Pinnacle Entertainment, Inc. was an American

gambling Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of Value (economics), value ("the stakes") on a Event (probability theory), random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy (ga ...

and

hospitality Hospitality is the relationship of a host towards a guest, wherein the host receives the guest with some amount of goodwill and welcome. This includes the reception and entertainment of guests, visitors, or strangers. Louis de Jaucourt, Louis, ...

company. It was acquired by Penn National Gaming in 2018. At the time of acquisition, it operated sixteen casino properties, located in

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

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Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, and

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

, and a horse track in

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

History

Pinnacle Entertainment traced its roots to June 10, 1938, when movie mogul

Jack L. Warner Jack Leonard Warner (born Jacob Warner; August 2, 1892 – September 9, 1978) was a Canadian-born American film executive, who was the president and driving force behind the Warner Bros., Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California. Warner's ca ...

opened the Hollywood Park Turf Club racetrack in Inglewood,

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. The original shareholders included Hollywood figures such as

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney ( ; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer, voice actor, and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the Golden age of American animation, American animation industry, he introduced several develop ...

Mervyn LeRoy Mervyn LeRoy (; October 15, 1900 – September 13, 1987) was an American film director and producer. During the 1930s, he was one of the two great practitioners of economical and effective film directing at Warner Bros., Warner Brothers studios, ...

and

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, comedian, entertainer and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwi ...

. The company was incorporated and renamed in 1981 as Hollywood Park Realty Enterprises. It was renamed as Hollywood Park, Inc. in 1992. After many years in the

horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...

business, the company began a transformation into a casino operator. In 1997, the company acquired Boomtown, Inc. and its three casinos in Nevada, Louisiana and Mississippi for $188 million. In 1998, it acquired Casino Magic Corp. for $340 million, including two casinos in Mississippi, one in Louisiana and a controlling stake in two casinos in Argentina. The company sold the Hollywood Park racetrack in 1999 to Churchill Downs, Inc. and in 2000 changed its name to Pinnacle Entertainment. Belterra Casino Resort & Spa made its debut in 2000 as Pinnacle's first company-designed and developed gaming resort. Then in 2005, Pinnacle opened L'Auberge du Lac in Lake Charles,

. In September 2006, Pinnacle agreed to purchase the Sands Casino Hotel in

Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, sometimes referred to by its initials A.C., is a Jersey Shore seaside resort city (New Jersey), city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Atlantic City comprises the second half of ...

and announced plans to replace it with a $1.5-billion resort. The property closed on November 11, 2006, and was demolished on October 18, 2007. Harsh economic times later caused Pinnacle to delay construction of the new resort. In February 2010, the company announced that it had canceled its construction plans and would instead seek to sell the land."Pinnacle folds its hand in Atlantic City"
''

The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', often referred to simply as ''The Inquirer'', is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded on June 1, 1829, ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is the third-longest continuously operating da ...

'', February 6, 2010. Eventually it was sold in 2013 for $29.5 million to a group of local developers who planned to build a casino or family entertainment attraction. In December 2006, Pinnacle purchased the President Casino in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

. Lumière Place opened in downtown St. Louis in December 2007, anchoring an entertainment district including the Four Seasons Hotel St. Louis and HoteLumière. In March 2010, Pinnacle opened River City Casino, in

Lemay, Missouri Lemay is an Unincorporated area#United States, unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in south St. Louis County, Missouri, St. Louis County, Missouri, United States. The population was 16,645 at the 2010 census. History Lema ...

