Buca di Beppo Brings Casual Italian Dining to the Las Vegas Strip with new location at Excalibur Hotel & Casino

Las Vegas, Nevada (Decem­ber 13, 2011) – Sched­uled to open Decem­ber 26, Buca di Beppo is set to have its first restau­rant loca­tion on the famed Las Vegas Strip inside the Excal­ibur Hotel & Casino.

“Since acquir­ing Buca di Beppo in 2008, Planet Hol­ly­wood Inter­na­tional has revi­tal­ized the brand with new loca­tions across the United States, the United King­dom and Latin Amer­ica,” said Robert Earl, Chair­man and CEO of Planet Hol­ly­wood Inter­na­tional, the par­ent com­pany of Buca di Beppo.  “Demon­strat­ing the strength, vital­ity and sus­tain­abil­ity we con­tinue to deliver the highest-quality dishes while mak­ing our guests feel as if they are hav­ing a home-cooked meal in a family-style set­ting at Buca.”

Vice Pres­i­dent of Food & Bev­er­age at Luxor and Excal­ibur Jason Shko­rupa said, “Buca di Beppo is an excel­lent addi­tion to our culi­nary offer­ings at Excal­ibur. We wel­come a trusted brand that deliv­ers fresh, deli­cious cui­sine at an extra­or­di­nary value and a venue that our guests will be excited to fre­quent dur­ing their stay because of the enjoy­able din­ing envi­ron­ment, plen­ti­ful menu options and over­all qual­ity the restau­rant is known for around the world.”

Located on Excal­ibur’s Cas­tle Walk Mez­za­nine Level of the Buca di Beppo Strip loca­tion will be an 8,500 sq. ft. restau­rant with seat­ing for up to 300 guests.  Stay­ing true to the tra­di­tions that have made Buca di Beppo a pop­u­lar casual-dining

Ital­ian restau­rant group with more than ninety loca­tions in the United States and Europe, the restau­rant will fea­ture its sig­na­ture quirky décor, com­plete with irrev­er­ent pho­tographs, strings of multi-colored dec­o­ra­tive lights, ging­ham table­cloths and over-the-top service.

The menu will include gen­er­ous por­tions of qual­ity house-made cui­sine includ­ing such favorites as freshly baked Lasagna, Spaghetti with Meat­balls “as big as your head,” Spicy Chicken Riga­toni or Veal Saltim­bocca.  A com­fort­able bar with sig­na­ture cock­tails and exten­sive wine list also will be fea­tured at the Excal­ibur location.

Buca di Beppo Pres­i­dent and CEO Tom Aval­lone said, “With its com­mit­ment to fresh, gen­er­ous por­tions and afford­able price-point, Buca di Beppo will be a wel­come addi­tion to the on-Strip din­ing options. Our brand has strong cross-appeal with the Excal­ibur guests and we look for­ward to adding a pop­u­lar casual din­ing option to this long­stand­ing Las Vegas casino property.”

About EXCALIBUR

A myr­iad of enter­tain­ment, fine food and com­fort­able accom­mo­da­tions make for an invit­ing atmos­phere within con­tem­po­rary cas­tle walls at Excal­ibur.  The resort offers 3,981 guest rooms, includ­ing 2,000 remod­eled Widescreen Rooms, enjoy­able din­ing expe­ri­ences includ­ing Dick’s Last Resort and The Steak­house at Camelot, the Tour­na­ment of Kings Din­ner Show, the all-male revue Thun­der From Down Under, higher nightlife edu­ca­tion classes at Night School 4 Girls and the sounds of The Aus­tralian Bee Gees Show.  Excal­ibur also offers dozens of shops, an expan­sive pool com­plex, a wed­ding chapel fea­tur­ing Medieval cos­tume cer­e­monies, the Royal Treat­ment Spa & Fit­ness Cen­ter and a con­ven­tion area with more than 12,000 square feet of meet­ing and ban­quet space.  Excal­ibur is a wholly owned sub­sidiary of MGM Resorts Inter­na­tional™ (NYSE: MGM).  For more infor­ma­tion and reser­va­tions, visit http://www.excalibur.comor call toll free at (800) 937‑7777 or find us on Face­book and Twit­ter.

About Buca di Beppo

Owned by Planet Hol­ly­wood Inter­na­tional, Inc., with loca­tions from Philadel­phia to Hon­olulu, and Mex­ico City to Lon­don, Buca di Beppo restau­rants embody the Ital­ian tra­di­tions of food, friend­ship and hos­pi­tal­ity. Dishes enjoyed for gen­er­a­tions in vil­lages through­out Italy inspire the menu, which fea­tures both North­ern and South­ern Ital­ian favorites. While the

food has pleased mil­lions of palates from coast-to-coast, Buca di Beppo is equally famous for its quirky décor and upbeat atmos­phere. Most Buca di Beppo loca­tions are open daily for lunch and din­ner. Deliv­ery is also avail­able at many loca­tions nat

ion­wide. Visit www.bucadibeppo.com for loca­tions, hours of oper­a­tion, menus, reser­va­tions or to place an online order for Buca To Go. Or Fol­low Buca di Beppo on Face­book or Twit­ter: bucadibeppo .

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Media Con­tacts:

Bon­nie Tay­lor, 702.862.4242 or 702.300.5690

BRAIN­trust Mar­ket­ing + Communications

bonnie@braintrustlv.com

Ash­ley Farkas, 702.650.7510

MGM Resorts International

afarkas@mgmresorts.com