Pinnacle’s Ameristar Riverboat Sale Approved

Sun, May 8, 2016

Pinnacle Entertainment may sell the Ameristar Casino riverboat (l.) in East Chicago to a real estate investment trust and then lease it back, a Lake County District Court judge recently ruled, since the trust only owns the real estate assets. Unite Here Local 1, representing 200 Ameristar employees, said the sale violates state law.

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.

**GGBNews.com is part of the Clarion Events Group of companies (Clarion). We take your privacy seriously. By registering for this newsletter we wish to use your information on the basis of our legitimate interests to keep in contact with you about other relevant events, products and services which may be of interest to you. We will only ever use the information we collect or receive about you in accordance with our Privacy Policy. You may manage your preferences or unsubscribe at any time using the link in our emails.