Tuesday, April 30, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.
COMMENTS: Ameristar said first-quarter net income before pre-opening costs of $5.9 million related to Ameristar Council Bluffs, which opened Jan. 19, was $3.1 million, or 15 cents a share, up 71 percent from the 1995 period. The Council Bluffs operation led all Iowa riverboats in casino revenue for its first two full months of operation, the company said. Ameristar said its Vicksburg, Miss., casino maintained its position as the market's revenue leader, but its two Jackpot Properties in Northern Nevada posted lower revenue and operating income due to bad weather in January and February. The earnings before interest, taxes and amortization margin improved to 23.3 percent in the 1996 first quarter from 21.2 percent in the year-earlier period, President Craig Neilsen said. Ameristar's planned acquisition of Gem Gaming, which is opening the Reserve hotel-casino in Green Valley this autumn, "will enhance shareholder value and allow Ameristar to continue its constant, steady growth by expanding into the largest gaming market in the country," he said. (Nasdaq: ASCA)
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