Casino News Today

At least one of Kansas’ three casinos will be smokeless.

The Dodge City council Monday approved a city ordinance outlawing smoking in all indoor public places. A short list of exceptions, including private clubs, did not include casinos.

Smoking bans have been the bane of gambling establishments coast to coast in recent years with revenues plummeting by double-digits as smokers stay away or flee to smoker-friendly competitors.

Dodge City offers a curious experiment in the social policy, however, because it is somewhat isolated in southwestern Kansas with no nearby alternatives for gamblers that smoke.

One state casino consultants estimated a Dodge City casino could rake in around $41 million a year. If the national trends hold you can probably cut that bottom line estimate AND the governments’ tax cut anywhere from $4 million to $10 million a year.

KansasCity.com

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Pinnacle Entertainment, Inc. today announced that the casino at its L’Auberge du Lac Casino Resort in Lake Charles, La. reopened at 7:30 p.m. (CT) on Wednesday, Sept. 17 after sustaining minimal damage from Hurricane Ike. The casino floor had temporarily closed in the early morning hours of Saturday, Sept. 13 with the arrival of the storm, while the hotel, most restaurants and retail at L’Auberge du Lac remained open throughout the storm. The Contraband Bayou Golf Club, which was flooded, is expected to reopen today.

The Company’s construction crews worked around the clock with structural engineers and marine experts to repair the entrance and exit ramps between L’Auberge du Lac’s casino and hotel. Neither the casino vessel nor the hotel suffered any structural damage during Hurricane Ike.

As previously reported, the Company’s two other Louisiana casinos, Boomtown New Orleans and Boomtown Bossier City, remained open through Hurricane Ike. As the storm moved north, the Company’s Belterra Casino Resort in Vevay, Indiana switched its hotel to generator power on Sunday, Sept. 14. Belterra’s casino and hotel remained open throughout the storm, and local utilities fully restored the hotel’s electricity on Tues., Sept. 16.

“We’re pleased to welcome our neighbors and employees back after Hurricane Ike, and we thank all of our dedicated employees who worked so hard to return our properties back to normal,” said Daniel R. Lee, Pinnacle’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.

Separately, Pinnacle announced that it has received a refund of its $25 million privilege fee from the Kansas Lottery Commission in connection with Pinnacle’s decision to withdraw its proposal for a casino complex in Wyandotte County, Kansas. As previously announced, Pinnacle withdrew its application in order to focus the Company’s resources on its existing projects and development opportunities in Louisiana, Missouri and other jurisdictions.

About Pinnacle Entertainment

Pinnacle Entertainment, Inc. owns and operates casinos in Nevada, Louisiana, Indiana, Missouri and Argentina, and has significant insurance claims related to a hurricane-damaged hotel and casino complex previously operated in Biloxi, Mississippi. The Company opened Lumiere Place, a $507 million casino hotels complex in downtown St. Louis, Missouri, in December 2007. Pinnacle also has a second casino development project under construction in the St. Louis area, which opening 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, and is developing a casino resort in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. 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 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, risks 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.

PR News Wire

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Bally’s Atlantic City, 1900 Pacific Ave., 609-340-2000, ballysac.com.Borgata Hotel & Casino, 1 Borgata Way, 609-317-1000, theborgata.com.

Caesars Atlantic City, 2100 Pacific Ave., 609-348-4411, harrahs.com.

Harrah’s Resort Atlantic City, 777 Harrah’s Blvd., 800-342-7724, harrahs.com. Lynda Carter, 9 tonight-tomorrow, 8 p.m. Sunday and Tuesday-Thursday, $25, Concert Venue.

Atlantic City Hilton, Boardwalk and Boston Avenue, 609-347-7111, hiltonac.com. Marilyn McCoo with Billy Davis Jr., 9 tonight, $35.

Resorts Atlantic City, 1133 Boardwalk, 800-336-6378, resortsac.com. Debbie Reynolds, 9 tonight and Tuesday-Thursday, $40, Superstar Theater.