. Pinnacle announced the expansion of its L’Auberge Baton Rouge project in September 2010 and held a grand opening on September 1, 2012. On November 9, 2009, chief executive officer Dan Lee was forced out by the company's board of directors after reportedly physically confronting and threatening a St. Louis County official. Anthony Sanfilippo was appointed as chief executive officer in March 2010. In July 2010, the company sold its Argentina casinos for $40 million. In January 2011, Pinnacle purchased River Downs Racetrack in southeast Cincinnati. The company agreed in April 2012 to buy a 75.5% stake in Retama Park, a money-losing horse track in Selma, Texas, for $22.8 million. The purchase was seen as a "defensive move" to help soften the blow if gaming in Texas were expanded and drew visitors away from Pinnacle's Lake Charles properties. In May 2011, Pinnacle expanded into the Asian gaming market with a $95-million investment for 26 percent ownership of Asian Coast Development Ltd., the owner and developer of the Ho Tram Strip, 80 miles away from

Ho Chi Minh City Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) ('','' TP.HCM; ), commonly known as Saigon (; ), is the most populous city in Vietnam with a population of around 14 million in 2025. The city's geography is defined by rivers and canals, of which the largest is Saigo ...

in southern Vietnam, which will be the country's first large-scale integrated destination resort. Upon the closing of the transaction, Pinnacle would enter into a management agreement through 2058 for the second integrated resort on the Ho Tram Strip. On June 26, 2012, Pinnacle sold Boomtown Reno for $12.9 million to M1 Gaming, the company of former Station Casinos executive Dean DiLullo. On August 14, 2013, Pinnacle bought Ameristar Casinos for $869 million plus $1.9 billion in assumed debt, adding nine properties in Colorado, Indiana, Iowa, Missouri, Mississippi and Northern Nevada. To gain FTC approval for the merger, Pinnacle agreed to sell its Lumiere Place property and Ameristar's under-construction casino in Lake Charles. In November 2014, Pinnacle announced a plan to spin-off a

real estate investment trust A real estate investment trust (REIT, pronounced "reet") is a company that owns, and in most cases operates, income-producing real estate. REITs own many types of real estate, including office and apartment buildings, studios, warehouses, hos ...

with the real estate assets of its 15 casinos.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. is a real estate investment trust (REIT) specializing in casino properties, based in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania. It was formed in November 2013 as a corporate spin-off from Penn National Gaming. The company ow ...

(GLPI) then approached Pinnacle with an offer to buy those assets, which it said would be simpler and faster than Pinnacle's plan. Pinnacle did not respond to the offer, so GLPI went public with its offer in March 2015. In July, the companies reached a deal for GLPI to buy 14 of Pinnacle's 15 properties for $4.75 billion in stock, and lease them back to Pinnacle, with rent starting at $377 million per year. The sale would be executed by Pinnacle spinning off a new company, also named Pinnacle Entertainment, with the casinos' operating businesses, along with ownership of Belterra Park (formerly River Downs) and the company's interest in Retama Park; GLPI would then acquire the original Pinnacle Entertainment. The sale was completed in April 2016. Pinnacle also purchased the operations of

The Meadows Racetrack and Casino The Hollywood Casino at The Meadows, formerly The Meadows Racetrack and Casino, originally (1963) just The Meadows horse-racing track, is a Standardbred Horse, Standardbred harness racing, harness-racing Racetrack, track and slot-machine casino ...

in Pennsylvania from GLPI for $138 million in September 2016. In December 2017, Pinnacle agreed to be acquired by Penn National Gaming for $2.8 billion in cash and stock. To ensure regulatory approval for the deal, Pinnacle would sell the operations of four properties to Boyd Gaming for $575 million prior to the merger: Ameristar Kansas City, Ameristar St. Charles, Belterra Casino, and Belterra Park. The real estate of Belterra Park was originally to be sold to GLPI, but was ultimately sold to Boyd for $58 million. The transactions were completed on October 15, 2018.

Resorts and casinos

At the time of its acquisition, the company operated the following properties: * Ameristar Casino Council Bluffs –

Council Bluffs, Iowa Council Bluffs is a city in and the county seat of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, Pottawattamie County, Iowa, United States. The population was 62,799 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the state's List of cities in Iowa, te ...

* Ameristar Casino Hotel East Chicago –

East Chicago, Indiana East Chicago is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The population was 26,370 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Centered around heavy industry, the city is home to the Indiana Harbor and Ship Canal, an artificial freshwa ...

