On Friday, Pinnacle announced that it had closed on an exchange offering of $450 million in aggregated principal amounts of its 8.625% Senior Notes due 2017, for an equal principal amount of its outstanding 8.625% Senior Notes due 2017.

Later in the day, Pinnacle also announced that they would once again be offering an exchange of notes. However this offering will exchange up to $350 million aggregate principal amount of 8.75% Senior Subordinated Notes due 2020, for an equal principal amount of its outstanding 8.75% Senior Subordinated Notes due 2020.

The exchange will be open until August 27 and is again headed by The Bank of New York Mellon Trust Company.

“Certainly we recognize that there is going to be a significant discount to our purchase (price) upon a sale,” said Carlos Ruisanchez, Pinnacle’s executive vice president of strategic planning and development.

Pinnacle purchased approximately 20 acres overlooking the Boardwalk in 2006 for $270 million from investor Carl Icahn but abandoned plans to develop a mega resort after imploding the former Sands Casino, when the economy began to falter.

Pinnacle has since invested money into the abandoned property, after city officials complained about the condition of the property.

Felling confident from the news that MGM had reached a deal to sell its land under the Borgata Resort, Pinnacle listed the property with Jones Lang LaSalle.

Pinnacle said that they expect to take a loss of up to 70% due to the depressed real estate market but was hopeful they could find a buyer this year.

This week regulators fined the regional casino operator $50,000 for repeated violations at its downtown casino, Lumiere Place.

The fines were assessed following a commission audit for the periods of June 1, 2008 and January 31, 2010 and were similar violations that regulators found during an early audit.

Those violations range from casino operations including allowing a dealer instead of a supervisor to inspect dice at the craps table and not requiring documentation to exchange chips between cashier carts to clerical operations including coupons that were not scanned or entered manually into the cash register and making adjustments to revenue figures on reports without properly changing the total.

A spokesman for the casino said that Pinnacle does not plan to appeal the fine.

Analysts’ on average expected a loss of $0.03 per share, however Pinnacle effected by the closure of the President Casino and charges relating to scrapping the Baton Rouge Sugarcane Bay project lost $49.31 million or $0.81 per share.

After adjusting for one-time items including non cash related expenses of $29.9 million on the Louisiana project, the adjusted loss for the three month period ending June 30 was $8.94 million or $0.14 per share.

Although the opening of Pinnacle’s River City Casino in St. Louis, during the quarter, helped increase revenue by 8% reaching $273.57 million, expenses relating to the closure of the President Casino also in St. Louis was offset partially due to the sale of corporate jets and spending cuts.

Pinnacle was able to raise $12.1 million for the sale of the corporate aircraft and two seaplanes which is expected to result in recurring savings of $2.5 million a year and also consolidated three Las Vegas offices to reduce overhead costs.

Although the gaming company is seeing red this quarter, future growth is not expected to be affected as Pinnacle says they have $200 million in cash and a revolving credit facility with $375 million available.

Pinnacle is not obligated to repay notes until March 2014.

Last quarter Pinnacle’s earnings were helped by Lumiere Place in St. Louis, however this quarter recurring weather related closures at the President Casino and the premature closing of the St. Louis riverboat is expected to askew the results.

The consensus estimates among Wall Street analysts predict Pinnacle Entertainment to report a loss of $0.03 a share for the period on revenue of $290 million.

In the first quarter, analysts’ expected the regional casino operator to report a loss of $0.11 a share, however Pinnacle surprised investors with earnings of $36.7 million or $0.60 a share.

PNK stock was down 1.59% to $11.11 in the morning hours from the previous closing price of $11.29. Pinnacle has been trading in the range of $10.94 to $11.50.

The hotel at the $507 million downtown St. Louis gaming property in Laclede’s Landing ranked number 19 out of 50 hotels in the U.S and Canada falling into the large hotel category.

The hotel opened in 2008 and has made the list for the first time in the 15 year history of the list compiled from reader’s votes.

Melissa Lorenz, marketing director for the hotel commented on the recognition by saying, “We are thrilled to be part of this prestigious group and thankful to our guests who recommended us for this honor.”

The Four Seasons is owned by Pinnacle Entertainment but operated under a management contract by Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, with 200 guests rooms, spa, bar, restaurant and access to the casino featuring 2,000 slot machines, 55 tables and a dedicated 13-table poker room.

Last month Pinnacle Entertainment closed the President Casino as part of a settlement reached with the Missouri Gaming Commission, however as many operators attempt to win support and licensing to open a new gaming operation Pinnacle filed a lawsuit in an attempt to stop the city of St. Louis from backing any proposals.

Pinnacle claimed that by endorsing a new casino in the city, St. Louis officials would be violating a 2004 redevelopment agreement with Pinnacle and therefore the casino operator would not be obligated to invest $50 million in new residential and retail construction by 2012.

However the U.S. District Judge sided with the city.