Showboat Casino Hotel, Boardwalk and Delaware Avenue, 609-343-4000, harrahs.com.

House of Blues at Showboat, 609-236-2583, hob.com. Nas, 8 tonight, $48.50-$61.

Tropicana Casino & Resort, Boardwalk and South Brighton Avenue, 609-340-4000, tropicana.net. “Yesterday: A Tribute to the Beatles,” 8:30 tonight-Sunday, Wednesday-Thursday, $25, Cabaret Theater. Lou Neglia’s Ring of Combat XXI, 9 tonight, $50-$150. “Piano Men,” 8 p.m. Sunday and Monday, 3:30 and 8 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday.

Trump Marina, Huron Avenue and Brigantine Boulevard, 609-441-2000, trumpmarina.com.

Trump Plaza, Boardwalk and Mississippi Avenue, 609-441-6000, www.trumpplaza.com.

Trump Taj Mahal, Boardwalk and Virginia Avenue, 609-449-1000, trumptaj.com.

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HONG KONG - Canadian casino company Asian Coast Development Ltd. is considering a $1-billion US initial public offering in Hong Kong in the next two years to fund its plans for a mammoth gambling resort in Vietnam.

The Vancouver-based company will not be rushed into raising further capital and is eyeing a possible IPO as one of only several ways to help fund its $4.2-billion five-hotel project in the developing Southeast Asian country, a spokesperson said

An IPO on the Hong Kong stock exchange would come only “if the market conditions are right,” he added in a telephone interview from Vietnam.

Recently, investors in Hong Kong have been betting against the casino sector, and the appetite for a casino IPO in the immediate future would be “not strong,” said Billy Ng, an analyst with JPMorgan in Hong Kong. An IPO would be “close to impossible” in the near term and uncertain after that, he added.

According to accountants PricewaterhouseCoopers, Asia-Pacific is the world’s fastest-growing gambling region, with casino-based gambling revenues expected to more than double to $34.4 billion US up from $16.5 billion in 2007. Hong Kong’s near-neighbour Macau has already surpassed Las Vegas as the world’s biggest gaming hub.

But there are concerns about many of the Hong Kong-listed Macau casino companies because rapid development has lead to fears about irrational competition. There are also concerns that Beijing has slowed the pace of approval for new projects on the island, and imposed restrictions on visits by mainlanders.

This week, Citigroup’s gaming analysts in Hong Kong Anil Daswani and George Choi reported stocks across the sector have fallen 44 per cent so far this year. Citigroup initiated coverage on tycoon Stanley Ho’s SJM Holdings with a “sell” recommendation. SJM - which plans to spend $2.6 billion US on building four casinos in Macau - has seen its stock fall to less than two thirds of the price of the company’s undersubscribed $525-million US share sale in July.

“We’re looking toward the Hong Kong stock exchange in the next two years,” Asian Coast Development chairman Michael Aymong said in an interview with Bloomberg in Singapore this week. “The people of Hong Kong know the casino industry because of Macau, and they have seen the economic growth of the region and understand it.”

The first phase of the project, to be built on the Ho Tram Strip about 80 kilometres from Ho Chi Minh City, is scheduled for completion in 2010.

Under-developed Vietnam - the site of Asian Coast’s planned resort - is a far cry from the crowded Macau gaming scene, which has already attracted massive investment from Vegas casino operators. But whether in Macau, Vegas or Vietnam, all casinos are tarred with the same brush by investors right now because of fears a global economic downturn will put a dent in visitor numbers, said Ng.

Vietnam has had one of the fastest growing economies in Southeast Asia in recent years, up 8.5 per cent in 2007 alone.  However, the country has more recently seen soaring inflation, falling stock prices and concerns about the short-term stability of its banking sector. Nevertheless, Vietnam continues to attract interest from foreign investors looking for Asia’s next economic tiger, with global banks Standard Chartered and HSBC among the latest to announce plans to expand in the communist country.

Canada Financial Post

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