Pinnacle Entertainment: The Operator That Built the Midwest Casino Map and Then Got Acquired
Pinnacle Entertainment was the operator that built much of Midwest casino gaming through the 2000s. In 2018 Penn Entertainment acquired them for $2.8B and Boyd Gaming bought the divested properties. The story of how the deal shaped today's regional map.
Pinnacle Entertainment was a Las Vegas-based regional casino operator from 1998-2018. They built a 17-property portfolio across the Midwest and South. In April 2018 Penn Entertainment announced a $2.8B acquisition. The FTC required divestitures (to prevent regional monopolies). Boyd Gaming bought the divested properties (Ameristar Kansas City, Ameristar St. Charles, Belterra) for $575M. Penn ended up with most of Pinnacle's value; Boyd ended up with high-quality regional properties at a discount.
Pinnacle Entertainment doesn't exist anymore as a company. It was absorbed into Penn Entertainment and Boyd Gaming in a 2018 deal that reshaped the Midwest casino map. But for a decade, Pinnacle was one of the most important regional casino operators in the US.
The 1998 founding
Pinnacle Entertainment was formed in 1998 as a spinoff from Hollywood Park Inc. (a Los Angeles racetrack operator). The new company took Hollywood Park's casino operations as its starting portfolio.
Through the early 2000s, Pinnacle expanded aggressively:
- Boomtown New Orleans (1994, acquired)
- Casino Magic Bossier City (Louisiana)
- Belterra Casino Resort (Indiana, 2000)
- L'Auberge du Lac Casino Resort (Lake Charles, LA, 2005)
The Ameristar acquisition — 2013
In 2013 Pinnacle acquired Ameristar Casinos for $2.8B. Ameristar had been a publicly-traded operator with 8 major Midwest properties:
- Ameristar Kansas City
- Ameristar Council Bluffs
- Ameristar St. Charles
- Ameristar Black Hawk (Colorado)
- Ameristar East Chicago (Indiana)
- Plus other regional properties
The acquisition gave Pinnacle a true Midwest footprint. By 2014 Pinnacle was a major top-5 regional casino operator.
The 2018 Penn deal
In April 2018, Penn Entertainment (then Penn National Gaming) announced a $2.8B acquisition of Pinnacle Entertainment. The deal:
- Penn paid $2.8B in cash + stock
- Pinnacle shareholders received Penn shares
- Combined company would have 41+ properties
The Federal Trade Commission required divestitures to prevent regional monopolies in specific markets:
- St. Louis: Penn already operated Hollywood Casino St. Louis; could not also own Ameristar St. Charles
- Kansas City: Penn already operated Argosy Riverside; could not also own Ameristar KC
- Cincinnati area: Penn operated Hollywood Lawrenceburg (IN); could not also own Belterra
Boyd's bargain — $575M
Boyd Gaming bought the divested properties for $575M:
- Ameristar Kansas City
- Ameristar St. Charles
- Belterra Casino Resort
- Belterra Park (Ohio)
This was an unusually attractive price. The properties had ~$430M in combined annual revenue. Boyd paid roughly 4.6x EBITDA — well below the 8-10x multiple typical for regional casino acquisitions.
Why the discount: the FTC-mandated timeline forced sale within months, limiting bidder competition. Boyd was positioned to close fast.
Why this matters today
The 2018 deal effectively created the current Midwest casino map:
- Penn Entertainment: Hollywood Casino, Argosy, Boomtown brands
- Boyd Gaming: Ameristar, Belterra brands
- Caesars Entertainment: Horseshoe brand at certain properties
- Smaller operators: Eldorado/Caesars regional, Hard Rock licensed
Most Midwest regional casino activity in 2026 traces back to Pinnacle's 2008-2014 expansion and the 2018 redistribution.
The Penn-Pinnacle-Boyd deal of 2018 is the most consequential M&A event in regional US gaming since the 2010 Caesars LBO. It created today's Midwest competitive structure. Most casual gamblers have no idea any of this happened.
What happened to the Pinnacle brand
The Pinnacle Entertainment corporate name was retired. Properties retained their consumer-facing brands (Ameristar, Belterra, L'Auberge, Boomtown, etc.) which transferred to the acquiring operators.
For players: nothing changed at the property level. The Ameristar Kansas City of 2017 is the same building, same staff, same gaming floor as the Ameristar Kansas City of 2026 — just under different parent company ownership.
What this means for loyalty
Pre-2018: Pinnacle's "myChoice" rewards (now spelled "mychoice") was used at all 17 Pinnacle properties. After the acquisition:
- Penn's mychoice covers Hollywood Casino brand + Argosy + the retained Pinnacle properties
- Boyd's B Connected covers the Ameristar brand + Belterra + Boyd's other properties
A player who was "Pinnacle Pearl" pre-2018 was assigned to either Penn's or Boyd's program based on the property they primarily played at. Cross-network status doesn't transfer.
For our take on the operators that emerged from this deal: Penn Entertainment, Boyd Gaming.
Topics
- pinnacle
- industry
- M&A
- history