Cactus Pete's

History

After Idaho outlawed all forms of casino gaming in 1954, "Cactus Pete" Piersanti moved his slot machine operations from Idaho to the Jackpot town site less than 1 mile (0.6 km) from the Idaho/Nevada border on U.S. Route 93. Piersanti's gaming establishment was named Cactus Pete's Desert Lodge. The establishment of Cactus Pete's and the nearby Horseshu Club in the same year is considered the founding of the town of Jackpot.

Cactus Pete's took over management of the neighboring Horseshu Club in 1964.

In 1991, Cactus Pete's completed a $22 million hotel and casino expansion making the property become one of the largest gaming facilities in Elko County. Designed by Steelman Partners, the expansion included adding a 10 story hotel tower, restaurants and an Olympic-sized swimming pool.

Cactus Pete's is one of the largest employers in Southern Idaho.

In 1993, Ameristar Casinos was founded as the parent company of Cactus Pete's and Ameristar Casino Vicksburg.

In August 2013, the property became part of Pinnacle Entertainment when that company acquired Ameristar Casinos. In April 2016, the property was sold to Gaming and Leisure Properties along with almost all of Pinnacle's real estate assets, and leased back to Pinnacle. Penn National Gaming (now Penn Entertainment) acquired the operations of Cactus Pete's in October 2018 as part of the acquisition of Pinnacle.

Casino

Casino games include slot machines and table games tables including Royal Match Blackjack tables, Craps tables, Let it Ride Bonus tables, 3-Card Poker games, Roulette and Ultimate Texas Hold'em. The Texas Hold'em poker room also hosts weekly tournaments.

Entertainment

Cactus Petes offers a variety of entertainment. The casino has a cabaret lounge that has band most nights of the week. Cactus Petes also has both an indoor concert hall called the Gala Showroom and an outdoor amphitheater. Concerts held at Cactus Petes have ranged from ZZ Top to The Beach Boys and from Willie Nelson to Chubby Checker.

References

References

1. "Listing of Financial Statements Square Footage". [[Nevada Gaming Control Board]].
2. "Archived copy".
3. [http://www.ameristar.com/corp/c_aa_history.asp Ameristar Casinos - About Ameristar - History] {{webarchive. link. (2008-07-26)
4. "Ameristar Casinos - Horseshu".
5. "Jackpot, Nevada, A Visitor's Guide".
6. Howard Stutz. (May 29, 2013). "FTC questions Pinnacle Entertainment's bid for Ameristar Casinos". Las Vegas Review-Journal.
7. Howard Stutz. (August 14, 2013). "Pinnacle Entertainment completes $2.8 billion buyout of Ameristar Casinos". Las Vegas Review-Journal.
8. (July 21, 2015). "Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. reaches agreement with Pinnacle Entertainment, Inc. to acquire Pinnacle's real estate assets". Gaming and Leisure Properties.
9. (April 28, 2016). "Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. completes the previously announced acquisition of the real estate assets of Pinnacle Entertainment, Inc.". Pinnacle Entertainment.
10. (October 16, 2018). "Penn National Gaming buys Pinnacle Entertainment, including 2 casinos in Jackpot, Nev.". Times-News.