Pinnacle Entertainment and the U.S. Federal Trade Commission have reached a deal that could allow the gaming company to complete its planned merger with Ameristar Casinos.
Under the current terms of the deal, which still needs various regulatory and legal approvals, Pinnacle would sell the Lumiere Casino and two adjacent hotels in downtown, as well as an Ameristar property in Lake Charles, La. There is no buyer listed for those two properties. Ameristar would retain ownership of the River City Casino in South County.
If approved, the deal would settle an FTC complaint filed late last month, in which regulators alleged that the proposed merger would reduce competition for gamblers in Missouri and Louisiana.
"We are pleased with the progress we have made in addressing the Federal Trade Commission's administrative complaint and look forward to completing our proposed acquisition of Ameristar as soon as possible in the third quarter," Pinnacle chief executive officer Anthony Sanfilippo said in a statement.
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