“A preliminary injunction will not be issued simply to prevent the possibility of some remote future injury. The threat of any harm to Pinnacle is speculative. Even if the city decides to submit a proposal to the (Missouri Gaming Commission) for a second gaming project in the city, Pinnacle failed to make any showing as to the likelihood that the MGC would choose that proposal for licensure.” Judge Audrey Fleissig ruled.

With the case now behind them St. Louis officials plan to back one of three bidders Bluestone Diversified Investments LLC, Casino Celebration LLC, KPS Capital LLC also known as NEW CO.

The closure of the President Casino on June 18 contributed to 66% of the decrease with June revenue reaching only $618,476 down from $1.8 million in June 2009.

While rising flood waters forced the aging riverboat operation to close early, the casino was scheduled to hand over their casino license to the Missouri Gaming Commission by the end of the month.

Pinnacle also owns and operates two additional casinos in St. Louis who added 13% each to the decrease.

Although the new River City Casino did not have prior year revenue for comparison the casino brought in $13.3 million during the month compared to $15.2 million in May. While its sister casino Lumiere Place reported revenue of $12.8 million down from $14.7 million in June 2009.

Pinnacle was able to close on the deal this week to sell one large casino and several small casinos in the Patagonia region for approximately $40 million in cash.

The money raised from the sale will be reinvested in Pinnacle’s existing property’s as well as position them to develop new properties in growing markets across the U.S.

Anthony Sanfilippo, Pinnacle’s President and CEO announced “Our investment in Argentina has been a fruitful one for our shareholders. Going forward, we believe the Company will benefit from its focus on high-priority growth initiatives. Pinnacle’s prospects for growth include the achievement of operational excellence at existing properties and the development of a pipeline of near- and long-term, return-focused market expansion opportunities, including our Baton Rouge casino resort project.”

The $250 million Baton Rouge project is expected to open in late 2011and will feature 1,300 slot machines, 50 table games and a hotel with 100 guestrooms.

Union members of Unite Here Local 74 held a rally Monday evening outside the closed casino in hopes of pressuring Pinnacle to transfer the remaining 53 members to Lumiere Place or River City or offer severance packages members said they were promised.

Vice President and General Counsel Jack Godfrey said the company wishes the union had “exhibited the same zest in keeping the property open they are now displaying with an advertising and web campaign against Pinnacle … We regret that Local 74 is focusing so much time and resources on press conferences, websites and rolling billboards rather than working cooperatively with the company.”

When the campaign began Pinnacle had released a statement stating that more than 180 employees from the President riverboat had been transferred to Pinnacle’s other casinos, six had been hired by other area casinos as a result of job fairs arranged for President employees and that more than half of the remaining union employees fighting have not applied for other positions within the company or taken advantage of the job fairs and skill-building seminars offered.

Following a temporary closure last Friday because of the high level of water on the Mississippi River, company executives made the decision not to reopen, saying that it was not cost efficient to keep crews on hand and reopen for just a few days.

Pinnacle agreed to close the St. Louis riverboat casino on June 29 with the gaming license being returned to the state by July 1 in accordance with a settlement reached with gaming commissioners.

“It’s disappointing,” said general manager Chris Strobbe. “We were going to have an employee rally (Friday). It was going to be farewells and goodbyes.”

However a skeleton crew is all that remains on call, until the waters reside and the debris can be cleared away. The remaining crew will then remove slot machines and other equipment.

Pinnacle has not decided what will be done with the aging vessel which houses the casino or the site where it is docked.

The exchange offer is scheduled to expire at 5pm Eastern time on July 23, 2010, unless otherwise extended or earlier terminated and is subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the prospectus, dated June 24, 2010, and the related letter of transmittal, including any amendments or supplements thereto.

The Bank of New York Mellon Trust Co. N.A. has been appointed as the exchange agent for the exchange offer.

Shares of PNK closed today’s trading session at $10.60 down $0.16 from the previous day’s closing price. The stock has reached a high for the month of $12.64 on June 14th and a low for the month of $10.31 on June 8th.

Vanessa Lavington, a housekeeper at the riverboat operation, has filed a complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) alleging age discrimination.

Lavington claims that she applied for a similar position at one of Pinnacle’s other St. Louis properties but did not get the job.

“I’m over age forty. They gave me no response. They seem as if I don’t have experience, but I’ve been there nearly sixteen years. I think its discrimination.”

Lavington is only one of the casinos 220 employees that are being laid off instead of being transferred to Lumiere Place or River City and are complaining that the company is not providing severance packages.

The union has been in talks with Pinnacle trying to reach a compromise and has been unsuccessful so far.

However Pinnacle released a statement saying that they have hired more than 180 employees from the President Casino to other area properties and that 70% of the remaining employees have not applied for positions at the other casinos.

The investment firm contributed their rating on the casino operator to several key factors including positive changes being made by new management.

Analyst with Soleil told clients that Pinnacle should be positioned to grow faster than its regional peer and that the current prices are an attractive entry point for investors.

“PNK should grow faster than regional peers. We see a 3-yr EBITDA CAGR of 14% with River City, Baton Rouge.” said analysts.

