GLPI ups ante for Pinnacle

Wall Street has been consistently saying that Gaming & Leisure Properties‘ previous offer for Pinnacle Entertainment wouldn’t get the deal done. Now GLPI has put $47.50/share on the table, to a cool response from Pinnacle management. J.P. Morgan analyst Joseph Greff wrote, “we are surprised (and frankly scratching our heads) that PNK wouldn’t accept GLPI’s upwardly revised offer. $47.50 is a nice bump to its last public offer of $35.77 as well as the low $20 range the shares traded just six months ago.”

Greff added that he didn’t think Pinnacle could get the stock price that high on its own nor that anyone was likely to come in with a better offer. He called an eventual deal “likely,” although it might have to be taken directly to the shareholders. Saying it had “stretched itself” to finance the deal, GLPI characterized its bid as “final.” In a bit of lese majeste, GLPI said it would allow Pinnacle to keep underperforming Belterra Park, which is mighty big of them. The master lease would be $377 million, with Pinnacle obligated to spend 1% of of net revenues on capex maintenance. There’s ultimately more in the deal for GLPI than Pinnacle, as it would remove the former’s preponderant reliance on Penn National Gaming‘s fortunes. Pinnacle management just doesn’t seem inclined to sell, although the Holy Grail of “maximizing shareholder value” will probably force its hand eventually.

* While the NHL Board of Governors mulls putting an expansion team in Las Vegas, at MGM Resorts International‘s new arena, an NBA franchise is getting into the act. In an attempt to shake down the Wisconsin Legislature for $250 million, the Milwaukee Bucks are threatening to move to Vegas “or Seattle.” MGM is enjoying a severe case of “build it and they will come.” (Now if we could only finagle a casino company into building a decent baseball stadium.)

* Las Vegas lost another legend last week with the passing of lawman Ralph Lamb at the ripe old age of 88. John L. Smith describes the penumbra in which Lamb operated, dispensed his rough-and-ready brand of justice: “He occasionally ran with fast company in law enforcement and in the shadow world of the casino industry back in the day when some people with mob jackets were arrested and others were named the Man of the Year.” As the founder of Vegas Metro and of the forensics lab that would inspire CSI, Lamb showed foresight and his legacy is secure. Too bad Sam Peckinpah died before he could make Lamb’s biopic. It would surely have provided colorful entertainment.