An $81-per-share acquisition offer for Harrah’s Entertainment by a consortium of corporate raiders is starting to cast a pall over the company’s planned international expansion. Harrah’s spokesman Alberto Lopez tells Reuters that the casino giant is reconsidering its bid for a Singapore casino concession.

“We are re-evaluating the options,” Lopez says, which must send a chill down the spines of Harrah’s other overseas partners. In addition to making a push for Singapore’s last “integrated resort” concession (Las Vegas Sands has the other), Harrah’s is committed to a buyout of London Clubs International, is pursuing a “supercasino” in the U.K., and has cash-intensive commitments in Spain and Slovenia. The specter of Harrah’s becoming subject to a gargantuan leveraged buyout throws a Godzilla-sized spanner into the works.

On the other hand, by pulling out of Singapore now, Harrah’s might spare itself mortification down the road. While Malaysia’s Genting, in tandem with Universal Studios, has been assumed to be the favorite, I’ve heard privately that Kerzner International is the current frontrunner. Kerzner’s Atlantis resort seems pretty close to what the Singaporean government has in mind for Sentosa Island.

As if Harrah’s trepidation regarding Singapore weren’t enough, the company’s bond ratings are sucking wind in the aftermath of the LBO announcement. “The L in LBO stands for leveraged, which means a lot more debt … If you bought it, you just got crushed,” sayeth one Reuters source. Then there’s the little matter of apparent insider trading in Harrah’s options …