Leases

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

Leases [Abstract]

Leases

Leases

Adoption of New Lease Accounting Standard

In February 2016, the FASB issued a new standard related to leases, ASU 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842) (“ASC 842”). We adopted the standard effective January 1, 2019, using the modified retrospective approach applied as of the beginning of the period of adoption. The Company elected to utilize the transition guidance within the new standard that permits us to (i) continue to report under legacy lease accounting guidance for comparative periods consistent with previously issued financial statements; and (ii) carryforward our prior conclusions about lease identification, lease classification, and initial direct costs. The most significant effects of adopting the new standard relate to the recognition of right-of-use (“ROU”) assets and liabilities for leases classified as operating leases when the Company is the lessee in the arrangement. Adopting the new standard did not affect our accounting related to leases when the Company is the lessor in the arrangement.

We assess whether an arrangement is or contains a lease at the inception of the agreement. ROU assets represent our right to use an underlying asset for the lease term, and lease liabilities represent our obligation to make lease payments arising from the lease. ROU assets and lease liabilities are recognized at the commencement date based on the present value of lease payments over the lease term using an appropriate incremental borrowing rate, which is consistent with interest rates of similar financing arrangements based on the information available at the commencement date. We determined our incremental borrowing rate based on the interest rates published for unsecured borrowings with credit ratings similar to our unsecured debt, which were then adjusted for the appropriate lease term and effects of full collateralization.

Upon adoption, our ROU assets were also adjusted to include any prepaid lease payments and were reduced by any previously accrued lease liabilities. The terms of our leases used to determine the ROU asset and lease liability take into account options to extend when it is reasonably certain that we will exercise those options. Lease expense is recognized on a straight-line basis over the lease term. Additionally, we have elected the short-term lease measurement and recognition exemption and do not establish ROU assets or lease liabilities for operating leases with terms of 12 months or less.

Effect of Adopting New Lease Standard - January 1, 2019 Balance Sheet
(In millions)	Prior to Adoption		Effect of Adoption			Post Adoption
Property and equipment, net (1)	$	16,045	$	(96	)	$	15,949
Deferred charges and other assets (2)(3)	383		480			863
Accrued expenses and other current liabilities (2)	1,217		33			1,250
Financing obligations (1)	10,057		(96		)	9,961
Deferred credits and other liabilities (2)(3)	849		447			1,296

___________________

⁽¹⁾  Non-operating land assets previously considered as failed sale-leaseback financing obligations were determined to qualify for sale-leaseback accounting and are recognized as operating lease liabilities with corresponding ROU assets.

⁽²⁾  Operating leases previously considered as off-balance sheet obligations are now recognized as operating lease liabilities with corresponding ROU assets.

⁽³⁾  Accruals associated with future obligations for leases not in use have been applied against the carrying amount of the ROU assets.

Lessee Arrangements

Operating Leases

We lease real estate and equipment used in our operations from third parties. As of December 31, 2019, the remaining term of our operating leases ranged from 1 to 72 years with various extension options available, if we elect to exercise them. However, our remaining terms only include extension options that we have determined are reasonably assured as of December 31, 2019. In addition to minimum rental commitments, certain of our operating leases provide for contingent rentals based on a percentage of revenues in excess of specified amounts. We do not include costs associated with our non-lease components in our lease costs disclosed in the table below.

The following are additional details related to leases recorded on our Balance Sheet as of December 31, 2019:

(In millions)	Balance Sheet Classification	December 31, 2019
Assets
Operating lease ROU assets (1)	Deferred charges and other assets	$	550
Liabilities
Current operating lease liabilities (1)	Accrued expenses and other current liabilities	64
Non-current operating lease liabilities (1)	Deferred credits and other liabilities	545

____________________

⁽¹⁾  As noted above, we have elected the short-term lease measurement and recognition exemption and do not establish ROU assets or liabilities for operating leases with terms of 12 months or less.

