Casino news source: The Advocate - http://www.2theadvocate.com/
Pinnacle renames casino operations
By MARK BALLARD
Advocate Capitol News Bureau
Published: Nov 22, 2006
The Gaming Control Board unanimously allowed Pinnacle Entertainment to change company names Tuesday as a precursor to moving a casino boat from Lake Charles to Baton Rouge.
Dennis R. Kinchen, one of the eight members of the board that regulates gambling in Louisiana, asked if changing the name on the license wasn’t premature in light of the authorizations still necessary before actually allowing Pinnacle to open a new casino in Baton Rouge.
“This is anticipation of the move to Baton Rouge,” said C. Lawrence Orlansky, the New Orleans lawyer who represents Pinnacle Entertainment of Las Vegas.
The board still must approve Pinnacle’s plan to transfer the recently acquired permit for a casino in Lake Charles to Baton Rouge. Then, East Baton Rouge Parish voters would have to approve the expansion of gambling that the opening of a third casino in the parish would represent.
Pinnacle bought controlling interest in the two Harrah’s Entertainment riverboat casinos in Lake Charles, Orlansky said. Named the Harrah’s Star and Harrah’s Pride, the boats were moored near Interstate 10 and were heavily damaged by Hurricane Rita.
Each boat technically is a company that owns a gambling license.
The name changes approved by the board Tuesday reflect the change in controlling interest in the two boats from Harrah’s Entertainment Inc. of Las Vegas to Pinnacle, Orlansky said.
One of the new companies would be named PNK (Baton Rouge) Partnership. It owns the license that Pinnacle hopes to move here.
The other is PNK SCB LLC, which holds the second license. Pinnacle plans to build a casino-hotel resort in Lake Charles called Sugar Cane Bay.
Pinnacle recently purchased 55 acres between River Road and Nicholson Drive just south of Gardere Lane. Documents filed by Pinnacle with the board call for a 300-room hotel as part of the proposed $250 million riverboat casino.
Karl Koch, a prominent Baton Rouge lawyer whose 211-year-old River Road house is next door to the property being considered, attended Tuesday’s hearing. He said he monitors all the Gaming Control Board meetings now.
Koch huddled with Dan M. McDaniel Jr., the Jackson, Miss., lawyer representing Penn National Gaming Inc. of Wyomissing, Penn. Penn National owns Casino Rouge, one of two riverboat casinos operating in Baton Rouge. Casino Rouge officials are against approving the license transfer that would allow a third casino to open in Baton Rouge.
“Anybody who is against Pinnacle is a friend of mine,” Koch said. He plans to ask churches and neighborhood associations for help to block government approval of the relocation.
Jon Zimmerman, general manager at Casino Rouge, said of Pinnacle’s planned Baton Rouge expansion, “It doesn’t make any sense for them to come into this market.” Studies show that Baton Rouge cannot support three casinos, he said outside the Board hearing.
Zimmerman said he attended the meeting only to get clearance to change the name of the casino facility near the State Capitol from Casino Rouge to Hollywood Casino Baton Rouge. “We started all this almost a year ago. It has nothing to do with them,” Zimmerman said nodding toward Orlansky and the Pinnacle executives.
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