In Indiana, Lake Superior Court Judge Tempore Leon Sarkisian upheld a ruling by the Indiana Gaming Commission allowing Pinnacle Entertainment to sell the Ameristar Casino riverboat in East Chicago to real estate investment trust Gaming and Leisure Properties Inc. and then lease it back. GLPI attorneys had argued the trust owns just the real estate assets.
Unite Here Local 1 union, which represents about 200 Ameristar employees, claimed the sale by Pinnacle to GLPI would violate a state law limiting ownership to two casinos. GLPI owns the Hollywood Casino in Lawrenceburg and plans to purchase the property of the Belterra Casino in Florence.
