On Monday, Pinnacle Entertainment was given the go-ahead by the Louisiana Gaming Control Board to have the ability to sell and lease back their four gaming properties located within the state. These properties will go to the Hollywood Casino Baton Rouge owner and operator, Gaming and Leisure Properties.

The New Orleans property of Boomtown Casino Hotel, the L’Auberge Casino Resort of Lake Charles and the L’Auberge Baton Rouge will all be sold to Gaming and Leisure Properties along with the Bossier City gaming venue, the Boomtown Casino Hotel. Once sold, Pinnacle Entertainment plans on leasing back the properties. The transaction can now move forward to being finalized as the Louisiana Gaming Control Board approval was one of the final steps in the process.

Chief Executive Officer of Pinnacle, Anthony Sanfilippo, stated that the gaming regulators of Colorado are set to begin the transaction this Thursday. If the transaction is approved, then the deal would be finalized by the 28th of April. Sanfilippo revealed in a statement concerning the deal that the healthy liquidity and leverage profile of Pinnacle Entertainment after the deal with Gaming and Leisure Properties will provide a solid foundation for growth in the future within the company.

Pinnacle Entertainment is looking to sell 14 of their 15 gaming properties to the Gaming and Leisure Properties. Once the sale is complete, Pinnacle would then like to lease the properties back by paying an annual rent of $377 million up front. According to Gaming and Leisure Properties, the deal is worth close to $4.1 billion, including debt.