Investment In and Advances to Unconsolidated Affiliates (Details) (USD $)	12 Months Ended										12 Months Ended			12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010	Dec. 31, 2012 Kansas Entertainment pokartable space sqft machine tablegame	Dec. 31, 2011 Kansas Entertainment	Dec. 31, 2010 Kansas Entertainment	Dec. 31, 2012 MAXXAM	Dec. 31, 2012 MAXXAM Senior financing	Dec. 31, 2012 MAXXAM Senior financing Maximum	Dec. 31, 2012 MAXXAM Senior financing Minimum	Dec. 31, 2012 MAXXAM Subordinated financing	Dec. 31, 2012 MAXXAM Subordinated financing Maximum	Dec. 31, 2012 MAXXAM Subordinated financing Minimum	Dec. 31, 2011 Maryland RE & R LLC	Dec. 31, 2010 Maryland RE & R LLC	Dec. 31, 2011 New Jersey Joint Venture	Dec. 31, 2012 New Jersey Joint Venture	Dec. 31, 2012 Freehold Raceway	Apr. 08, 2011 Sam Houston Race Park in Houston acre mi	Apr. 08, 2011 Valley Race Park in Harlingen acre sqft	Apr. 08, 2011 Planned racetrack in Laredo acre	Apr. 08, 2011 Texas Racing Commission
Business ventures
Ownership interest in joint venture (as a percent)	50.00%			50.00%			50.00%											50.00%				50.00%
Area of Casino (in square foot)				95,000
Number of slot machines				2,000
Number of table games				40
Number of poker tables				12
Number of space parking				1,253
Share of the project, inclusive of licensing fees				$ 139,000,000
Funding for capital expenditure and other operating expenses				39,100,000	70,900,000	30,600,000
Distributions of earnings from unconsolidated affiliates	9,400,000			13,000,000
Size of race park (in acres)																			323	80
Size of property for a planned development of racetrack (in acres)																					135
Location of facility in distance from major metropolitan area (in miles)																			15
Size of dog racing and simulcasting facility (in square feet)																				91,000
Loan provided to joint venture to cover development costs							375,000,000
Variable rate basis								LIBOR			LIBOR
Basis points added to reference rate (as a percent)									9.00%	8.00%		6.00%	5.00%
Goodwill impairment																5,900,000
Investment balance in joint venture	204,506,000	174,116,000														11,200,000	10,900,000
Gain on sale of joint venture interest														20,200,000
Loss from unconsolidated affiliates	$ (3,804,000)	$ (7,364,000)	$ 25,974,000												$ 14,400,000