Pinnacle Entertainment Announces Major Donations In St. Louis Designed To Boost Downtown Tourism

ST. LOUIS, Dec. 11, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pinnacle Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:PNK) and Lumiere Place Casino and Hotels today announced a series of major donations to not-for-profit initiatives in its downtown neighborhood and to the City of St. Louis. The financial contributions are in addition to Pinnacle Entertainment gifting a valued piece of real estate in the Lumiere Place area for future development.

"We are proud to be a part of the St. Louis tourism and business community," said Anthony Sanfilippo, President and Chief Executive Officer of Pinnacle Entertainment, parent company of Lumiere Place. "Partnering with Mayor Francis Slay and national treasures such as the Gateway Arch Foundation, we will continue to promote the growth of tourism in the region and provide new economic benefits to the City of St. Louis and the State of Missouri."

The CityArchRiver 2015 Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization, will receive a $5 million donation to advance the initial implementation of a transformative plan to connect downtown to the river and revitalize the Arch grounds to increase tourism. The CityArchRiver design includes the addition of a park over a portion of Interstate 70 just west of the Arch, allowing visitors to travel to and from the riverfront by bike or by foot with ease. Additional improvements to the connections between Lumiere Place, the Washington Avenue and the Mercantile Exchange (MX) entertainment districts, Laclede's Landing and the Arch grounds will provide simplified and welcoming vehicular and pedestrian access.

"Pinnacle Entertainment and Lumiere Place are great neighbors to the Gateway Arch. This contribution will enable us to keep pace with our work to transform the Arch grounds and weave our region and the Arch together, as they should be," said Walter Metcalfe, chairman of the CityArchRiver 2015 Foundation.

The National Blues Museum, a 501(c)(3) organization, will receive a $6 million donation, which is the foundational contribution for the Museum's soon to be announced campaign to raise the remainder of the funds. The 23,000-square-foot  National Blues Museum will offer an interactive experience that includes a mix of artifacts and technology-driven exhibits. This emerging cultural attraction will showcase the Blues as the foundation of modern American music and illustrate its rich history.  Upon opening, projected for 2014, the Museum will include an intimate performance venue, highly interactive touch screen exhibits and educational programming that will include onsite and in-classroom opportunities to explore the history of Blues music and its influence on rock and roll, hip hop, jazz, gospel, and R&B. Public programs will feature intimate performances, lectures, screenings of documentaries and other films, and Q&A sessions with national artists and music industry professionals. The museum will be located on Washington Avenue within the new MX District in the heart of downtown St. Louis, within walking distance of a variety of attractions including the Gateway Arch, Busch Stadium, and Lumiere Place.  

"Thanks to Pinnacle Entertainment and Lumiere Place's generous donation, the National Blues Museum will be able to begin construction much sooner than anticipated," said Robert Endicott, chairman of the National Blues Museum and partner at Bryan Cave. "This contribution is a tremendous start for our capital campaign. We are extremely appreciative to Pinnacle Entertainment for helping make the National Blues Museum a reality for St. Louis and for Blues music fans everywhere."

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