Caesars Entertainment Announces Line-Up for 2011 Food Network Atlantic City Food and Wine Festival

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J., April 21, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Caesars Entertainment Atlantic City and Food Network proudly present the third annual Atlantic City Food and Wine Festival, set to kick off on Thursday, July 28, with events throughout the weekend and concluding on Sunday, July 31, 2011. The festival, which will take place across all four Caesars Entertainment Atlantic City casinos and resorts - Caesars, Harrah's Resort, Showboat & Bally's - will feature some of the culinary world's most renowned chefs, including Sunny Anderson, Guy Fieri, Robert Irvine, Pat and Gina Neely. The 2010 Atlantic City Food and Wine Festival was a tremendous success, and this year promises further growth.

This year's festival will present a bevy of exciting gastronomic talent on both a national and local scale. In addition to Sunny Anderson, Guy Fieri, Robert Irvine, and Pat & Gina Neely, the 2011 Atlantic City Food and Wine Festival will showcase culinary luminaries such as Gary Moterosso, Michael Green, Divya Gugnani, author of Sexy Women Eat, various Cooking Channel personalities, and Caesars Entertainment's top in-house culinary talents. The festival will offer more than 30 events such as cooking demonstrations, wine and spirits seminars, and walk-around 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 125 stations featuring food, wine, spirits, ales and more from world renowned restaurants and brands, experience it all during a three-hour journey.
• Chefs on Stage: Your favorite Food Network stars take the stage at the Circus Maximus Theater at Caesars Atlantic City for a series of exciting culinary demonstrations. Get closer than ever to your favorite celebrity chefs.
• Sweet & Stylish Hosted by Sunny Anderson: Blending designer fashion and sensual desserts, Sunny Anderson will showcase specialty cocktails while featured chefs serve their favorite desserts and models walk the catwalk in today's trendiest fashions.
• Guy Fieri's Cheesesteak Battle: Regional chefs go head-to-head in the ultimate battle of the best judged by Guy Fieri and event participants to see who will receive the award for top cheesesteak.
• Restaurant Invasion: Join Food Network chef and personality Robert Irvine as he invades the kitchen at Caesars.  Robert puts his own twist on the foods specific to the garden state in this one of a kind festival dining experience.
• Beers, Blues and BBQ: Bringing together 20 craft beers, mouthwatering BBQ from Pat and Gina Neely, and live music by John Popper, last year's most popular event makes its return to The House of Blues for another session of cool grooves, stellar brews and tasty barbeque.
• Harrah's Resort Viking Cooking School: A major hit from 2010's festival, come stop by the Viking Cooking School at Harrah's Resort for a hands-on experience with some of the finest Cooking Channel talents. Festival goers are taught how to prepare true gourmet flare in a relaxing and fun environment.

"Caesars Entertainment has fantastic events planned this year and none is bigger than the return of the Food Network Atlantic City Food & Wine Festival in late July," said Jennifer Weissman, Regional Vice President of Marketing for Caesars Entertainment.  "We have a talented line up of chefs for the Festival, including our new chefs from Dos Caminos, Bill's Bar & Burger and Atlantic Grill, along with celebrity chef, Luke Palladino.  Atlantic City is such a great destination for entertainment all year long, summer festivals and other City-wide events such as the AC Boardwalk Rodeo, the Fourth of July Fireworks and the AC Air Show.  These events showcase how Atlantic City continues to evolve as the Entertainment Capital of the East Coast," continued Weissman.

"Atlantic City is rapidly evolving into a culinary destination and Food Network is thrilled to once again be partnering with Caesars Entertainment," said Sergei Kuharsky, General Manager, New Enterprises, Food Network. "The Caesars team were wonderful hosts to our talented culinary team last year and we look forward to cooking and entertaining new and returning guests of the festival this summer."

Building on the success of past festivals, Caesars Entertainment has remained focused in expanding their culinary experience for visitors. Undergoing a complete gastronomic revolution, Caesars Entertainment Atlantic City has partnered with national restaurateur Stephen Hanson to open three new restaurants, just in time for the 2011 summer, with Dos Caminos, set to open late May, and Bill's Bar & Burger and Atlantic Grill, set for mid-June. Additionally, renowned chef Luke Palladino, famous for his seasonal Italian cuisine, will be making his return to Atlantic City with the opening of his latest venture: Luke Palladino at Harrah's Resort, set to open in May.

Food Network, now distributed to over 100 million cable subscriber households, connects viewers to the power and joy of food and is committed to leading by teaching, inspiring and empowering through its talent and expertise.  Its partnership with Atlantic City further represents Caesars Entertainment's commitment to providing one-of-a-kind signature events in Atlantic City showcasing the highest caliber of talent while promoting the city as a unique and appealing destination.

Tickets for the Food Network Atlantic City Food and Wine Festival will be available starting at only $30.  Tickets will be on sale starting April 15th, 2011 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.

About Food Network

FOOD NETWORK (www.foodnetwork.com) is a unique lifestyle network, website and magazine that connects viewers to the power and joy of food. The network strives to be viewers' best friend in food and is committed to leading by teaching, inspiring and empowering through its talent and expertise. Food Network is distributed to more than 100 million U.S. households and averages more than 9.9 million unique web users monthly. Since launching in 2009, Food Network Magazine has tripled its rate base and delivers a circulation of 1.25 million. Headquartered in New York, Food Network has a growing international presence with programming in more than 150 countries, including 24 hour networks in Great Britain, India, Asia and Africa. Scripps Networks Interactive (NYSE: SNI), which also owns and operates Cooking Channel (www.cookingchanneltv.com), DIY Network (www.diynetwork.com), Great American Country (www.gactv.com), HGTV (www.hgtv.com), and Travel Channel (www.travelchannel.com),  is the manager and general partner.

SOURCE Caesars Entertainment Atlantic City