Segment Information (Details) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended									12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018 USD ($) segment	Sep. 30, 2018 USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2018 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2018 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2017 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2017 USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2017 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2017 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2014 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2018 USD ($) segment	Dec. 31, 2017 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2016 USD ($)
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Number of reportable segments | segment										4
Revenues:
Revenues	$ 1,155,269	$ 789,651	$ 826,913	$ 816,085	$ 769,036	$ 806,247	$ 796,463	$ 776,224		$ 3,587,918	$ 3,147,970	$ 3,034,380
Adjusted EBITDAR:
Adjusted EBITDAR										1,043,241	879,149	837,141
Rent expense associated with triple net operating lease										(3,797)	0	0
Charge for stock compensation										(12,034)	(7,780)	(6,871)
Cash-settled stock award variance										19,611	(23,471)	6,688
Gain (loss) on disposal of assets										(3,168)	(172)	2,471
Contingent purchase price										(454)	6,840	(1,277)
Pre-opening and acquisition costs										(95,020)	(9,732)	0
Depreciation and amortization										(268,990)	(267,062)	(271,214)
Provision for loan loss and unfunded loan commitments to the JIVDC, net of recoveries, and impairment losses										(17,921)	(107,810)	0
Insurance recoveries, net of deductible charges										68	289	726
Non-operating items for Kansas JV										(5,118)	(5,866)	(10,311)
Interest expense										(539,417)	(466,761)	(459,243)
Interest income										1,005	3,552	24,186
Loss on early extinguishment of debt	(17,200)							$ (23,400)		(20,964)	(23,963)	0
Other										(7,121)	(2,257)	(1,679)
Income (loss) before income taxes									$ (161,500)	89,921	(25,044)	120,617
Capital expenditures:
Capital expenditures										92,557	99,261	97,245
Assets:
Investment in and advances to unconsolidated affiliates	128,488				148,912					128,488	148,912	156,176
Total assets	$ 10,961,012				5,234,812					10,961,012	5,234,812	4,974,484
South/West segment
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Number of new reportable segments from division of segment | segment	2
Operating segments | Northeast segment
Revenues:
Revenues										1,891,514	1,756,579	1,741,809
Adjusted EBITDAR:
Adjusted EBITDAR										583,791	549,304	536,446
Capital expenditures:
Capital expenditures										38,873	26,283	34,380
Assets:
Investment in and advances to unconsolidated affiliates	$ 105				102					105	102	76
Total assets	1,330,256				921,044					1,330,256	921,044	973,423
Operating segments | South segment
Revenues:
Revenues										394,351	224,247	185,832
Adjusted EBITDAR:
Adjusted EBITDAR										118,962	62,580	56,060
Capital expenditures:
Capital expenditures										10,587	6,354	6,249
Assets:
Investment in and advances to unconsolidated affiliates	0				0					0	0	0
Total assets	1,082,304				169,255					1,082,304	169,255	121,619
Operating segments | West segment
Revenues:
Revenues										437,887	380,418	360,776
Adjusted EBITDAR:
Adjusted EBITDAR										114,267	72,744	72,509
Capital expenditures:
Capital expenditures										12,816	35,671	24,209
Assets:
Investment in and advances to unconsolidated affiliates	0				0					0	0	0
Total assets	755,665				625,019					755,665	625,019	718,457
Operating segments | Midwest segment
Revenues:
Revenues										823,717	735,033	704,272
Adjusted EBITDAR:
Adjusted EBITDAR										294,332	249,744	239,899
Capital expenditures:
Capital expenditures										25,285	26,176	27,218
Assets:
Investment in and advances to unconsolidated affiliates	89,350				88,296					89,350	88,296	93,768
Total assets	1,411,468				970,809					1,411,468	970,809	991,759
Other
Revenues:
Revenues										40,449	51,693	41,691
Adjusted EBITDAR:
Adjusted EBITDAR										(68,111)	(55,223)	(67,773)
Capital expenditures:
Capital expenditures										4,996	4,777	5,189
Assets:
Investment in and advances to unconsolidated affiliates	39,033				60,514					39,033	60,514	62,332
Total assets	$ 6,381,319				$ 2,548,685					$ 6,381,319	$ 2,548,685	$ 2,169,226