Pinnacle Entertainment loses money in 3rd quarter

Pinnacle Entertainment loses more money in 3rd quarter partly on debt prepayment charge

• On 10:39 am EDT, Thursday October 29, 2009

LAS VEGAS (AP) -- Pinnacle Entertainment Inc. wound up losing more money in its third quarter than a year earlier, even though its revenue was stable, in part because it repaid some debt early.

The casino operator lost $21.9 million, or 37 cents per share, compared with $11.8 million, or 20 cents per share, a year ago.

Quarterly results included an $8.8 million charge related to prepayment of some debt.

Revenue for the three months ended Sept. 30 edged up 1 percent to $265.4 million from $262.9 million on increased gaming revenue, with improved results reported at its Boomtown Bossier City and L'Auberge du Lac casinos in Louisiana.

While Pinnacle pulled in more money from gaming, gamblers spent less on food and beverage, lodging and retail and entertainment.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters, whose estimates generally exclude one-time items, expected a profit of 2 cents per share on revenue of $267 million.

Pinnacle owns and runs casinos in Nevada, Louisiana, Indiana, Missouri and Argentina.

The company's shares dropped 22 cents, or 2.3 percent, to $9.22 in morning trading. The stock has traded in a range of $2.74 to $13.99 over the last year.