Employee Benefit Plans - Director Phantom Stock Units (Details) (Phantom Share Units (PSUs) [Member], USD $)	12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2009
Phantom Share Units (PSUs) [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Number of shares received by directors		$ 10,000
Equivalency of phantom unit to common stock	1

Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Shares Issued in Period, Value

No definition available.

Name:	pnk_ShareBasedCompensationArrangementByShareBasedPaymentAwardSharesIssuedInPeriodValue
Namespace Prefix:	pnk_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration