Caesars Entertainment Corp told to investigate lost employee pensions

The Las Vegas Gaming Control Board has asked attorneys representing bankrupt Caesars Entertainment Corp to investigate the issue of lost pensions of retired company employees after the company entered Chapter 11 filing.

Caesars Entertainment Corp employees were told in January that the casino operator would no longer under the employee retirement plan. Control Board member Terry Johnson asked Caesars attorney Steven Pesner to make the issue a priority for his organisation.

“The issue will be addressed in a manner that is legal, fair and equitable by the company,” said Pesner, who is from New York City and is a partner with Akin Gump Strauss Hauer &Feld. “There are equitable considerations to be made. This is being looked at seriously.”

Caesars Entertainment former employees had been told through a letter issued on 15 January that under the bankruptcy agreement of the company that SERP payments “are considered a general unsecured pre-petition obligation of the debtor and cannot be paid without specific authorization from the bankruptcy court.”

The retirement plans were offered by businesses that were subsequently acquired by Harrah’s Entertainment in the company’s 2005 buyout of Caesars Entertainment for $9 billion.

Pesner informed the Control Board that his team had begun to gather the facts and information surrounding matter. Pesner further stated that the Caesars division would keep the Gaming Control Board informed of progress on the matter.