Caesars' Bounce Provides Compelling Short Opportunity

At first glance, the short case for Caesars Entertainment (CZR) seems exceedingly simple. Indeed, a simple review of the stock's history should send investors stampeding for the exits. Caesars -- then known as Harrah's Entertainment -- was taken private in early 2008 in a top-of-the-market leveraged buyout that seemed doomed from the start, as the debt financing the transaction fell 10 percent on its first day of trading. Private equity firms Apollo Global Management (APO) and TPG Capital, who led the buyout, paid more than $40 per share, according to estimates provided by Barron's. The global economy would, of course, collapse later that year, devastating the gambling and leisure industries and causing huge...