Exhibit 99.1

Pinnacle Entertainment Reports Closing of $235 Million Bank Credit Facility
05/18/2003

LAS VEGAS, May 18, 2003--Pinnacle Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:PNK) today announced
it has entered into an amended agreement for a $235 million bank credit facility
that will help finance the Company's construction of both its casino-hotel
project in Lake Charles, La. and its new hotel guestroom tower at Belterra
Casino Resort, as well as be available for general corporate purposes. The
amended credit facility consists of a four-year revolving facility of $110
million and a five-year term facility of $125 million, and replaces the existing
credit facility that was scheduled to mature in December 2003. This size of this
financing was originally $225 million, but was increased due to
oversubscription.

"We are pleased to announce our amended credit facility, which is the major
financing vehicle for our exciting project in Lake Charles," said Steve H. Capp,
Pinnacle Entertainment's Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.
"We're making rapid progress on regulatory and local approvals, and expect to
break ground on our newest destination resort shortly." The Company broke ground
on its new 300-guestroom hotel tower at Belterra during the first quarter 2003.

"Our amended credit facility will be an important source of liquidity to help
finance our Lake Charles project," Capp continued. "Both the Belterra expansion
and the Lake Charles project, as well as the maintenance of our existing
properties, will be funded by our surplus cash, cash flow from operations,
proceeds of land sales, and the amended credit facility."

Availability under the amended credit facility is subject to certain conditions
that the Company expects to satisfy, including those discussed in the Company's
Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2003.

About Pinnacle Entertainment

Pinnacle Entertainment owns and operates seven casinos (four with hotels) in
Nevada, Mississippi, Louisiana, Indiana and Argentina, and receives lease income
from two card club casinos in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Company is
developing a major casino resort in Lake Charles, Louisiana.

The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a "safe harbor"
for forward-looking statements. Forward-looking information involves important
risks and uncertainties that could significantly affect future results and
accordingly, such results may differ from those expressed in forward-looking
statements made by or on behalf of Pinnacle Entertainment. Pinnacle
Entertainment cautions that these statements are qualified by important factors
that could cause actual results to differ materially from those reflected by the
forward-looking statements contained herein. Such statements include, but are
not limited to, availability of future sources of liquidity, including cash flow
from operations, land sales and availability under the new bank credit
agreement. Factors that could cause these statements to differ materially
include those discussed in the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the
quarter ended March 31, 2003.