Maturity of Lease Liabilities

The following table summarizes the future minimum lease obligations of our operating leases as of December 31, 2019 under the new standard:

(In millions)	Operating Leases
2020	$	105
2021	106
2022	100
2023	63
2024	58
Thereafter	837
Total	1,269
Less: present value discount	(660		)
Lease liability	$	609

As previously disclosed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018 and under the old standard, the following table summarizes the future minimum lease obligations of our operating leases as of December 31, 2018:

(In millions)	Operating Leases
2019	$	82
2020	70
2021	57
2022	53
2023	51
Thereafter	966
Total	$	1,279

Lease Costs
(In millions)	December 31, 2019
Operating lease expense	$	74
Short-term lease expense	102
Variable lease expense	15
Total lease costs	$	191

Other Information
(In millions)	December 31, 2019
Cash paid for amounts included in the measurement of lease liabilities:
Operating cash flows for operating leases	$	71

Weighted-Average Details
	December 31, 2019
Weighted-average remaining lease term (in years)	18.5
Weighted-average discount rate	7.11	%

Finance Leases

We have finance leases for certain equipment. As of December 31, 2019, our finance leases had remaining lease terms of up to approximately 5 years, some of which include options to extend the lease terms in one month increments. Our finance lease ROU assets and liabilities were less than a million within our Financial Statements as of December 31, 2019.

Failed Sale-Leaseback Financing Obligations

We lease certain real property assets from VICI (each a “Lease Agreement,” and, collectively, the “Lease Agreements”): (i) for Caesars Palace Las Vegas, (ii) for a portfolio of properties at various locations throughout the United States, (iii) for Harrah’s Joliet Hotel & Casino and (iv) for Harrah’s Las Vegas. The Lease Agreements provide for annual fixed rent (subject to escalation) of $773 million during an initial period, then rent consisting of both base rent and variable rent elements. The Lease Agreements have a 15-year initial term and four five-year renewal options, subject to certain restrictions on extension applicable to certain of the leased properties. The Lease Agreements include escalation provisions beginning in year two of the initial term and continuing through the renewal terms. The Lease Agreements also include provisions for variable rent payments calculated, in part, based on increases or decreases of net revenue of the underlying lease properties, commencing in year eight of the initial term and continuing through the renewal terms.

The Lease Agreements were evaluated as sale-leasebacks of real estate. We determined that these transactions did not qualify for sale-leaseback accounting, and we have accounted for each of the transactions as a financing.

For these failed sale-leaseback transactions, we continue to reflect the real estate assets on our Balance Sheets in Property and equipment, net as if we were the legal owner, and we continue to recognize depreciation expense over their estimated useful lives.

We do not recognize lease expense related to the Lease Agreements, but we have recorded a liability for the failed sale-leaseback obligations and the majority of the periodic lease payments are recognized as interest expense. In the initial periods, the majority of the cash payments are less than the interest expense recognized in the Statements of Operations, which causes the related failed sale-leaseback financing obligations to increase during the initial periods of the lease term.

Annual Estimated Failed Sale-Leaseback Financing Obligation Service Requirements as of December 31, 2019
	Years Ended December 31,
(In millions)	2020		2021		2022		2023		2024		Thereafter		Total
Financing obligations - principal	$	21	$	26	$	29	$	33	$	37	$	8,468	$	8,614
Financing obligations - interest	712		787		799		814		830		24,683		28,625
Total financing obligation payments (1)	$	733	$	813	$	828	$	847	$	867	$	33,151	$	37,239

____________________

⁽¹⁾  Financing obligation principal and interest payments are estimated amounts based on the future minimum lease payments and certain estimates based on contingent rental payments. Actual payments may differ from the estimates.

Subject to certain exceptions, the payment of all monetary obligations under the CEOC LLC Lease Agreements are guaranteed by CEC and the payment of all monetary obligations under the Harrah’s Las Vegas lease is guaranteed by CRC.

