Pinnacle Posts 1Q Profit

Pinnacle Entertainment posted a profit for the first quarter of 2006, reversing a loss from a year ago.

The company attributed the reversal to L’Auberge du Lac, the new property on Lake Charles, La., that opened last May and its Boomtown casino in New Orleans that the company says continues to benefit from the rebuilding effort of the Gulf Coast.

Net income rose to $13.5 million compared to a $2.2 million loss in the first quarter of last year, and profits totaled $18.6 million. Revenue climbed 70 percent to $234 million from $138 million a year earlier.

The results beat Wall Street expectations, and stocks have climbed about $1 to approximately $30 after the May 2nd announcement.

Pinnacle has been in a bidding war for Aztar Corp., which owns the Tropicana casino resorts in Las Vegas and Atlantic City.

The company expects to open two casinos in the St. Louis area in 2007 and 2008.