Ameristar Casinos [SEP] inception
Ameristar Casinos
Ameristar Casinos, Inc. was a casino operator based in Paradise, Nevada. It was acquired by Pinnacle Entertainment in 2013. The company had eight properties in seven markets.
History.
The roots of Ameristar Casinos date to 1954 when "Cactus Pete" Piersanti opened Cactus Petes Desert Lodge on U.S. Route 93 just south of the Idaho border in Elko County. The area would later become Jackpot, Nevada. In 1956, Piersanti and others incorporated the property as Cactus Petes, Inc.
The corporation took over
operations. Ameristar Casinos bought the property out of bankruptcy in 2004 for $117 million in cash plus $2.5 million in stock. It was rebranded under the Ameristar name in 2006, following an $80-million renovation.
A hotel tower with 536 rooms was added in 2009 at a cost of $235 million.
Pinnacle Entertainment acquired Ameristar Casinos in 2013. In 2016, Gaming and Leisure Properties bought most of Pinnacle's real estate assets, including Ameristar Black Hawk, in a leaseback transaction. In 2018, Penn National