By Matt Jarzemsky, Dow Jones Newswires

Caesars Entertainment Corp.’s first-quarter loss narrowed as a positive swing in debt extinguishment impacts masked lower revenue amid lower visitation and U.S. flooding woes.

Caesars, which changed its name from Harrah’s Entertainment Inc. last year, has written its bottom line in red ink lately, though it had seen revenue grow slightly in recent quarters, propped up by its February 2010 purchase of the Planet Hollywood resort. Las Vegas, where it has a notable presence, remains a tough town for casino operators, but has shown signs of stabilization.

Recent flooding of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers has caused some of its facilities to close. Horseshoe Southern Indiana, near Louisville, Ky., reopened last week after flood-related closures. A handful of northwest Mississippi facilities as well as southern Illinois’ Harrah’s Metropolis are currently closed because of floodwaters.

Caesars reported a loss of $144.8 million, compared with a loss of $193.6 million a year earlier. Early debt extinguishment of debt boosted the latest result by $21 million, net of taxes, and hurt the prior-year result by $30.2 million.

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