Pinnacle sees earnings grow 3-4 times

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Pinnacle Entertainment Inc. expects to triple or quadruple its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization in the next five to six years as it builds new casinos, including a roughly $1.8 billion property in Atlantic City, New Jersey, its chief financial officer said on Tuesday.

Pinnacle, one of the smaller casino operators in a field dominated by companies such as Harrah's Entertainment Inc. and MGM Mirage, is in the midst of about a dozen projects, with a total investment of some $3.5 billion. It posted adjusted EBITDA of $168 million in the first nine months of last year.

"We've got pretty ambitious plans," CFO Steve Capp said, speaking at the Reuters Hotels and Casinos 2007 Summit in Los Angeles. "The swing factor is when Atlantic City is up and running."

The company is looking at the possibility of adding residential units and retail space to its Atlantic City project, which it hopes to have up and running by 2012.

Besides its existing projects, Pinnacle is also eyeing a roughly $200 million casino in Colorado, work on which could begin in the next two to three years, Capp said.

The company would look at building a hotel, casino and some restaurants in Colorado, but a $5 limit on bets there would constrain the size of the casino, he said. "It is one of those markets where you have to be careful about how much you spend."

Pinnacle expects to go back to the bond market soon to raise "few to several hundred million dollars," Capp said.

"We will take an incremental approach to our financing as we always have," Capp said, but added that the company did not have any plans to go back to the equity market to raise funds.

Pinnacle currently owns and operates casinos in Nevada, Louisiana, Indiana, Missouri, Argentina and the Bahamas.

The company, which is based in Las Vegas but doesn't have a casino there, is also on the lookout for opportunities there, including any properties that might become available as Harrah's is privatized, Capp said.