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Harrah's Foundation helps fire victims

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- (PRESS RELEASE) -- The Harrah's Foundation, a private nonprofit foundation affiliated with Harrah's Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE: HET - News), has joined forces with the San Diego Regional Disaster Fund which is part of the San Diego Foundation to create the STAR (Save, Transform, Assist and Restore) Fund to assist employees of Harrah's Rincon and those within the community who were affected in the recent San Diego Fires. The Harrah's Foundation has seeded the STAR Fund with an initial gift of $300,000.

Money raised through the STAR Fund will first provide financial assistance to Harrah's Rincon employees who suffered losses to their primary residence. Secondarily, funds will be directed to local charitable organizations, tribal organizations, schools and fire and police organizations in San Diego that provided services to those affected by the fires. Donations may be tax deductible.

Harrah's Rincon was severely impacted by the fires. More than 1,600 employees were affected, with 35 employees losing their homes. The hotel casino was closed for six days, becoming an official evacuation center when the Poomacha fire initially broke out on October 23. During that time, Harrah's Rincon took in several hundred evacuees from the Rincon and LaJolla Reservations and the Palomar Mountain area, offering food, shelter and support to evacuees until the American Red Cross arrived and relocated evacuation services to a nearby high school.

Although the property was surrounded by fire, Harrah's Rincon provided more than 1,000 hotel room nights to firefighters, emergency workers and evacuees through November 4. The team also gave more than 6,000 meals to employees, evacuees and emergency workers from the Fire Departments, U. S. Marshals Office, the California Highway Patrol, the California Border Patrol, the California Department of Forestry and the National Guard. The property reopened for business on Monday, October 29.

According to Harrah's Entertainment CEO Gary Loveman, the STAR Fund is merely a start in recovery efforts. "It is time to turn our attention to assisting our employees and our partner, the Rincon Tribe, in recovering from this disaster." The company is providing information to employees throughout the company on what they can do to assist their colleagues.

Donations to The STAR Fund can be made by check to: The Harrah's STAR Fund, c/o The San Diego Foundation, 2508 Historic Decatur Road, Suite 20, San Diego, CA 92106; or online via credit card at sdfoundation.org. Click on the "After the Fires Fund/Click Here to Donate" icon on the main page to access the form.

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