Two gaming companies with properties in the St. Louis area are about to become one.

Pinnacle Entertainment, which owns the Lumiere and River City casinos, announced Friday morning that it’s purchasing Ameristar Casinos. Ameristar has eight properties across the United States, including in St. Charles and Kansas City.

The deal is worth about $3 billion, and has the approval of the boards of directors of both companies. It means that Pinnacle will own three of the six casinos in the bi-state region.

Pinnacle's chief executive said in a statement that the deal could result in $40 million in savings. 

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