FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Erica D. Johnson, R&R Partners, 702.318.4269, 702.499.8862 (cell)
Lori Nelson, R&R Partners, 702.318.4209, 702.349.0625 (cell)
Dawn Mann Charles, Sara Lee Foods, 630.917.0264 (voicemail), 630.917.0264 (cell)

Happy Birthday, Las Vegas! Vegas celebrates its 100th with World's Largest Birthday Cake

Las Vegas, Nev. - (Sunday, May 15) The most dynamic city in the world is celebrating its Centennial today with a birthday cake as spectacular and over the top as the city itself. Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman and John Flood, president of Sara Lee Foods - Foodservice, cut the first slice of the World's Largest Birthday Cake, more than 130,000 pounds of decadence, during the city's official birthday celebration at Cashman Center. The public helped commemorate Las Vegas' special milestone by enjoying a slice of birthday cake history following the cutting ceremony.

"Las Vegas is larger than life and we don't do anything on a small scale," Mayor Goodman said. "The best part is that this gigantic birthday cake will be enjoyed by the entire community. This is one way everyone can have a piece of the Centennial."

Primed for entry into the Guinness Book of World Records, the whopping 130,000 pound pastry, jointly funded by the Las Vegas Centennial and Sara Lee Foods, is made of 30,240 individual half-sheet cakes. It took 14 hours to unpack and build the 96,000 pounds of cake and 34,000 pounds of icing. The finished cake, measuring 102 feet long, 52 feet wide and 20 inches high, contains nearly 23 million calories!

"When we were asked to bake this giant cake for Las Vegas' 100th birthday, we were thrilled because we knew it would give us an opportunity to share the homemade goodness of Sara Lee on a grand scale with a great city," said John Flood, president of Sara Lee Foods - Foodservice.

The World's Largest Birthday Cake is one of the main highlights of the yearlong Centennial celebration and a week of birthday festivities, which included a myriad of events, including a Salute to Helldorado Days, featuring four days of free Western-themed events and concerts at the Fremont Street Experience; a Founders Luncheon to honor pioneer families; and the return of the Helldorado Days parade, which featured more than 200 entries. Other birthday week highlights included a recreation of the 1905 land auction that founded Las Vegas and the unveiling of the first historical markers.

The cutting and eating of the World's Largest Birthday Cake will kick off a birthday celebration that will include a drop in by the Flying Elvi, a free concert by Boogie Nights and Kool & The Gang and a fireworks extravaganza.

No taxpayer dollars are being used to fund any Centennial events. Clear Channel Entertainment has secured sponsors to help underwrite the cost of the entire celebration, along with proceeds raised from the sale of Las Vegas Centennial commemorative license plates.

In a city where everything is done on a grand scale, the cake's entrance was no different. The 30,240 individual half-sheets arrived at Cashman Field from Sara Lee Foods in seven trucks during the wee hours of the morning. Hundreds of community volunteers and local Albertsons employees then unloaded, unpacked, built and frosted the cake from midnight until 2 p.m. on Sunday May 15. Along with the public, non-profit organizations, shelters and other community service organizations helped themselves to generous portions of the cake following the public viewing.

In order to qualify for the Guinness Book of World Records, the World's Largest Birthday Cake must meet specific requirements set forth by the organization. The cake must contain traditional ingredients in the correct proportions, be prepared in the same manner as a normal-sized cake, be prepared according to appropriate hygiene standards and be totally edible and safe to eat. The final product must be a single cake (separately baked pieces must be iced all over so that no joint can be seen) that looks like a scaled-up version of a normal-sized cake.

Guinness will ensure that the cake was prepared and constructed within acceptable standards by filming the entire process with a time-lapse video. A complete list of ingredients will be provided by Sara Lee along with the application. It may take Guinness 12 weeks or longer to determine eligibility and authentication.

The Centennial wishes to thank the following companies for donating their goods and services: Elite Media, Cashman Equipment, Alberstons, Costco, The Merrimar Group, BearCom Communications, Republic Services, Source One Events, Anderson Dairy, Aramark and Big Mountain Graphics.

Sara Lee Corporation (www.saralee.com) is a global manufacturer and marketer of high-quality, brand-name products for consumers throughout the world. The company's bakery business competes in the fresh, refrigerated and frozen bakery segments in the United States, Europe and Australia. Major bakery products include fresh bread, buns and bagels; refrigerated dough, such as biscuits and cinnamon rolls; and frozen cheesecake, pies and desserts. Major bakery brands include Sara Lee, Earth Grains, IronKids and Colonial/Rainbo in the United States; Bimbo and CroustiPâte in Europe; and Sara Lee in Australia and Asia.