Commitments and Contingencies - Income Tax Examination (Details) (Indiana Income Tax [Member], USD $) In Millions	9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2011
Indiana Income Tax [Member]
Income Tax Examination [Line Items]
Income Tax Examination, Year(s) under Examination	2005 to 2007
Income Tax Examination, Proposed Adjustment Excluding Interest and Penalties	$ 7.3
Income Tax Examination, Proposed Penalties and Interest Expense	$ 2.3

Income Tax Examination Proposed Adjustment Excluding Interest And Penalties.

Name:	pnk_IncomeTaxExaminationProposedAdjustmentExcludingInterestAndPenalties
Namespace Prefix:	pnk
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

The sum of the amounts of estimated penalties and interest arising from income tax examinations.

+ Details

Name:	pnk_IncomeTaxExaminationProposedPenaltiesAndInterestExpense
Namespace Prefix:	pnk
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_IncomeTaxExaminationLineItems
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

The tax year(s) being audited in connection with the income tax examination.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 740

-SubTopic 10

-Section 50

-Paragraph 15

-Subparagraph (d)(2)

-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6907707&loc=d3e32718-109319

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_IncomeTaxExaminationYearSUnderExamination
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration