Pinnacle sells Reno's Boomtown Hotel-Casino for us$ 22 million

Pinnacle Entertainment officials said they have entered a definitive agreement to sell the casino-resort to M1 Gaming Reno and SJP Reno Property. They said they also granted the buyers a one-year option to buy 100 % of the company's membership interest in the current gaming licensee, PNK (Reno), for us$ 3.8 million.

Pinnacle Entertainment said when it announced two weeks ago it was negotiating to sell the property that there would be no immediate impact on Boomtown's 376 employees. The resort has 318 hotel rooms and a 203-space recreational vehicle park.

"We believe Boomtown Reno will be well served by its new ownership team and are confident the same commitment to the Reno community and Boomtown Reno's guests and employees will continue in the future under M1 Gaming's leadership," said Anthony Sanfilippo, president and chief executive officer of Pinnacle Entertainment.

Dean DiLullo, president of M1Gaming, said his company is excited about the acquisition, which is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to close by mid-2012. "We are not only investing in a great casino but also a part of Reno's history. We look forward to working with the community to further develop Boomtown to its fullest potential," he said.

Pinnacle Entertainment owns and operates seven casinos in Louisiana, Missouri, and Indiana, and a racetrack in Ohio. Macquarie Securities gaming analyst Chad Beynon told the Las Vegas Review-Journal the sale price was "attractive." "We had thought anything above us$ 20 million would have been a good deal," he said.