Shares of Pinnacle Entertainment are currently trading below their 50-day moving average of $12.32 and should find support at their 200-day moving average of $10.12

Thursday morning rising flood waters on the Mississippi River forced the closure of the riverboat casino.

The casino already struggling with falling revenue was also closed for 10 days in May and four days at the end of March because of high water blocking the entrance.

The St. Louis casino will reopen this week when waters recede and debris can be cleared, however the President will close permanently at the end of the month, when they surrender their gaming license as part of a settlement with the states gaming control board.

Pinnacle Entertainment’s other St. Louis casinos, River City in Lemay and Lumiere Place downtown, were not affected by the flood waters.

The L’Auberge earned Gold recognition for its workplace wellness programs, promoting physical activity and health in the workplace.

Among the health initiatives that won them the honor is a full time health educator on staff who conducts health seminars for employees, offers complimentary dietary counseling and oversees wellness efforts.

“We commend L’Auberge for placing a priority on health and wellness,” said Janice Ackley, regional director for the American Heart Association. “Studies suggest that implementing a work-site physical activity program and promoting a culture of physical activity will help companies increase productivity, reduce absenteeism, lower turnover and reduce healthcare costs.”

“We are honored to again receive national recognition for our wellness programs and to set the standard for promoting a healthy work culture,” said Geno Iafrate, L’Auberge senior vice president and general manager. “Providing convenient programs to our employees allows them to more easily take control of their health and reduces medical expenses, so everyone wins. We are so pleased that our employees have enthusiastically embraced our new focus on health and fitness.”

10 days after it was forced to close because of rising flood water on the Mississippi River, flood waters receded enough for the St. Louis riverboat to reopen.

The recent closure was the second time this year the casino had to close because of floods; it was closed for four days in March.

However the casino will only remain in operation for another month, after Pinnacle agreed to close its doors permanently before July 1, as part of a settlement reached with the Missouri Gaming Commission.

The commission had moved for the property to be stripped of its license due to poor financial performance. Pinnacle purchased the ailing vessel out of bankruptcy in December of 2006 and has struggled amid competition from its own neighboring casinos.

Pinnacle’s other St. Louis casinos, River City in Lemay and Lumiere Place in downtown St. Louis were not affected by the flood waters.

When Pinnacle’s riverboat casino closes this summer the Missouri Gaming Commission will award the 13th gaming license to another operator. St. Louis city officials have opened their own bidding process to pick a potential operator to back before the commission in the massive fight for the license, expected to begin later this week.

However, Pinnacle has filed a lawsuit against the city to prevent them from obtaining the license and adding competition to their other two established casinos in the city.

Pinnacle has cited a 2004 redevelopment agreement that restricts a new casino development within 25 miles from Lumière Place and the new River City Casino in south St. Louis County in exchange for Pinnacle’s promise to spend $50 million on new residential and retail developments downtown.

On Tuesday Pinnacle asked a federal court judge to block the city’s application process.

“We are compelled to enforce our contractual rights in order to preserve the significant investment we have made in the city,” said general counsel Jack Godfrey in a statement.

City officials argued that the Lumière deal allowed for two gambling licenses within its boundaries and has filed its own lawsuit in the circuit court asking the judge to reaffirm the city’s right to pursue a second license and the $50 million Pinnacle agreed to spend on high-end housing and retail by 2012.

The City however does recognize the risks involved. The city’s attorney said that if they are declared in breach of the contract, Pinnacle will be cleared from development and the $1 million a year they are to begin paying in 2012.

The lawsuit was brought against Pakistan company Eskay SEO and an individual associated with the website, Sultan Shafique.

Pinnacle alleges that the website, www. belterracasino.info promotes an Indiana casino other than the Belterra Casino Resort & Spa, owned by the gaming company, and wrongly suggests that it’s sponsored by Pinnacle.

“Defendants have registered, trafficked in, and/or used a domain name that is confusingly similar to plaintiff’s Belterra marks,” the suit alleges. “Defendants have and/or had a bad faith intent to profit from plaintiff’s Belterra marks.”

The suit seeks a court order requiring the domain name belterracasino.info to be transferred to Pinnacle and alleges counts of cybersquatting, trademark infringement, unfair competition and deceptive trade practices.

“Pinnacle Entertainment made a decision to implement an enterprise product with the ability to reduce costs, gain operational efficiencies and provide consistent business processes across the organization,” stated Win Person, Corporate Vice President of Food & Beverage, Pinnacle Entertainment. “We selected MICROS Simphony for the product’s ability to run point-of-service terminals in multiple time zones and operate independently from the application and database servers. Simphony is hosted in our Las Vegas datacenter and delivered to River City Casino with no MICROS servers on property, further minimizing upfront and operational costs.”

The program will provide operational resiliency by communicating directly with the web services running on the property level, significantly reducing the dependency on complex infrastructures, thus allowing the properties food and retail venues to remain operational during a power outage. The program will also keep video surveillance running however; will not power the properties 2,100 slot machines.