Pinnacle Entertainment Buys Federated Assets Including Epic, Heartland Poker Tours

Las Vegas-based casino operator Pinnacle Entertainment on Friday announced that it is “buying the Heartland Poker Tour and its related assets, including poker website domain names, for $4.5 million,” according to Steve Green of the LAS VEGAS SUN. A bankruptcy auction was held last week for the assets of bankrupt sister companies Federated Sports & Gaming and Federated Heartland, which “own both the Heartland Poker Tour and the Epic Poker League.” The companies “filed for bankruptcy in February in Maryland.” Pinnacle, a creditor in the bankruptcy case, is “expected to convert its $2.1 million debt claim into equity, potentially reducing its cash outlay as the winning bidder to $2.4 million.” Pinnacle “didn't mention the Epic Poker League in Friday's announcement about the Heartland Poker Tour.” Bluff Magazine reported that there “has been speculation that Pinnacle won't use the Epic brand.” The Heartland Poker Tour is “a live, televised poker tournament series that made 17 stops in 15 states in 2011” (VEGASINC.com, 6/15).