Pinnacle Entertainment Incorporated posted earnings in the 2nd quarter, partly due to the improving gaming performance of its Lumiere Place casino facility, which opened in late 2007 in the downtown area of St. Louis. Pinnacle earned a profit of $4.7 million in the 3 months that ended June 30th, compared to a total loss of $18.1 million a year ago. The Las Vegas-based casino gaming operator's revenue remained even at $266 million in the quarter.
Lumiere Place reported a $9.9 million in total adjusted earnings before interest, taxes amortization and depreciation in the 2nd quarter, up by eight hundred percent from $1.1 million a year ago. Lumiere reported revenue of $54.2 million, up by 25% from $43.3 million a year earlier. Pinnacle Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Daniel R. Lee said on July 24th, 2009 that Lumiere Place continues to gain ground, achieving its biggest quarterly revenues since its opening.
But Pinnacle Entertainment's President Casino aboard the Admiral riverboat, which is also located in the downtown area, has been struggling. The casino's adjusted EBITDA loss was $385,000 in the 2nd quarter, compared to a total loss of $1.5 million a year earlier. The President Casino, which had been affected by flood-related closures, reported total revenue of $4.9 million, down by 17% from $5.9 million a year earlier.
Late last year, the President Casino scaled down its hours of operation and laid off seventy-five workers. Pinnacle said that it recently placed its initial order of slot machines, with the delivery expected in the 4th quarter of this year, fir its River City casino under construction in Lemay in St. Louis County.
River City is expected to cost $392 million, including about twenty-five million in capitalized interest and $10 million operating cash for the cage, slots and bank accounts. Pinnacle said that it expects to open River City in the spring of 2010, later than the originally planned opening in the first part of this year.
08/05/2009 21:54 PM
Davis Coulter