Cash consists of cash-on-hand and cash-in-bank. Any investments with an original maturity of three months or less from the date of purchase are considered cash equivalents and are stated at the lower of cost or market value. Investments with an original maturity of greater than three months and less than one year from the date of purchase are considered short-term investments and are stated at fair value.

Restricted cash is comprised of funds paid monthly by Caesars for the CPLV rent that are held in a restricted cash management account for the purpose of funding debt service or impositions related to CPLV debt issued by us. Once all debt service and impositions are paid out of restricted cash, the remaining funds are returned to our unrestricted operating account.

The following table provides a reconciliation of cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash reported on the Balance Sheet to the total of the same such amounts presented in the Statement of Cash Flows.



(In thousands)	September 30, 2018		December 31, 2017
Cash and cash equivalents	$	145,223	$	183,646
Restricted cash	58		13,760
Total cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash shown in the Statement of Cash Flows	$	145,281	$	197,406

The Company generally invests its excess cash in short-term investment grade commercial paper as well as discount notes issued by government-sponsored enterprises including the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation and certain of the Federal Home Loan Banks. These investments generally have original maturities between 91 and 120 days.

We measure the fair value of financial instruments based on assumptions that market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability. As a basis for considering market participant assumptions in fair value measurements, a fair value hierarchy distinguishes between market participant assumptions based on market data obtained from sources independent of the reporting entity and the reporting entity’s own assumptions about market participant assumptions. In accordance with the fair value hierarchy, Level 1 assets/liabilities are valued based on quoted prices for identical instruments in active markets, Level 2 assets/liabilities are valued based on quoted prices in active markets for similar instruments, on quoted prices in less active or inactive markets, or on other “observable” market inputs and Level 3 assets/liabilities are valued based significantly on “unobservable” market inputs.

The accounting for changes in the fair value of derivatives depends on the intended use of the derivative, whether we elected to designate a derivative in a hedging relationship and apply hedge accounting and whether the hedging relationship has satisfied the criteria necessary to apply hedge accounting. Derivatives designated and qualifying as a hedge of the exposure to variability in expected future cash flows are considered cash flow hedges. We formally document our hedge relationships and designation at the contract’s inception. This documentation includes the identification of the hedging instruments and the hedged items, its risk management objectives, strategy for undertaking the hedge transaction and our evaluation of the effectiveness of its hedged transaction.

On a quarterly basis, we also assess whether the derivative we designated in each hedging relationship is expected to be, and has been, highly effective in offsetting changes in the value or cash flows of the hedged items. If it is determined that a derivative is not highly effective at hedging the designated exposure, hedge accounting is discontinued and the changes in fair value of the instrument are included in net income prospectively. If the hedge relationship is terminated, then the value of the derivative is recorded in Accumulated other comprehensive income and recognized in earnings when the cash flows that were hedged affect earnings. Changes in the fair value of our derivative instruments that qualify as hedges are reported as a component of Accumulated other comprehensive income on our consolidated financial statements.

We use derivative instruments to mitigate the effects of interest rate volatility inherent in our variable rate debt, which could unfavorably impact our future earnings and forecasted cash flows. We do not use derivative instruments for speculative or trading purposes.

Upon lease inception, we assess lease classification under ASC 840 “Leases” (“ASC 840”) to determine if the lease should be classified as capital or operating. If a lease is determined to be a capital lease, we further assess if it is a direct financing or sales-type lease as defined in ASC 840. For leases determined to be direct financing capital leases, upon execution of the lease transaction, the asset is classified to Investments in direct financing leases, net. For direct financing leases where the land represents greater than 25% of the fair value of the underlying asset, the land and building components of the lease are bifurcated and separately assessed for classification.

We have determined that all of our leases meet the definition of direct financing leases under ASC 840, with the exception of the land component of our investment in Caesars Palace Las Vegas and certain parcels of land contained in the Non-CPLV Lease. We recognize the related income from our direct financing leases on an effective interest basis at a constant rate of return over the terms of the applicable leases. As a result, the cash payments accounted for under direct financing leases will not equal income from direct financing leases. Rather, a portion of the cash rent we receive is recorded as Income from direct financing leases in our Statement of Operations and a portion is recorded as a change to the Investments in direct financing leases, net.

Initial direct costs incurred in connection with direct financing lease transactions are included in the balance of Investments in direct financing leases, net. Such amounts will be recognized as a reduction to Income from direct financing leases over the life of the lease using the effective interest method.

If and when an investment in direct financing leases is identified for impairment evaluation, we will apply the guidance in both ASC 310 “Receivables” (“ASC 310”) and ASC 360 “Property, Plant and Equipment” (“ASC 360”). Under ASC 310, the lease receivable portion of the net investment in direct financing lease is identified for impairment when it becomes probable that we will be unable to collect all rental payments associated with our investment in direct financing leases. Under ASC 360, the residual value portion of the net investment in direct financing leases is monitored for impairment under the same method we apply to real estate investments.

Under the operating lease model, as the lessor, at lease inception the land is recorded as Investments in operating leases in our Balance Sheet and we record income from operating leases on a straight-line basis over the lease term. The amount of annual minimum lease payments attributable to the land element after deducting executory costs, including any profit thereon, is determined by applying our incremental borrowing rate to the value of the land. We record this lease income as Income from operating leases in our Statement of Operations. The land is assessed for impairment on a quarterly basis under ASC 360.