Ameristar Updates Impact Study on Missouri’s 13th Casino License Location

LAS VEGAS, NV–(Marketwire – September 28, 2010) –  Ameristar Casinos, Inc. (NASDAQ: ASCA) announced today results of an updated analysis of four locations for the 13^th Missouri Riverboat Casino license. The new analysis includes specifics submitted by the four interested gaming operators as well as updated St. Louis and Kansas City gaming market results, and demonstrates that Cape Girardeau remains the best location for the 13^th gaming license due to the amount of incremental gaming revenue and associated taxes it will produce.

“A Cape Girardeau casino will generate twice the amount of incremental tax revenue for education in the State of Missouri than will be generated by a North St. Louis-area casino and four times more than will be generated by a Sugar Creek casino,” said Troy Stremming, Ameristar’s Senior Vice President of Government Relations and Public Affairs. “When considering gaming expansion, it is critical to distinguish between gaming revenue that a new facility takes from existing Missouri-based casinos and how much it takes from casinos in other states or generates as new incremental gaming revenue,” Stremming said.

Total forecasted Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) for a new Cape Girardeau facility is $88.7 million, of which virtually none would be cannibalized from existing Missouri casinos. The nearest Missouri casino to Cape Girardeau is 80 miles away in Caruthersville. Ameristar estimates that the Sugar Creek casino would derive 81% of its revenue from existing Missouri casinos, the St. Louis proposal 72% and the North St. Louis County proposal 66%. In addition, a license could be promptly issued in Cape Girardeau since there will be no need to consider longer term competitive conditions and economic impacts of new gaming operations in St. Louis and Kansas City.

Ameristar completed its first analysis on May 24, 2010 after Missouri Gaming Commission officials called for existing and potential casino operators to conduct economic impact studies to determine which location would add the most incremental revenue to the state.

ABOUT AMERISTAR
Ameristar Casinos, Inc. is a leading Las Vegas-based gaming and entertainment company known for its premier properties characterized by state-of-the-art casino floors and superior dining, lodging and entertainment offerings. Ameristar’s focus on the total entertainment experience and the highest-quality guest service has earned it leading positions in the markets in which it operates. Founded in 1954 in Jackpot, Nev., Ameristar has been a public company since November 1993. The Company has a portfolio of eight casinos in seven markets: Ameristar Casino Resort Spa St. Charles (greater St. Louis); Ameristar Casino Hotel East Chicago (Chicagoland area); Ameristar Casino Hotel Kansas City; Ameristar Casino Hotel Council Bluffs (Omaha, Neb., and southwestern Iowa); Ameristar Casino Hotel Vicksburg (Jackson, Miss., and Monroe, La.); Ameristar Casino Resort Spa Black Hawk (Denver metropolitan area); and Cactus Petes Resort Casino and The Horseshu Hotel and Casino in Jackpot, Nev. (Idaho and the Pacific Northwest).

Visit Ameristar Casinos’ website at www.ameristar.com (which shall not be deemed to be incorporated in or a part of this news release).

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