* Ameristar Casino Vicksburg –

Vicksburg, Mississippi Vicksburg is a historic city in Warren County, Mississippi, United States. It is the county seat. The population was 21,573 at the 2020 census. Located on a high bluff on the east bank of the Mississippi River across from Louisiana, Vicksburg ...

* Ameristar Casino Hotel Kansas City –

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...

* Ameristar Casino Resort Spa Black Hawk –

Black Hawk, Colorado Black Hawk is a home rule city located in Gilpin County, Colorado, United States. The population was 127 at the 2020 United States census, making it the least populous city (but not town) in Colorado. It was a mining settlement founded in 18 ...

* Ameristar Casino Resort Spa St. Charles –

St. Charles, Missouri Saint Charles (commonly abbreviated St. Charles) is a city in, and the county seat of, St. Charles County, Missouri, United States. The population was 70,493 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making St. Charles the List of cities in ...

* Belterra Casino Resort & Spa –

Florence, Indiana Florence is an unincorporated census-designated place in York Township, Switzerland County, Indiana, York Township, Switzerland County, Indiana, Switzerland County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. History The community was laid out in 1817 under t ...

* Belterra Park Gaming & Entertainment Center –

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

* Boomtown Bossier City –

Bossier City, Louisiana Bossier City ( ) is a city in Bossier Parish, Louisiana, Bossier Parish in the northwestern region of the U.S. state, state of Louisiana in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in the Shreveport–Bossier City metropolitan area ...

* Boomtown New Orleans – Harvey, Louisiana * Cactus Petes Resort Casino – Jackpot, Nevada * Horseshu Hotel and Casino – Jackpot, Nevada * L'Auberge Casino & Hotel Baton Rouge –

Baton Rouge, Louisiana Baton Rouge ( ; , ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It had a population of 227,470 at the 2020 United States census, making it List of municipalities in Louisiana, Louisiana's second-m ...

* L'Auberge Casino Resort Lake Charles –

Lake Charles, Louisiana Lake Charles is the List of municipalities in Louisiana, fifth-most populous city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, and the county seat, parish seat of Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana, Calcasieu Parish, located on Lake Charles (Louisiana), Lake Char ...

– North Strabane Township, Pennsylvania * Retama Park – Selma, Texas (75% stake) * River City Casino –

Previous operations

Argentina

* Casino Magic Neuquén (sold) * Casino Magic San Martin de los Andes (sold)

United States

* Boomtown Biloxi –

Biloxi, Mississippi Biloxi ( ; ) is a city in Harrison County, Mississippi, United States. It lies on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast in southern Mississippi, bordering the city of Gulfport, Mississippi, Gulfport to its west. The adjacent cities ar ...

(sold) * Boomtown Las Vegas – Enterprise, Nevada (sold; now Silverton Las Vegas) * Boomtown Reno – Verdi, Nevada (sold) * Casino Magic Bay St. Louis – Bay St. Louis, Mississippi (sold) * Casino Magic Biloxi – Biloxi, Mississippi (closed and sold; now Margaritaville Resort Biloxi) *

Hollywood Park Racetrack Hollywood Park was a thoroughbred horse racing, race course located in Inglewood, California, about 3 miles (5 km) from Los Angeles International Airport and adjacent to The Forum (Inglewood, California), the Forum indoor arena. In 1994, t ...

–

Inglewood, California Inglewood is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, United States, in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, the city had a population of 107,762. ...

(sold) * Lumière Place –

(sold) * President Casino Laclede's Landing – St. Louis, Missouri (closed)

References

{{Pinnacle Entertainment 1938 establishments in California 2018 disestablishments in California 2018 mergers and acquisitions Companies based in Spring Valley, Nevada Companies formerly listed on the Nasdaq Gambling companies of the United States American companies established in 1938 American companies disestablished in 2018 Gambling companies established in 1938 Gambling companies disestablished in 2018