Las Vegas, Nevada, USA: Harrah's Southern Nevada, including Harrah's Las Vegas Casino & Hotel, Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino and Harrah's Laughlin Casino & Hotel, launched the second generation of its highly acclaimed Total Rewards customer loyalty program today, unveiling the most ambitious and diverse menu of awards offered by any mass-market customer-loyalty initiative. Total Rewards II is designed to provide players with an unmatched gaming experience that will increase loyalty among existing customers and incent those who typically gamble at other casinos to try Harrah's and Rio.

Harrah's Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE: HET) set the industry standard for player loyalty programs when it launched Total Rewards in 2000. The company rolled out benefits no other casino could match, recognizing members with cash, comps and tiered status on a national level. Players responded, signing up by the millions.

Harrah's is keeping everything that made Total Rewards the casino industry's most popular loyalty program while adding a wide-ranging suite of rewards that includes unique vacations, once-in-a-lifetime entertainment experiences and valuable merchandise, in addition to the complimentary options players can earn today.

Total Rewards II allows players to use their comps immediately or bank credits toward premier rewards. In an industry first, Total Rewards II lets players combine credits earned for both slot and table game play every time they visit 25 Harrah's casinos nationwide. Players can obtain their updated Reward Credit Account by inserting their Total Rewards card in any slot machine or by logging on to www.harrahs.com.

Reward Credits never expire as long as customers play at any Harrah's, Showboat, Rio or Harveys once every six months. Players can redeem credits whenever and wherever they would like, and the choice of rewards won't stop at the casino door.

Harrah's has conducted extensive research to identify players' preferred activities beyond gaming and has developed alliances with brands that offer products and services that match those interests. Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, Coca-Cola and Macy's are among Harrah's key partners in Total Rewards II.

"No one in the casino business has attempted anything on this scale before," said Gary Loveman, Harrah's president and chief executive officer. "Total Rewards II breaks entirely new ground by offering our customers everything they loved about Total Rewards plus far more flexibility in how they redeem their credits and far more reward items from which to choose. Players can still get the free room, buffet, steakhouse dinner and other traditional casino perks. But our customers can also save credits for premium rewards such a trip on a private jet or a cruise package."

No matter where a customer typically plays, Reward Credits can be redeemed at any of 25 Harrah's-operated casinos. Total Rewards II will offer true portability Reward Credits earned in one market can be used anywhere Harrah's operates. Clearly marked reward menus will tell players at each property how many credits are required to obtain individual rewards. If a player has banked enough Reward Credits, the reward will be issued, no questions asked.

Harrah's is leveraging its unmatched distribution of casino properties and ever-growing stable of strategic alliance partners to offer members the most ambitious and diverse catalog of awards offered by any mass-market customer-loyalty initiative.

Total Rewards II members can travel via private jet to the destination of their choice, ride aboard a float in a Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans, enjoy an Australian gaming excursion, or have a horse race named after them. In all, players can select from more than 50 vacation packages, including one that takes customers to three Harrah's locations Las Vegas, Lake Tahoe and New Orleans in six days.

Total Rewards II even brings the excitement of NASCAR to Harrah's players. Customers can serve as honorary members of Harrah's pit crew during a NASCAR Winston Cup race, and one player can even take home the No. 14 Harrah's Dodge Intrepid driven by Larry Foyt.

Examples of merchandise offered through Total Rewards II include Sony big-screen television sets, Cartier watches, Coach bags, and Big Bertha Callaway golf clubs. Customers can also redeem credits for everything from food processors to ping pong tables to jet skis.

"Total Rewards II is proof that the best can get even better," said David Norton, Harrah's senior vice president of relationship marketing. "We've kept everything that made Total Rewards the most popular player loyalty program in the nation and added the things our customers said they wanted most. Total Rewards II is the best reason yet to consolidate your play at Harrah's."

Harrah's will formally introduce the new program to its customers on July 1 with the Total Rewards 100 Million- Reward-Credit-Giveaway. Individual players at 24 Harrah's-operated casinos will have a chance to win some of the program's new rewards or take their Reward Credit-equivalent to use toward other perks. Two hundred and forty lucky winners will have a chance to win $250,000 on Sept. 7 as part of the Total Rewards 100 Million-Reward-Credit-Giveaway.

Total Rewards II will continue to recognize players with the cash, comps, coupons and tiered status Gold, Platinum and Diamond that were an integral part of the program's previous incarnation. The tiered status of current Total Rewards members will automatically transfer to the new program.

Total Rewards members earning less than 3,000 base Reward Credits annually are guaranteed Gold status; those earning between 3,000 and 9,999 base Reward Credits annually automatically earn Platinum status. All members earning 10,000 or more base Reward Credits annually instantly obtain Diamond Status.

"We have developed a program that offers our customers not only the widest variety of reward options but also the greatest flexibility in how to achieve them," said Randy Fine, Harrah's vice president of Total Rewards. "This is just one more example of Harrah's creating a gaming experience no other company can match."

Founded 65 years ago, Harrah's Entertainment, Inc. operates 26 casinos in the United States, primarily under the Harrah's brand name. Harrah's Entertainment is focused on building loyalty and value with its target customers through a unique combination of great service, excellent products, unsurpassed distribution, operational excellence and technology leadership.