FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

CONTACT:  TOM STEINBAUER, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT OF FINANCE --
     (702) 567-7000

DATE:          JULY 24, 1997

AMERISTAR CASINOS COMPLETES NEW $125 MILLION BANK CREDIT FACILITY
AND SALE OF $100 MILLION SENIOR SUBORDINATED NOTES DUE 2004

LAS  VEGAS  -- Ameristar Casinos, Inc. announced today  the  July
15th  completion  of  the  refinancing of  its  long-term  credit
facilities  through  a  new $125 million  revolving  bank  credit
facility with a syndicate of banks led by Wells Fargo Bank, N. A.
and  the sale of $100 million of 10 1/2% Senior Subordinated  Notes
due  2004  in  a  private  placement to  qualified  institutional
buyers.  The initial bank draw and the net proceeds from the sale
of  the  Senior  Subordinated Notes  are  being  used  to  reduce
existing  bank debt and other long-term debt.  Future  borrowings
under  the  new  bank credit facility will  be  used  to  fund  a
substantial  portion  of  the costs of completing  the  Company's
latest  casino-hotel project, The Reserve Hotel & Casino  in  the
Henderson-Green Valley suburb of Las Vegas.
     The Senior Subordinated Notes have not been registered under
the  Securities  Act  of  1933, are subject  to  restrictions  on
transfer  and  may  not be offered or sold in the  United  States
absent  registration or an applicable exemption from registration
requirements.  The initial purchasers of the Senior  Subordinated
Notes  are relying on the exemption under Rule 144A in connection
with resales of the Notes.
     Ameristar Casinos, Inc., a publicly traded company  (Nasdaq-
NMS  ticker symbol:  ASCA) with a strong background in the gaming
and  hospitality industry dating back to 1954, owns and  operates
Cactus  Petes Resort Casino and The Horseshu Hotel  &  Casino  in
Jackpot,  Nev.,  Ameristar Casino Vicksburg in Vicksburg,  Miss.,
and  Ameristar  Casino Hotel Council Bluffs  in  Council  Bluffs,
Iowa, across the Missouri River from Omaha, Neb.  Ameristar  also
owns  The Reserve Hotel & Casino, under development in Henderson,
Nev. in metropolitan Las Vegas.
                      
                        -- AMERISTAR CASINOS, INC. --