Louisiana Gaming Control Board Approves Acquisition by Ameristar Casinos of Equity Interests in Creative Casinos of Louisiana...
June 21 2012 - 12:02PM
Marketwired
Ameristar Casinos, Inc. (NASDAQ: ASCA) announced today that the
Louisiana Gaming Control Board has approved the transfer of the
membership interests in Creative Casinos of Louisiana, L.L.C. to
Ameristar. The closing of the transfer of ownership is expected to
occur in July 2012. Creative is the developer of a proposed luxury
casino resort in Lake Charles, La. This is the last remaining
riverboat gaming license available in Louisiana under current law.
Ameristar intends to commence construction during the week of
July 16, 2012, prior to the July 20 deadline under the license
conditions approved by the Louisiana Gaming Control Board. The
license conditions also require completion of the project within
two years following the commencement of construction.
Ameristar has increased the project scope from Creative's
design, and as currently planned, Ameristar Casino Resort Spa Lake
Charles will include a casino with approximately 1,600 slot
machines and 60 table games, a hotel with approximately 700 guest
rooms (including 70 suites), a variety of food and beverage
outlets, an 18-hole golf course, a tennis club, swimming pools, a
spa and other resort amenities, and approximately 3,000 parking
spaces, 1,000 of which will be in a garage. The resort will be
developed on a 242-acre leased site.
The license conditions require a minimum investment in the
project of $500 million. A budget for the project is in progress.
Ameristar expects to finance the project approximately one-half
from future operating cash flow and one-half from borrowings under
its revolving credit facility, which currently has $496 million of
undrawn availability.
"We are excited to have the opportunity to develop a
best-in-class casino resort in an additional gaming jurisdiction,
and to further diversify our operations," said Gordon Kanofsky,
Ameristar's Chief Executive Officer. "We look forward to building a
premier property that will further distinguish Lake Charles as a
true resort destination serving southwestern Louisiana and
southeastern Texas, including the Houston metropolitan area."
Forward-Looking Information
This release contains certain forward-looking information that
generally can be identified by the context of the statement or the
use of forward-looking terminology, such as "believes,"
"estimates," "anticipates," "intends," "expects," "plans," "is
confident that," "will," "would," "should," "could" or words of
similar meaning, with reference to Ameristar or our management.
Similarly, statements that describe our future plans, objectives,
strategies, financial results or position, operational expectations
or goals are forward-looking statements. It is possible that our
expectations may not be met due to various factors, many of which
are beyond our control, and we therefore cannot give any assurance
that such expectations will prove to be correct. For a discussion
of relevant factors, risks and uncertainties that could materially
affect our future results, attention is directed to "Item 1A. Risk
Factors" and "Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations" in our Annual Report
on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011 and "Item 2.
Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and
Results of Operations" in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the
quarter ended March 31, 2012.
About Ameristar
Ameristar Casinos is an innovative casino gaming company
featuring the newest and most popular slot machines. Our 7,500
dedicated team members pride themselves on delivering consistently
friendly and appreciative service to our guests. We continuously
strive to increase the loyalty of our guests through the quality of
our slot machines, table games, hotel, dining and other leisure
offerings. Our eight casino hotel properties primarily serve guests
from Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana,
Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska and Nevada. We have been a public
company since 1993, and our stock is traded on the Nasdaq Global
Select Market. We generate more than $1 billion in net revenues
annually.
Visit Ameristar Casinos' website at www.ameristar.com (which
shall not be deemed to be incorporated in or a part of this news
release).
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CONTACT: Tom Steinbauer Senior Vice President, Chief
Financial Officer Ameristar Casinos, Inc. 702-567-7000
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