Pinnacle’s done deal; Collateral damage from Ho Tram

Federal Trade Commission approval removed the last obstacle to Pinnacle Entertainment‘s takeover of Ameristar Casinos. The acquisition closed straightaway. Pinnacle informed investors that it expects to have a Lumiere Place sale done by autumn, meeting the last of the FTC covenants on the deal. However, cagey buyers may want to hold back: If it can’t unload Lumiere Place, Pinnacle would have to put the considerably more lucrative Ameristar St. Charles out on the market. Deutsche Bank analyst Carlo Santarelli likes today’s news, particularly because — with Ameristar’s Lake Charles property already sold to Tilman Fertitta — Pinnacle can start deleveraging yesterday. He also thinks the company can realize greater savings in terms of savings than it is leading investors to expect. Between obtaining a plump, juicy conquest and acting with lightning swiftness to make it happen, Pinnacle’s Anthony Sanfilippo has made a strong case for being gaming’s CEO of the year.

Victory in Massachusetts. By a crushing, 86% majority, Raynham Park raceway won approval of its host-community agreement. More people voted for the casino than for repairing school roofs. The track is working in partnership with the deep-pocketed owners of Philadelphia-area Parx Casino, making it a strong contender for state approval. There’s a nice human-interest sidebar: Since 1966 the track has been run by George Carney, whose family has owned it since 1942. You don’t find many lineages like that in gaming. The two-plan Carney/Parx plan is for a temporary casino in the near term, giving way to a new and fancier facility in a few years. Currently, the Raynham Park facility hosts simulcasts, which it will continue to do.

Friendly fire. The retreat by MGM Resorts International from Vietnamese playpen the Ho Tram Strip is being blamed for the demise of a West Coast PR agency, Cimarron Group. However, judging by Cimarron’s financial difficulties on other fronts, including its Peking bureau, MGM’s action appears to have only slightly hastened the inevitable.