Lessor Arrangements

Lodging Arrangements

Lodging arrangements are considered short-term and generally consist of lease and nonlease components. The lease component is the predominant component of the arrangement and consists of the fees charged for lodging. The nonlease components primarily consist of resort fees and other miscellaneous items. As the timing and pattern of transfer of both the lease and nonlease components are over the course of the lease term, we have elected to combine the revenue generated from lease and nonlease components into a single lease component based on the predominant component in the arrangement. During the year ended December 31, 2019, we recognized approximately $1.6 billion in lease revenue related to lodging arrangements, which is included in Rooms revenue in the Statement of Operations.

Conventions

Convention arrangements are considered short-term and generally consist of lease and nonlease components. The lease component is the predominant component of the arrangement and consists of fees charged for the use of meeting space. The nonlease components primarily consist of food and beverage and audio/visual services. Revenue from conventions is included in Food and beverage revenue in the Statement of Operations, and during the year ended December 31, 2019, we recognized approximately $47 million in lease revenue related to conventions.

Real Estate Operating Leases

We enter into long-term real estate leasing arrangements with third-party lessees at our properties. As of December 31, 2019, the remaining terms of these operating leases ranged from 1 to 85 years, some of which include options to extend the lease term for up to 5 years. In addition to minimum rental commitments, certain of our operating leases provide for contingent payments including contingent rentals based on a percentage of revenues in excess of specified amounts and reimbursements for common area maintenance and utilities charges. As the timing and pattern of transfer of both the lease and nonlease components are over the course of the lease term, we have elected to combine the revenue generated from lease and nonlease components into a single lease component based on the predominant component in the arrangement. In addition, to maintain the value of our leased assets, certain leases include specific maintenance requirements of the lessees or maintenance is performed by the Company on behalf of the lessees.

Maturity of Lease Receivables as of December 31, 2019
(In millions)	Operating Leases
2020	$	70
2021	66
2022	59
2023	54
2024	47
Thereafter	772
Total	$	1,068

Leases

Leases

Adoption of New Lease Accounting Standard

In February 2016, the FASB issued a new standard related to leases, ASU 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842) (“ASC 842”). We adopted the standard effective January 1, 2019, using the modified retrospective approach applied as of the beginning of the period of adoption. The Company elected to utilize the transition guidance within the new standard that permits us to (i) continue to report under legacy lease accounting guidance for comparative periods consistent with previously issued financial statements; and (ii) carryforward our prior conclusions about lease identification, lease classification, and initial direct costs. The most significant effects of adopting the new standard relate to the recognition of right-of-use (“ROU”) assets and liabilities for leases classified as operating leases when the Company is the lessee in the arrangement. Adopting the new standard did not affect our accounting related to leases when the Company is the lessor in the arrangement.

We assess whether an arrangement is or contains a lease at the inception of the agreement. ROU assets represent our right to use an underlying asset for the lease term, and lease liabilities represent our obligation to make lease payments arising from the lease. ROU assets and lease liabilities are recognized at the commencement date based on the present value of lease payments over the lease term using an appropriate incremental borrowing rate, which is consistent with interest rates of similar financing arrangements based on the information available at the commencement date. We determined our incremental borrowing rate based on the interest rates published for unsecured borrowings with credit ratings similar to our unsecured debt, which were then adjusted for the appropriate lease term and effects of full collateralization.

Upon adoption, our ROU assets were also adjusted to include any prepaid lease payments and were reduced by any previously accrued lease liabilities. The terms of our leases used to determine the ROU asset and lease liability take into account options to extend when it is reasonably certain that we will exercise those options. Lease expense is recognized on a straight-line basis over the lease term. Additionally, we have elected the short-term lease measurement and recognition exemption and do not establish ROU assets or lease liabilities for operating leases with terms of 12 months or less.

