PINNACLE ENTERTAINMENT POWERS UP LUMIÈRE PLACE IN DOWNTOWN ST. LOUIS
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
At The Vandiver Group—(314) 324-8567 (cell)
Mack A. Bradley, EVP
mbradley@vandivergroup.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 19, 2007
PINNACLE ENTERTAINMENT POWERS UP LUMIÈRE PLACE IN DOWNTOWN ST. LOUIS
ST. LOUIS, MO., December 19, 2007 –Pinnacle Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE: PNK) today announced it has opened Lumière Place, the company’s $507 million casino and entertainment complex in downtown St. Louis. The property is adjacent to the city’s famed Gateway Arch, which draws more than 4 million visitors annually, as well as St. Louis’ Central Business District, the America’s Center convention center and the 66,000-seat Edward Jones Dome, and the region’s MetroLink light rail system.
To highlight the opening ceremony, Pinnacle Entertainment Chairman and CEO Daniel R. Lee and St. Louis Mayor Francis G. Slay threw an eight-foot light switch and lit the massive light box surrounding Lumière’s 24-story tower, illuminating the historic riverfront with more than 42,000 feet of LEDs.
“Lumière Place represents a new era in regional gaming and entertainment,” said Lee. “This magnificent property, sitting in the heart of a vibrant downtown, will be a catalyst for the growth of both our company and St. Louis as a whole. It will serve an increasing demand for quality entertainment in the area, as people move into downtown at an unprecedented rate and convention bookings in the region increase. We look forward to being part of the renaissance underway here.”
Lumière Place features a large casino with approximately 2,000 slots and 40 table games and two hotels, including the recently announced 200-room Four Seasons Hotel St. Louis, occupying the high-rise tower, and the 295-suite HoteLumière, which is undergoing a $16 million renovation and adjoins the property via a sky bridge crossing Second Street. Lumière Place will be connected to Baer Park and the America’s Center convention center via underground moving walkways, which pass under Interstate 70. Both hotels and the underground pedestrian tunnel will open in early 2008.
“This opening has been more than two years in the making,” said Todd George, vice president and general manager of Lumière Place. “Today, it all pays off--all the hard work of our team, the dedication of our many vendors and the commitment of the City to an urban renewal. Lumière Place has an energy and excitement about it visitors will feel right away, and our people make that difference. We are looking forward to sharing the Lumière experience with St. Louis.”
Lumière Place represents the single largest development in downtown St. Louis. It leads a renaissance that is underway throughout the city, with more than $4.5 billion being invested in housing and economic development in recent years.
“As Lumiere Place lights up the night for the first time, it reminds us this is also a new day in St. Louis. The signs are everywhere, but tonight we celebrate a unique example of our progress as a city,” said St. Louis Mayor Francis G. Slay. “Lumiere Place will not only add a dramatic presence to our already distinctive skyline, it will add a new vitality to downtown. This project has generated a lot of excitement in St. Louis already, and a realization in other markets that St. Louis is on the move.
“None of this would be possible without a dramatic vision, a realistic plan and the tenacity to get a project of this enormous size complete. Dan Lee and his team at Pinnacle Entertainment have displayed all of these things, and I am happy to help celebrate this major new beginning for downtown St. Louis,” Slay said.
In addition to this first phase, the Company owns or has an option to purchase all real estate in the Lumière Place area, an approximately 20-acre redevelopment zone adjoining the Mississippi River bounded by Third Street, Carr Street, Lenore K. Sullivan Drive and Dr. Martin Luther King Boulevard.
About Lumière Place
The $507 million Lumière Place includes a 75,000-square-foot casino with 2,000 slot machines, more than 45 table games, and a dedicated poker room. Lumière Place boasts seven restaurants, incluing Burger Bar Saint Louis and SLeeK by celebrity chef Hubert Keller. Other restaurants include Asia from nationally-known restaurateur Tri La, The Kitchen Buffet & Bistro which includes a show kitchen, Peet’s Coffee & Tea, plus Aqua, a piano bar overlooking the casino floor and grand promenade, and Globar, a high energy lounge near the center of the casino floor.
Lumière Place also offers fine shopping. Retail shops like Blush of Lumière, Men’s Room, Etc and L’ove have some of the biggest names in fashion and the hottest designs.
Construction began on Lumière Place in September 2005. The project received final approval by the Missouri Gaming Commission in late 2007.
About Pinnacle Entertainment
Pinnacle Entertainment, Inc. owns and operates casinos in Nevada, Louisiana, Indiana, Missouri, Argentina and The Bahamas; owns a hotel in Missouri; and has significant insurance claims related to a hurricane-damaged hotel and casino complex previously operated in Biloxi, Mississippi. he Company opened Lumière Place, a $507 million casino hotel in downtown St. Louis, Missouri, in December 2007. Pinnacle also has a second casino development project under construction in the St. Louis, Missouri area. The opening of both Missouri casinos is dependent upon final approval by the Missouri Gaming Commission. Pinnacle is currently developing a second casino resort in Lake Charles, Louisiana, to be called Sugarcane Bay; anticipates developing a casino resort in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to be called Rivière; and has submitted a proposal for a casino resort in Kansas City, Kansas, subject to various approvals. Additionally, Pinnacle owns a casino site at the heart of the famed Boardwalk in Atlantic City, New Jersey, on which it plans to build a major new casino resort.
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 timing of Pinnacle’s construction projects and expected budgets, are based on management’s current expectations and 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) many construction-related factors could prevent the Company from completing its construction and development projects within budget and on time; (b) the risk that the Company’s new development projects, proposed expansions to the existing facilities, and other capital intensive projects could strain the Company's financial resources and the risk that such projects and new developments might not provide for a sufficient return, if any; and (c) 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.