Pinnacle Entertainment Announces Updated Opening Schedule for its Baton Rouge Casino Hotel Project

BATON ROUGE, La. and LAS VEGAS, Feb. 24, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Pinnacle Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE: PNK) today announced that it has updated the planned opening for its $357 million Baton Rouge casino hotel, originally scheduled for December 2011.  As a result of low Mississippi River water levels, the Company has been unable to move the three completed casino hulls, which together will form the casino itself, from Bollinger Shipyards in southern Louisiana to the project site in order to continue construction on the casino facilities.  As such, and depending on river levels over the coming weeks and months, Pinnacle now expects to open its Baton Rouge casino hotel in the first quarter of 2012.

To date, Pinnacle has completed the majority of the on-site foundation work and is moving forward with structural steel work for the hotel and elevated concrete structure.  Work on the vessel hulls has also been completed.  As snow further up the Mississippi River continues to melt, water levels are expected to rise, allowing movement and final placement of the hull structure.

Anthony Sanfilippo, President and Chief Executive Officer of Pinnacle Entertainment, commented, "Our construction teams are diligently continuing their land-based work and we are prepared to quickly move the three hulls to the site as soon as river levels rise.  We are confident that Pinnacle's new casino hotel will provide Baton Rouge with a best-in-market casino entertainment complex."

Pinnacle's new Baton Rouge casino hotel will feature a single-level, 30,000-square-foot gaming floor; 1,500 slot machines; 51 table games, including a poker room; a hotel with 206 guestrooms and a rooftop pool; three dining outlets; a unique casino bar; 2,400 total parking spaces, including 800 in a covered parking garage; a multi-purpose event center with concert seating for up to 1,400 people or banquet seating for up to 800 people; and outdoor festival grounds with capacity for up to 2,500.  A complete project fact sheet and project webcam can be found at www.pnkinc.com under the "New Developments" section.

About Pinnacle Entertainment

Pinnacle Entertainment, Inc. owns and operates a total of seven casinos, located in Louisiana, Missouri, Indiana and Nevada, and a racetrack in Ohio.  The Company is also developing a casino in Baton Rouge, Louisiana that is expected to open in the first quarter of 2012.

All statements included in this press release, other than historical information or statements of historical fact, are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.  These forward-looking statements, including statements regarding the expected opening date, construction schedules, budget and amenities of the Company's Baton Rouge project, 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 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) the Company will have to meet the conditions for receipt or maintenance of gaming licensing approvals for the Baton Rouge project, some of which are beyond its control; (b) many factors, including the escalation of construction costs beyond increments anticipated in its construction budget and Mississippi River water levels that remain too low for placement of the casino hull structure, could prevent the Company from completing its Baton Rouge project within budget and on time and as required by the conditions of the Louisiana Gaming Control Board; and (c) other risks, including those as may be detailed from time to time in the Company'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, but not limited to, its Annual Report on Form 10-K, its Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and its Current Reports on Form 8-K.

SOURCE Pinnacle Entertainment, Inc.