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Pinnacle Entertainment, which plans to build a casino resort on River Road near Gardere Lane, says it lost $298 million in the fourth quarter as the slumping economy drove down the value of casinos an…
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Pinnacle Entertainment, which plans to build a casino resort on River Road near Gardere Lane, says it lost $298 million in the fourth quarter as the slumping economy drove down the value of casinos and land. The Las Vegas-based company reported a loss of $4.97 a share, a figure that was driven up by about $320 million in impairment charges the company wrote off for a drop in the value of its properties. Much of the writedown came from undeveloped land Pinnacle owns in Atlantic City, N.J.; company officials were quick to stress the drop didn’t come from casino operations. In the fourth quarter of 2007, Pinnacle had a $19.2 million loss, or 30 cents a share. Revenues at Pinnacle casinos were up 18% for the quarter, from $219 million in 2007 to $259 million. At its L’Auberge du Lac resort in Lake Charles, revenues went from nearly $77.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2007 to $89.3 million. In February, Pinnacle received three-month extensions from the Louisiana Gaming Commission for the construction of its south Baton Rouge casino and its Sugarcane Bay resort in Lake Charles because of the tight global credit markets. The company says it could be forced to ask for another extension in May if credit isn’t available. One of the reasons Pinnacle needs additional financing is the company wants to build a $407 million convention and entertainment center in Lake Charles, between L’Auberge and Sugarcane Bay.
