Texas casinos could impact Pinnacle
Texas lawmakers and casino advocacy groups are once again pushing to legalize gambling in the Lone Star State.
Las Vegas-based Pinnacle Entertainment may be one of the few casino operators that might not be too keen on casinos coming to Texas.
Pinnacle operates three casinos in neighboring Louisiana with two more in the planning stages. L’Auberge du Lac, the company’s flagship casino in the western Louisiana community of Lake Charles, draws customers from nearby Houston, San Antonio and Austin.
The company’s Boomtown casino in Bossier City draws customers from the Dallas/Fort Worth area.
In other words, Texas casinos could cut into Pinnacle’s revenues.
Pinnacle Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Dan Lee is a gambling man, but he isn’t wagering on Texas legalizing casinos anytime soon. The Texas Legislature, voters and the governor all need to sign off on the change the state’s constitution, which won’t be an easy task.
“Texas has been talking about casinos for 20 years,” Lee said. “At the end of the day it’s a very conservative state and the casino issue has got to clear a lot of hurdles before it could happen. I don’t see it clearing all those steps.”
Still, Lee isn’t taking chances and Pinnacle’s government affairs team will be watching how the measure plays out.
Texas casino proponents said they are tied of seeing cars with Texas license plates in the parking lots of Indian casinos in Oklahoma to the north and Louisiana to the east.
“It’s obviously something we’ll be watching,” Lee said.