Effect of Adopting New Lease Standard - January 1, 2019 Balance Sheet
(In millions)	Prior to Adoption		Effect of Adoption			Post Adoption
Property and equipment, net (1)	$	16,045	$	(96	)	$	15,949
Deferred charges and other assets (2)(3)	383		480			863
Accrued expenses and other current liabilities (2)	1,217		33			1,250
Financing obligations (1)	10,057		(96		)	9,961
Deferred credits and other liabilities (2)(3)	849		447			1,296

___________________

⁽¹⁾  Non-operating land assets previously considered as failed sale-leaseback financing obligations were determined to qualify for sale-leaseback accounting and are recognized as operating lease liabilities with corresponding ROU assets.

⁽²⁾  Operating leases previously considered as off-balance sheet obligations are now recognized as operating lease liabilities with corresponding ROU assets.

⁽³⁾  Accruals associated with future obligations for leases not in use have been applied against the carrying amount of the ROU assets.

Lessee Arrangements

Operating Leases

We lease real estate and equipment used in our operations from third parties. As of December 31, 2019, the remaining term of our operating leases ranged from 1 to 72 years with various extension options available, if we elect to exercise them. However, our remaining terms only include extension options that we have determined are reasonably assured as of December 31, 2019. In addition to minimum rental commitments, certain of our operating leases provide for contingent rentals based on a percentage of revenues in excess of specified amounts. We do not include costs associated with our non-lease components in our lease costs disclosed in the table below.

The following are additional details related to leases recorded on our Balance Sheet as of December 31, 2019:

(In millions)	Balance Sheet Classification	December 31, 2019
Assets
Operating lease ROU assets (1)	Deferred charges and other assets	$	550
Liabilities
Current operating lease liabilities (1)	Accrued expenses and other current liabilities	64
Non-current operating lease liabilities (1)	Deferred credits and other liabilities	545

____________________

⁽¹⁾  As noted above, we have elected the short-term lease measurement and recognition exemption and do not establish ROU assets or liabilities for operating leases with terms of 12 months or less.

Maturity of Lease Liabilities

The following table summarizes the future minimum lease obligations of our operating leases as of December 31, 2019 under the new standard:

(In millions)	Operating Leases
2020	$	105
2021	106
2022	100
2023	63
2024	58
Thereafter	837
Total	1,269
Less: present value discount	(660		)
Lease liability	$	609

As previously disclosed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018 and under the old standard, the following table summarizes the future minimum lease obligations of our operating leases as of December 31, 2018:

(In millions)	Operating Leases
2019	$	82
2020	70
2021	57
2022	53
2023	51
Thereafter	966
Total	$	1,279

Lease Costs
(In millions)	December 31, 2019
Operating lease expense	$	74
Short-term lease expense	102
Variable lease expense	15
Total lease costs	$	191

Other Information
(In millions)	December 31, 2019
Cash paid for amounts included in the measurement of lease liabilities:
Operating cash flows for operating leases	$	71

Weighted-Average Details
	December 31, 2019
Weighted-average remaining lease term (in years)	18.5
Weighted-average discount rate	7.11	%

Finance Leases

We have finance leases for certain equipment. As of December 31, 2019, our finance leases had remaining lease terms of up to approximately 5 years, some of which include options to extend the lease terms in one month increments. Our finance lease ROU assets and liabilities were less than a million within our Financial Statements as of December 31, 2019.

Failed Sale-Leaseback Financing Obligations

We lease certain real property assets from VICI (each a “Lease Agreement,” and, collectively, the “Lease Agreements”): (i) for Caesars Palace Las Vegas, (ii) for a portfolio of properties at various locations throughout the United States, (iii) for Harrah’s Joliet Hotel & Casino and (iv) for Harrah’s Las Vegas. The Lease Agreements provide for annual fixed rent (subject to escalation) of $773 million during an initial period, then rent consisting of both base rent and variable rent elements. The Lease Agreements have a 15-year initial term and four five-year renewal options, subject to certain restrictions on extension applicable to certain of the leased properties. The Lease Agreements include escalation provisions beginning in year two of the initial term and continuing through the renewal terms. The Lease Agreements also include provisions for variable rent payments calculated, in part, based on increases or decreases of net revenue of the underlying lease properties, commencing in year eight of the initial term and continuing through the renewal terms.

