Harrah’s to buy Caesars and create world’s biggest gambling company

HARRAH’S Entertainment Inc is buying Caesars Entertainment Inc for about $5.2 billion in cash and stock in a deal that would create the largest gambling company in the world.

The deal announced yesterday eclipses last month’s high-profile MGM Mirage merger with Mandalay Resort Group while setting up a battle for customers on the lucrative Las Vegas Strip. A source familiar with the deal, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Harrah’s and Caesars began negotiating after MGM Mirage completed its deal last month to buy Mandalay for $4.8 billion in cash.

Both deals will face intense scrutiny from federal and state gambling regulators.