Pinnacle Entertainment Announces Management Promotions

LAS VEGAS, Aug. 25, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Pinnacle Entertainment (NYSE: PNK) today announced that Geno M. Iafrate, currently Senior Vice President and General Manager of L'Auberge Lake Charles with oversight of Boomtown New Orleans and Boomtown Bossier, has been promoted to Senior Vice President of Louisiana Operations with direct oversight of the Company's four Louisiana properties. Keith W. Henson, who most recently has served as Vice President of Casino Operations and Assistant General Manager at L'Auberge Lake Charles will succeed Geno Iafrate and has been named Vice President and General Manager. Sue Ascanio has been promoted to Senior Vice President. In addition to her role as General Manager at Belterra Casino Resort & Spa in Indiana, she will have additional oversight of River Downs Racetrack in Cincinnati, Ohio. All appointments are subject to final regulatory approval.

Mr. Iafrate, an accomplished industry executive who has served in a variety of gaming and hospitality management positions across several regional and major gaming markets joined Pinnacle and L'Auberge Lake Charles in May 2010. Under Iafrate's leadership, L'Auberge Lake Charles has achieved record financial and market share results driven by all-time highs in customer satisfaction and team member engagement at the property.  In his newly expanded leadership role of Pinnacle's Louisiana operations, Iafrate will remain based in Lake Charles while adding oversight of L'Auberge Baton Rouge to his current responsibilities.

As newly named Vice President & General Manager, Mr. Henson assumes daily operations at L'Auberge Lake Charles, the company's premier hotel and casino resort located in Lake Charles, Louisiana. He joined Pinnacle Entertainment in 1997 and has excelled in a variety of leadership positions including Corporate Vice President of Relationship Marketing, Vice President of Corporate Casino Operations, President's Associate and as Director of Human Resources during the grand opening of L'Auberge Lake Charles. Since August 2010 he has served as Vice President of Casino Operations and Assistant General Manager at L'Auberge Lake Charles, where working closely with Mr. Iafrate he engineered a profitable redesign of the gaming floor, oversaw the addition of a market-leading poker room and restructured casino operations delivering notable, record setting financial results at the property.

Ms. Ascanio joined Pinnacle as Vice President & General Manager at Belterra Casino Resort & Spa in April of this year with more than 23 years of gaming entertainment management experience in several regional markets and Las Vegas. Prior to joining Pinnacle she served as Assistant General Manager of Hollywood Casino Lawrenceburg in southern Indiana and held senior management positions at several Station Casinos properties in Las Vegas, including Vice President and General Manager of Texas Station Hotel and Casino. In her newly expanded role, she will assume the additional responsibility of River Downs Racetrack in Cincinnati, where she will work closely with General Manager Kevin Kaufman. Sue is a seasoned leader skilled at operating properties focused on providing market leading experiences.

"Geno, Sue and Keith possess the ideal skill set to lead our efforts to extend Pinnacle's position as a premier resort company offering market leading experiences in the regions where we operate," said Pinnacle President and CEO Anthony Sanfilippo. "These appointments are consistent with our ongoing initiative to align our senior management and operating teams and their collective skills, relationships and backgrounds with the Company's disciplined focus on operational excellence and thoughtful growth."

"I am excited about expanding my responsibilities to work more closely with the world-class teams at our L'Auberge and Boomtown Louisiana properties," said Geno Iafrate. "Together, we will focus on furthering the unparalleled guest experience that Pinnacle is known for while growing our four markets and successfully opening L'Auberge Baton Rouge next year in the vibrant state of Louisiana."

About Pinnacle Entertainment

Pinnacle Entertainment, Inc. owns and operates seven casinos, located in Louisiana, Missouri, Indiana and Nevada, and a racetrack in Ohio.  The Company is also developing L'Auberge Casino & Hotel Baton Rouge, which is scheduled to open in the summer of 2012.  In August 2011, Pinnacle acquired a 26% ownership stake in Asian Coast Development (Canada) Ltd. (ACDL), an international development and real estate company currently developing Vietnam's first large-scale integrated resort.

All statements included in this press release, other than historical information or statements of historical fact, are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These forward-looking statements, including statements regarding the completion and opening schedule of the Baton Rouge project, are based on management's current expectations and are subject to risks, uncertainties and changes in circumstances that could significantly affect future results. Accordingly, Pinnacle cautions that the forward-looking statements contained herein are qualified by important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those reflected by such statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to: (a) the Company will have to meet the conditions for receipt or maintenance of gaming licensing approvals for the Baton Rouge project, some of which are beyond its control; (b) many factors, including the escalation of construction costs beyond increments anticipated in its construction budget and unexpected construction delays, could prevent the Company from completing its Baton Rouge project within budget and on time and as required by the conditions of the Louisiana Gaming Control Board; and (c) other risks, including those as may be detailed from time to time in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"). For more information on the potential factors that could affect the Company's financial results and business, review the Company's filings with the SEC, including, but not limited to, its Annual Report on Form 10-K, its Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and its Current Reports on Form 8-K.

Pinnacle Entertainment, Inc. is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol PNK. To learn more about Pinnacle Entertainment, please visit www.pnkinc.com.

SOURCE Pinnacle Entertainment

WANT YOUR COMPANY'S NEWS FEATURED ON PRNEWSWIRE.COM?

440k+
Newsrooms &
Influencers

9k+
Digital Media
Outlets

270k+
Journalists
Opted In

GET STARTED