Segment Information (Details) (USD $)	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended																																																												1 Months Ended	12 Months Ended			1 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2011	Sep. 30, 2011	Jun. 30, 2011	Mar. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010	Sep. 30, 2010	Jun. 30, 2010	Mar. 31, 2010	Dec. 31, 2011		Dec. 31, 2010		Dec. 31, 2009		Dec. 31, 2011 L Auberge du Lac [Member]		Dec. 31, 2010 L Auberge du Lac [Member]		Dec. 31, 2009 L Auberge du Lac [Member]		Dec. 31, 2011 St Louis [Member]		Dec. 31, 2010 St Louis [Member]		Dec. 31, 2009 St Louis [Member]		Dec. 31, 2011 Boomtown New Orleans [Member]		Dec. 31, 2010 Boomtown New Orleans [Member]		Dec. 31, 2009 Boomtown New Orleans [Member]		Dec. 31, 2011 Balterra Casino Resort [Member]		Dec. 31, 2010 Balterra Casino Resort [Member]		Dec. 31, 2009 Balterra Casino Resort [Member]		Dec. 31, 2011 Boomtown Bossier City [Member]		Dec. 31, 2010 Boomtown Bossier City [Member]		Dec. 31, 2009 Boomtown Bossier City [Member]		Dec. 31, 2011 River Downs [Member]		Dec. 31, 2010 River Downs [Member]		Dec. 31, 2009 River Downs [Member]		Dec. 31, 2011 Total Allocated Segments [Member]		Dec. 31, 2010 Total Allocated Segments [Member]		Dec. 31, 2009 Total Allocated Segments [Member]		Dec. 31, 2011 Corporate Elimination [Member]		Dec. 31, 2010 Corporate Elimination [Member]		Dec. 31, 2009 Corporate Elimination [Member]		Dec. 31, 2011 Corporate And Other Including Properties Under Development [Member]		Dec. 31, 2010 Corporate And Other Including Properties Under Development [Member]		Dec. 31, 2009 Corporate And Other Including Properties Under Development [Member]		Apr. 30, 2010 Sugarcane Bay [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Sugarcane Bay [Member]	Dec. 31, 2010 Sugarcane Bay [Member]	Dec. 31, 2009 Sugarcane Bay [Member]	Sep. 30, 2010 Baton Rouge [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Baton Rouge [Member]	Dec. 31, 2010 Baton Rouge [Member]	Dec. 31, 2009 Baton Rouge [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 River City [Member]	Dec. 31, 2010 River City [Member]	Dec. 31, 2009 River City [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Other [Member]	Dec. 31, 2010 Other [Member]	Dec. 31, 2009 Other [Member]
Revenues:
Revenues	$ 275,784,000	$ 295,853,000	$ 289,414,000	$ 280,146,000	$ 265,732,000	$ 275,898,000	$ 263,204,000	$ 253,732,000	$ 1,141,198,000		$ 1,058,568,000		$ 948,626,000		$ 375,387,000		$ 341,983,000		$ 339,035,000		$ 382,019,000	[1]	$ 337,050,000	[1]	$ 219,006,000	[1]	$ 133,643,000		$ 139,124,000		$ 137,662,000		$ 154,763,000		$ 152,068,000		$ 161,916,000		$ 84,999,000		$ 87,925,000		$ 90,902,000		$ 10,258,000		$ 0		$ 0																															$ 129,000	$ 425,000	$ 105,000
Adjusted EBITDA [Abstract]
Adjusted EBITDA									252,100,000	[2]	213,600,000	[2]	163,200,000	[2]	103,916,000	[2]	92,929,000	[2]	79,210,000	[2]	86,549,000	[1],[2]	62,310,000	[1],[2]	41,960,000	[1],[2]	44,938,000	[2]	43,919,000	[2]	37,642,000	[2]	28,569,000	[2]	29,972,000	[2]	26,488,000	[2]	18,843,000	[2]	20,196,000	[2]	19,212,000	[2]	(2,236,000)	[2]	0	[2]	0	[2]	280,500,000	[2]	249,300,000	[2]	204,500,000	[2]	(28,400,000)	[2],[3]	(35,693,000)	[2],[3]	(41,301,000)	[2],[3]
Other benefits (costs) [Abstract]
Depreciation and amortization									(103,863,000)		(109,745,000)		(95,376,000)
Pre-opening and development costs									(8,817,000)		(13,649,000)		(16,608,000)																																																									(300,000)	(1,500,000)	(2,000,000)		(4,300,000)	(1,200,000)	(5,800,000)	(200,000)	(9,900,000)	(8,000,000)	(4,000,000)	(1,000,000)	(800,000)
Non-cash share-based compensation									(6,600,000)		(6,100,000)		(13,500,000)
Impairment of indefinite-lived intangible assets									0		(11,500,000)		0
Impairment of land and development costs									0		(23,662,000)		(24,093,000)												(2,100,000)																																												(19,100,000)				(4,600,000)
Impairment of buildings, riverboats and equipment									0		(366,000)		(9,095,000)																																																											(700,000)
Write-downs, reserves and recoveries, net									(4,163,000)		3,701,000		(1,211,000)
Interest (expense) and non-operating income, net									(95,705,000)		(103,093,000)		(70,327,000)
Gain on sale of equity securities									0		0		12,914,000
Loss from equity method investment									(588,000)		0		0
Loss on early extinguishment of debt									(183,000)		(1,852,000)		(9,467,000)
Other non-operating income									397,000		226,000		178,000
Income tax benefit (expense)									(2,335,000)		11,693,000		284,000
Income (loss) from continuing operations	17,689,000	11,778,000	(5,193,000)	5,921,000	(3,560,000)	923,000	(40,706,000)	2,500,000	30,196,000		(40,841,000)		(63,051,000)
Capital expenditures									153,452,000		157,537,000		226,445,000		20,000,000		10,700,000		5,400,000		13,800,000	[1]	77,900,000	[1]	178,900,000	[1]	4,900,000		3,400,000		5,700,000		3,200,000		8,600,000		7,000,000		2,900,000		3,500,000		4,200,000		100,000	[4]	0	[4]	0	[4]													108,600,000	[5]	53,400,000	[5]	25,200,000	[5]		300,000	15,800,000	14,300,000		96,900,000	32,000,000	2,100,000
Assets	$ 1,950,619,000				$ 1,883,794,000				$ 1,950,619,000		$ 1,883,794,000		$ 1,843,900,000		$ 317,300,000		$ 314,800,000		$ 331,000,000		$ 752,000,000	[1]	$ 790,000,000	[1]	$ 507,900,000	[1]	$ 62,400,000		$ 64,000,000		$ 74,300,000		$ 180,000,000		$ 188,600,000		$ 193,600,000		$ 86,100,000		$ 88,900,000		$ 92,100,000		$ 45,500,000		$ 0		$ 0														$ 507,300,000		$ 437,500,000		$ 645,000,000

