Principles of consolidation and basis of presentation

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2013

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements Disclosure

Principles of consolidation and basis of presentation

The accompanying consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Ameristar Casinos, Inc. (“ACI”) and its wholly owned subsidiaries (collectively, the “Company”). Through its subsidiaries, the Company owns and operates eight casino properties in seven markets. The Company views each property as an operating segment and all such operating segments have been aggregated into one reporting segment. All significant intercompany transactions have been eliminated.

The Company’s portfolio of casinos consists of: Ameristar Casino Resort Spa St. Charles (serving the St. Louis, Missouri metropolitan area); Ameristar Casino Hotel Kansas City (serving the Kansas City metropolitan area); Ameristar Casino Hotel Council Bluffs (serving the Omaha, Nebraska metropolitan area and southwestern Iowa); Ameristar Casino Resort Spa Black Hawk (serving the Denver, Colorado metropolitan area); Ameristar Casino Hotel Vicksburg (serving Jackson, Mississippi and Monroe, Louisiana); Ameristar Casino Hotel East Chicago (serving the Chicagoland area); and Cactus Petes Resort Casino and The Horseshu Hotel and Casino in Jackpot, Nevada (serving Idaho and the Pacific Northwest).

On July 16, 2012, the Company completed the purchase of all of the equity interests of Creative Casinos of Louisiana, L.L.C. (now known as Ameristar Casino Lake Charles, LLC) (“Creative”), the license holder for a planned casino resort in Lake Charles, Louisiana. On July 20, 2012, the Company commenced construction of Ameristar Casino Resort Spa Lake Charles. The Company expects to complete construction of Ameristar Casino Resort Spa Lake Charles in the third quarter of 2014. This property will serve southwestern Louisiana and southeastern Texas, including the Houston metropolitan area.

On December 20, 2012, the Company entered into an agreement and plan of merger (as subsequently amended, the “Merger Agreement”) with Pinnacle Entertainment, Inc. (“Pinnacle”) pursuant to which Pinnacle will acquire all of the outstanding common shares of the Company for $26.50 per share in cash (the “Merger”). For further discussion, see “Note 13 - Pending Pinnacle Entertainment, Inc. merger.”

The accompanying consolidated financial statements have been prepared by the Company, without audit, pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Accordingly, the consolidated financial statements do not include all of the disclosures required by generally accepted accounting principles. However, they do contain all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring adjustments) that, in the opinion of management, are necessary to present fairly the Company’s financial position, results of operations and cash flows for the interim periods included therein. The interim results reflected in these financial statements are not necessarily indicative of results to be expected for the full fiscal year.

Certain of the Company’s accounting policies require that the Company apply significant judgment in defining the appropriate assumptions for calculating financial estimates. By their nature, these judgments are subject to an inherent degree of uncertainty. The Company’s judgments are based in part on its historical experience, terms of existing contracts, observance of trends in the gaming industry and information obtained from independent valuation experts or other outside sources. There is no assurance, however, that actual results will conform to estimates. To provide an understanding of the methodology the Company applies, significant accounting policies and bases of presentation are discussed where appropriate in “Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” of this Quarterly Report. In addition, critical accounting policies and estimates are discussed in “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and the notes to the Company’s audited consolidated financial statements included in its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2012.

The accompanying consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the financial statements and notes thereto included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2012.

As required, the Company has evaluated certain events and transactions occurring after March 31, 2013 and determined that none met the definition of a subsequent event for purposes of recognition or disclosure in its accompanying consolidated financial statements and notes thereto for the period ended March 31, 2013.