Harrah’s Entertainment has moved forward with its missive to buy Planet Hollywood Resort.

On Monday, the state Gaming Control Board confirmed that Harrah’s had filed applications to acquire the property with gaming regulators in Nevada.

If the deal does go through, it’s expected that Planet Hollywood founder Robert Earl would continue in his role, continuing to work closely with the new team.

Harrah’s has been in Planet Hollywood’s spotlight for a while now.  In September, Harrah’s Entertainment had already controlled nearly $140 million of Planet Hollywood Resort’s debt, and they had been negotiating to control even more of PW’s $860 million total debt that’s currently in default.

No stranger to debt itself, Harrah’s – which owns and manages 52 casinos around the world – has their own $19.3 billion long-term debt to contend with.  According to a SEC filing, $501.8 million of that is maturing next year, and $168.9 million is due in 2011.  One of the criteria for approving Planet Hollywood’s acquisition is that Harrah’s own financial position will need to be investigated.