Caesars Entertainment Announces Allstar 2012 Atlantic City Food and Wine Festival Culinary Line-Up

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J., April 16, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Caesars Entertainment Atlantic City is proud to present the fourth annual Atlantic City Food and Wine Festival, commencing Thursday, July 26, with events throughout the weekend. The festival will feature a collection of the world's most renowned chefs, icons, TV personalities and experts, arguably one of the festival's strongest line-ups to date, including Anne Burrell, Tom Colicchio, Robert Irvine, Aaron Sanchez, Buddy Valastro and Andrew Zimmern with further announcements to come. The event, which sells-out annually and is the largest food and wine festival in the market, takes place across all four Caesars Entertainment Atlantic City casinos and resorts - Caesars, Harrah's Resort, Showboat & Bally's. The past three Atlantic City Food and Wine Festival's have proven tremendous success, and this year intends to be even greater.

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"Caesars Entertainment is committed to continually offering Atlantic City's residents and visitors the top entertainment programming in the region and there is nothing more exciting than the return of the Atlantic City Food and Wine Festival," said Jennifer Weissman, Regional Vice President of Marketing for Caesars Entertainment. "We are proud of this year's outstanding line-up of high-profile celebrity chefs and experts, as well as our own family of talented chefs honorably representing our casinos and resorts."

The 2012 festival will present an acclaimed roster of exciting gastronomic talent on both a local and national scale. In addition to Anne Burrell, Tom Colicchio, Robert Irvine, Aaron Sanchez, Buddy Valastro and Andrew Zimmern, the 2012 Atlantic City Food and Wine Festival will showcase wine, beer and spirits experts such as Gary Monterosso and Michael Green and Caesars Entertainment's top in-house culinary talents. The festival will offer local and visiting gourmands access to more than 30 events such as cooking demonstrations, wine and spirits seminars, and casual tasting events.  Some of the highlights include:

• The Grand Market: This world of indulgence will excite, inspire and amaze as you eat and drink your way through this tasting village. Showcasing more than 100 stations featuring food, wine, spirits, ales and more from world renowned restaurants and brands, all which can  be experienced during a four-hour journey.
• Mia Seminar Series: America's premier wine tasting seminars return to the shore with the  ever-talented Michael Green's hands-on seminar designed to educate oenophiles with exemplary wines from around the world.
• Book Store & Signings: Throughout the weekend, festival goers are given a wonderful opportunity to shop for their favorite cookbooks from the festival personalities and meet their favorite culinary idols
• Define "Cheese-Steak": Join New Jersey resident, celebrity chef and Top Chef judge, Tom Colicchio as he walks you through a who's who of cheese steaks while local sub shops battle it out for votes in the contest to find the "Best of" this Philadelphia classic.
• Sunset Sliders, Sushi & Saki:  Summer nights along the Jersey Coast-line are like none other and when you add a chic, rooftop party with Sushi & Saki, then it must be at Caesars.  This is our unique version of a 'surf and turf' party atop the Pool Deck at Caesars, all paired with Saki tasting.
• Sweet & Stylish: Blending designer fashion and sensual desserts, Chef Buddy Valastro from Cake Boss and owner of Carlo's Bakery in Hoboken, New Jersey will create the ultimate nightlife event and one-of-a-kind showcase of style and decadence, displaying favorite specialty cocktails and sweets for festival goers' tasting pleasure.

This year Caesars Entertainment has partnered with local charity, The Community Food Bank of New Jersey, to be the official charity sponsor of The Atlantic City Food and Wine Festival.  The community Food Bank of New Jersey fights hunger and poverty by distributing food and groceries, providing education and training and developing new programs to help low income individuals meet their basic needs. As a non-profit organization, The Community Food Bank of New Jersey acts as the central food distribution center for other non-profits in New Jersey that serve individuals including local soup kitchens, food pantries and shelters.

Building on the success of past festivals, Caesars Entertainment has remained focused on expanding their culinary offerings and has played an integral part in the restaurant renaissance of Atlantic City. Caesars Entertainment has partnered with national restaurateur Stephen Hanson and in the past year and a half has opened four new popular restaurants, the most recent being Sammy D's at Harrah's Resort which joins Dos Caminos, Bill's Bar & Burger and Atlantic Grill.

Tickets for the Atlantic City Food and Wine Festival are on sale now and can be purchased online at www.acfoodandwine.com, www.ticketmaster.com or by calling Ticketmaster at 800-736-1420.

About Caesars Entertainment

Caesars Entertainment Corporation is the world's largest casino entertainment company. Since its beginning in Reno, Nevada, more than 70 years ago, Caesars has grown through development of new resorts, expansions and acquisitions, and now operates casinos on four continents. The company's resorts operate primarily under the Harrah's®, Caesars® and Horseshoe® brand names. Caesars also owns the World Series of Poker® and the London Clubs International family of casinos. Caesars Entertainment is focused on building loyalty and value with its guests through a unique combination of great service, excellent products, unsurpassed distribution, operational excellence and technology leadership. Caesars is committed to environmental sustainability and energy conservation and recognizes the importance of being a responsible steward of the environment.  For more information, please visit www.caesars.com.

SOURCE Caesars Entertainment Atlantic City