The Lease Agreements were evaluated as sale-leasebacks of real estate. We determined that these transactions did not qualify for sale-leaseback accounting, and we have accounted for each of the transactions as a financing.

For these failed sale-leaseback transactions, we continue to reflect the real estate assets on our Balance Sheets in Property and equipment, net as if we were the legal owner, and we continue to recognize depreciation expense over their estimated useful lives.

We do not recognize lease expense related to the Lease Agreements, but we have recorded a liability for the failed sale-leaseback obligations and the majority of the periodic lease payments are recognized as interest expense. In the initial periods, the majority of the cash payments are less than the interest expense recognized in the Statements of Operations, which causes the related failed sale-leaseback financing obligations to increase during the initial periods of the lease term.

Annual Estimated Failed Sale-Leaseback Financing Obligation Service Requirements as of December 31, 2019
	Years Ended December 31,
(In millions)	2020		2021		2022		2023		2024		Thereafter		Total
Financing obligations - principal	$	21	$	26	$	29	$	33	$	37	$	8,468	$	8,614
Financing obligations - interest	712		787		799		814		830		24,683		28,625
Total financing obligation payments (1)	$	733	$	813	$	828	$	847	$	867	$	33,151	$	37,239

____________________

⁽¹⁾  Financing obligation principal and interest payments are estimated amounts based on the future minimum lease payments and certain estimates based on contingent rental payments. Actual payments may differ from the estimates.

Subject to certain exceptions, the payment of all monetary obligations under the CEOC LLC Lease Agreements are guaranteed by CEC and the payment of all monetary obligations under the Harrah’s Las Vegas lease is guaranteed by CRC.

Lessor Arrangements

Lodging Arrangements

Lodging arrangements are considered short-term and generally consist of lease and nonlease components. The lease component is the predominant component of the arrangement and consists of the fees charged for lodging. The nonlease components primarily consist of resort fees and other miscellaneous items. As the timing and pattern of transfer of both the lease and nonlease components are over the course of the lease term, we have elected to combine the revenue generated from lease and nonlease components into a single lease component based on the predominant component in the arrangement. During the year ended December 31, 2019, we recognized approximately $1.6 billion in lease revenue related to lodging arrangements, which is included in Rooms revenue in the Statement of Operations.

Conventions

Convention arrangements are considered short-term and generally consist of lease and nonlease components. The lease component is the predominant component of the arrangement and consists of fees charged for the use of meeting space. The nonlease components primarily consist of food and beverage and audio/visual services. Revenue from conventions is included in Food and beverage revenue in the Statement of Operations, and during the year ended December 31, 2019, we recognized approximately $47 million in lease revenue related to conventions.

Real Estate Operating Leases

We enter into long-term real estate leasing arrangements with third-party lessees at our properties. As of December 31, 2019, the remaining terms of these operating leases ranged from 1 to 85 years, some of which include options to extend the lease term for up to 5 years. In addition to minimum rental commitments, certain of our operating leases provide for contingent payments including contingent rentals based on a percentage of revenues in excess of specified amounts and reimbursements for common area maintenance and utilities charges. As the timing and pattern of transfer of both the lease and nonlease components are over the course of the lease term, we have elected to combine the revenue generated from lease and nonlease components into a single lease component based on the predominant component in the arrangement. In addition, to maintain the value of our leased assets, certain leases include specific maintenance requirements of the lessees or maintenance is performed by the Company on behalf of the lessees.

Maturity of Lease Receivables as of December 31, 2019
(In millions)	Operating Leases
2020	$	70
2021	66
2022	59
2023	54
2024	47
Thereafter	772
Total	$	1,068