds from the sale of a subsidiary	42.4
Purchases of investment securities	(39.2)	(35.7)	(25.8)
Proceeds from the sale and maturity of investment securities	31.6	22.6	14.8
Other	(4.7)	(9.9)	565.7
Cash flows used in investing activities	(1,122.0)	(1,043.1)	296.9
Cash flows from financing activities
Proceeds from the issuance of long-term debt	3,277.2	445.5	40.1
Assumption of debt issued by non-guarantors	(1,981.3)
Debt issuance costs and fees	(11.7)	(14.9)	(46.8)
Borrowings under lending agreements	0	0	0
Repayments under lending agreements	0	0	(23.8)
Cash paid for early extinguishments of debt	(462.3)	(128.5)	(149.2)
Scheduled debt retirements	(1.4)	(18.5)	(38.5)
Purchase of additional interests in subsidiary	(9.6)
Proceeds from sale of additional interest in a subsidiary	32.2
Issuance of common stock, net of fees	0
Other	(18.8)	(15.3)	(19.4)
Transfer (to)/from affiliates	2.3	431.8	(3.0)
Cash flows provided by financing activities	826.6	700.1	(240.6)
Cash flows from discontinued operations
Cash flows from operating activities	17.8	78.9	80.5
Cash flows from investing activities	600.3	(10.7)	(9.4)
Cash flows from financing activities	0	0	0
Net cash provided by discontinued operations	618.1	68.2	71.1
Net increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents	(41.2)	94.1	(19.6)
Effect of deconsolidation of variable interest entities			(1.4)
Change in cash classified as assets held for sale	8.7	2.5	0.1
Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period	870.7	774.1	795.0
Cash and cash equivalents, end of period	838.2	870.7	774.1
Consolidating/ Eliminating Adjustments [Member]
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Cash flows from operating activities	37.2	16.1	14.1
Cash flows from investing activities
Acquisitions of property and equipment, net of change in related payables	0	0	0
Change in restricted cash	0	0
Return of investment in subsidiary	(92.5)
Payments to acquire certain gaming rights		0	0
Payments to acquire businesses, net of transaction costs and cash acquired	0	309.3	0
Investments in non-consolidated affiliates and other	0	0	0
Purchase of additional interests in subsidiaries	260.6	0	0
Proceeds from the sale of a subsidiary	0
Purchases of investment securities	0	0	0
Proceeds from the sale and maturity of investment securities	0	0	0
Other	0	0	(551.3)
Cash flows used in investing activities	168.1	309.3	(551.3)
Cash flows from financing activities
Proceeds from the issuance of long-term debt	0	0	551.3
Assumption of debt issued by non-guarantors	0
Debt issuance costs and fees	0	0	0
Borrowings under lending agreements	0	0	0
Repayments under lending agreements	0	0	0
Cash paid for early extinguishments of debt	0	0	0
Scheduled debt retirements	0	0	0
Purchase of additional interests in subsidiary	0
Proceeds from sale of additional interest in a subsidiary	0
Issuance of common stock, net of fees	0
Other	0	0	0
Transfer (to)/from affiliates	(170.6)	(309.3)	0
Cash flows provided by financing activities	(170.6)	(309.3)	551.3
Cash flows from discontinued operations
Cash flows from operating activities	(34.7)	(16.1)	(14.1)
Cash flows from investing activities	0	0	0
Cash flows from financing activities	0	0	0
Net cash provided by discontinued operations	(34.7)	(16.1)	(14.1)
Net increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents	0	0	0
Effect of deconsolidation of variable interest entities			0
Change in cash classified as assets held for sale	0	0	0
Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period	0	0	0
Cash and cash equivalents, end of period	$ 0	$ 0	$ 0