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HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. (Sept. 1,
2005) – Among the millions of people affected by the
devastating destruction from Hurricane Katrina are more than
6,000 Harrah’s Entertainment employees from three casino
properties in Gulfport, Miss., Biloxi, Miss., and New Orleans.
In an effort to assist those
displaced by the storm, Robby Gordon Motorsports (RGM) will
donate $7 for each completed lap in its No. 7 Chevrolet’s for
remainder of the 2005 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series season to the
Harrah’s Employee Recovery Fund, which Harrah’s Entertainment
established to assist its employees experiencing the
after-affects of the tragedy.
Beginning this weekend at
California Speedway in Fontana, a possible 3,877 laps could be
run in the season’s final 12 races. If the car completes each
of those laps, the team will donate more than $25,000 to the
Fund through this program. Additionally, Robby Gordon
Motorsports will donate 10 percent to the Fund from the sale of
all licensed merchandise, including Harrah’s Racing apparel and
collectibles, sold at RGM’s trackside souvenir trailer and
through its on-line store at
www.robbygordon.com.
“This weekend, while all the
Nextel Cup Series teams and thousands of fans are in California
doing what we love, there will still be millions of people in
Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama trying to put their lives
back together, and unfortunately there will be thousands just
trying to find their family members and other loved ones,” team
owner Robby Gordon said. “All season, virtually every Harrah’s
employee throughout the country has been a supporter of our
racing team, especially when we run the purple and yellow
Harrah’s color scheme, and now it’s our turn to do something for
those that are in need.”
RGM will also collect donations at
its track-side souvenir trailer from race fans at each track
through the end of the season. These donations also will be
forwarded to the Harrah’s Employee Recovery Fund.
“Growing up in California and
spending most of my life there, fortunately I have never been
through a hurricane,” Gordon said. “I have been through a few
earthquakes and know how disruptive these types of things can be
to people’s lives. But from what I have seen on television,
there has not been an earthquake or hurricane before that
compares to what has happened along the Gulf Coast. My heart
goes out to everyone affected.”
Thus far in 2005, Gordon has
completed 4,775 of a possible 5,581 laps (85.5 percent) in
NASCAR competition.
“We can also look at this as an
incentive to finish on the lead lap of every race through the
end of the year,” said Gordon. “It’s our objective to donate as
much money as possible to the Fund, so if we run well we’ll be
able to help even more. I ask that fans of Robby Gordon
Motorsports, and even NASCAR fans that aren’t fans of mine or
our team, to help out the effort by making a donation at our
souvenir trailer or by buying a Harrah’s racing tee shirt,
die-cast car or hat. Harrah’s has been very supportive of
NASCAR through the years, and specifically our company, and I
hope to be able to help as many people as possible as a result
of our racing program.”
The RGM track-side souvenir
trailer will be prominently positioned at each race track for
the remainder of the 2005 season starting this weekend at the
California Speedway and followed by races at Richmond
International Raceway; New Hampshire International Speedway;
Dover International Speedway; Talladega Superspeedway; Kansas
Speedway; Lowe’s Motor Speedway (Charlotte, N.C.); Martinsville
(Va.) Speedway; Atlanta Motor Speedway; Texas Motor Speedway;
Phoenix International Speedway; and Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Among the affected properties in
the Gulf Coast area are the Harrah’s Grand Casino Biloxi, the
Grand Casino Gulfport and Harrah’s New Orleans, each of which
sustained extensive damage.
Harrah’s Entertainment established
the Harrah’s Employee Recovery Fund immediately following
Katrina’s impact to assist employees affected by the hurricane.
The Harrah’s Foundation, a non-profit charitable corporation
founded by Harrah’s Entertainment, provided an initial $1
million contribution to the Fund. |