[1] Our St. Louis segment consists of Lumière Place (which includes the Lumière Place Casino, the Pinnacle-owned Four Seasons Hotel St. Louis and HoteLumière) and River City.

[2] We define Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA as earnings before depreciation, amortization, pre-opening and development expenses, non-cash share-based compensation, asset impairment costs, write-downs, reserves, recoveries, gain (loss) on sale of certain assets, interest income and expense, income (loss) from equity method investments, loss on early extinguishment of debt, loss on sale of discontinued operations, discontinued operations and income taxes. We define Adjusted EBITDA for each segment as earnings before depreciation, amortization, pre-opening and development expenses, non-cash share-based compensation, asset impairment costs, write-downs, reserves, recoveries, gain (loss) on sale of certain assets, interest income and expense and income taxes. We use Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA for each segment to compare operating results among our properties and between accounting periods. Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA have economic substance because they are used by management as a performance measure to analyze the performance of our business, and is especially relevant in evaluating large, long-lived casino-hotel projects because it provides a perspective on the current effects of operating decisions separated from the substantial non-operational depreciation charges and financing costs of such projects. We eliminate the results from discontinued operations as they are discontinued. We also review pre-opening and development expenses separately; as such expenses are also included in total project costs when assessing budgets and project returns, and because such costs relate to anticipated future revenues and income. We believe that Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA are useful measures for investors because it is an indicator of the strength and performance of ongoing business operations, including our ability to service debt and fund capital expenditures, acquisitions and operations. These calculations are commonly used as a basis for investors, analysts and credit rating agencies to evaluate and compare operating performance and value of companies within our industry. In addition, our credit agreement and bond indentures require compliance with financial measures similar to Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA.

[3] Corporate expenses represent unallocated payroll, professional fees, travel expenses and other general and administrative expenses not directly related to our casino and hotel operations.

[4] Capital expenditures for our River Downs segment includes items purchased since the initial acquisition of the racetrack in January 2011 and exclude the initial purchase price.

[5] Includes capital expenditures for our various development projects not yet reflected as operating segments, including the following: For the year ended December 31, 2011 2010 2009 (in millions)L’Auberge Baton Rouge$96.9 $32.0 $2.1Sugarcane Bay$0.3 $15.8 $14.3