LAS VEGAS, Feb. 24 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Pinnacle Entertainment announced today that it has entered into an agreement with President Casinos, Inc. to purchase all of the outstanding capital stock of President Riverboat Casino-Missouri, Inc., which does business as President Casino St. Louis Riverfront, for approximately $31.5 million. This purchase agreement will be submitted to the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Missouri and is subject to a potential overbid by third-parties, as well as approval by the Missouri Gaming Commission. The agreement calls for a bankruptcy auction to occur by May 16, 2006.
Located on the Mississippi River in St. Louis, Missouri, President Casino St. Louis Riverfront houses approximately 1,025 slot machines and 30 table games. It is located within walking distance of the Laclede's Landing historic district and Pinnacle's under-construction casino project in downtown St. Louis.
About Pinnacle Entertainment
Pinnacle Entertainment owns and operates casinos in Nevada, Louisiana, Indiana and Argentina, owns a hotel in Missouri, receives lease income from two card club casinos in the Los Angeles metropolitan area, has been licensed to operate a small casino in the Bahamas, and owns a casino site and has significant insurance claims related to a hurricane-damaged casino previously operated in Biloxi, Mississippi. Pinnacle opened a major casino resort in Lake Charles, Louisiana in May 2005 and a new replacement casino in Neuquen, Argentina in July 2005. Pinnacle also has two casino development projects in the St. Louis, Missouri area. The development projects are dependent upon final approval by the Missouri Gaming Commission.
All statements included in this press release, other than historical information or statements of historical fact, are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements, including statements regarding the Company's new development opportunities and anticipated construction schedules and costs, are subject to risks, uncertainties and changes in circumstances that could significantly affect future results. Accordingly, Pinnacle Entertainment cautions that the forward-looking statements contained herein are qualified by important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those reflected by such statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to, (a) construction-related factors that could prevent the Company from completing its construction and development projects within budget and on time; (b) having adequate funding and cash flows to complete its construction projects; (c) the risk that the proposed St. Louis projects and other capital intensive projects could strain the Company's financial resources; (d) the results of the damage from Hurricane Katrina and insurance proceeds available to the Company; (e) the successful completion of the Company's announced agreement to purchase President Casino St. Louis Riverfront; and (f) other risks, including those as may be detailed from time to time in Pinnacle Entertainment's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"). For more information on the potential factors that could affect the Company's financial results and business, review the Company's filings with the SEC, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K, its Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and its Current Reports on Form 8-K.
For further information
At the Company - (702) 784-7777:
Dan Lee, Chairman & CEO
Wade Hundley, President
Steve Capp, CFO
Chris Plant or Lewis Fanger, Investor Relations
First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact: lfanger@pnkmail.com
