Pinnacle Entertainment Completes Acquisition Of Retama Park Racetrack In Texas

LAS VEGAS, Jan. 30, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pinnacle Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:PNK) announced today the closing of the previously disclosed acquisition of a majority interest in the owner of the racing license for Retama Park Racetrack, Pinnacle Retama Partners, LLC ("PRP"). Retama Park Racetrack is a class 1 pari-mutuel horse-racing track directly off of Interstate 35 in Selma, Texas, located approximately 20 miles northeast of downtown San Antonio.

At closing, the Company paid cash consideration of $15 million to acquire a 75.5% equity interest in PRP. PRP will use the proceeds of the transaction primarily to refinance the existing indebtedness of Retama Development Corporation ("RDC"). In addition, the Company entered into a management contract with RDC to manage the day-to-day operations of Retama Park. In conjunction with the closing, RDC repaid approximately $3.3 million of loans owned by the Company that were used to maintain continuity in the operations of Retama Park Racetrack.

Anthony Sanfilippo, President and Chief Executive Officer of Pinnacle Entertainment, commented, "We are very excited to welcome Retama Park to the Pinnacle Entertainment family through our management contract for the track and to expand our geographic reach to the great state of Texas. We will immediately begin work to integrate Retama Park into our portfolio and look forward to leveraging Pinnacle's operational and marketing expertise to improve the track's operating performance.

"Long term, we believe Retama Park offers Pinnacle and its stakeholders tremendous strategic value in terms of expanding our geographic reach to the vibrant Texas markets of San Antonio and Austin and further diversifying our operating base. We thank Retama Development Corporation, the City of Selma, Retama Partners Limited, and the Texas Racing Commission for their support and assistance in bringing this transaction to successful completion."

About Pinnacle Entertainment

Pinnacle Entertainment, Inc. owns and operates seven casinos, located in Louisiana, Missouri, and Indiana, and a racetrack in Ohio. In addition, Pinnacle is redeveloping River Downs in Cincinnati, Ohio into a gaming entertainment facility and holds an approximate 23% ownership stake in Asian Coast Development (Canada) Ltd. (ACDL), an international development and real estate company currently developing Vietnam's first large-scale integrated resort on the Ho Tram Strip.

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