Pinnacle, St. Louis County amend casino agreement

St. Louis Business Journal - Thursday, December 6, 2007 - 10:19 AM CST

Pinnacle Entertainment Inc. and St. Louis County said Wednesday they have amended their lease and development agreement of Pinnacle's River City project allowing the development to occur in two phases.

River City, located in Lemay, is scheduled to open in the first half of 2009, pending approval from the Missouri Gaming Commission. The planned 90,000-square-foot casino will be situated on approximately 80 acres of land leased from the St. Louis County Port Authority.

The first phase requires Pinnacle to invest $375 million. It will include the casino, three restaurants, a multi-use community center along with athletic fields, a performance stage, and construction of a new roadway connector from I-55 to the South Broadway corridor. Environmental remediation of the site is already complete.

In the second phase, Pinnacle is required to invest $75 million to construct a hotel with a minimum of 100 rooms and other amenities to be agreed upon by Pinnacle and St. Louis County, according to a release.

Prior to this amendment, Pinnacle was required to invest at least $300 million in the River City project. The company had indicated in filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it intended to invest $375 million.

The first phase of River City is expected to generate approximately 600 union construction jobs, 1,000 permanent jobs, and 2,500 ancillary service jobs for the region.

Pinnacle Entertainment Inc. (NYSE: PNK) is a Las Vegas-based company that owns and operates casinos in Missouri, Nevada, Louisiana, Indiana and Argentina.