Grand Opening Celebration of Luxury Hotel and Spa: Ameristar Casino Black Hawk Offers Destination Resort Amenities and

BLACK HAWK, CO, Oct 08 (MARKET WIRE) --
Ameristar Casinos, Inc. (NASDAQ: ASCA), will celebrate the opening of its
33-story, 536-room luxury hotel and spa at Ameristar Casino Black Hawk
this morning during a ceremony held at the Las Vegas-style gaming and
entertainment destination. The new hotel is the tallest structure between
Denver and Salt Lake City.

"Ameristar remains very enthusiastic about Black Hawk," said Ameristar
Chief Executive Officer Gordon Kanofsky. "Our $235 million investment in
this expansion will generate more local economic development by attracting
guests who would be spending their leisure dollars elsewhere. We look
forward to introducing Ameristar's exceptional guest service, gaming,
luxury amenities and food and beverage offerings to an even broader range
of guests."

The expansion makes Ameristar one of Gilpin County's largest employers,
with more than 720 Team Members. In 2008, Ameristar Casino Black Hawk had
a payroll of more than $22 million, and it has increased current staffing
levels by approximately 45 percent over the previous year to accommodate
the larger facilities and increased guest traffic.

"We are seeing a brand new demographic of guests," said Reggie Fullwood,
Senior Vice President and General Manager of Ameristar Casino Hotel Black
Hawk. "These are people who are new to our casino and new to our market,
and they are bringing a lot of energy and enthusiasm with them."

In January 2009, Black Hawk voters passed a local referendum to implement
Amendment 50, a statewide provision that liberalized several Colorado
casino regulations. The new hotel and spa enable Ameristar to fully
leverage the changes, which included increasing single-bet limits to $100,
operating the casino 24 hours daily and adding the games of craps and
roulette.

"With the investment we have made in the Black Hawk community, we are very
proud of the jobs we have been able to create," Fullwood said. "Along with
our industry partners, we are also proud of the benefit that Colorado will
receive from increased tax revenues. The state of Colorado is expected to
receive millions in gaming tax dollars, the bulk of which will go to
cash-strapped community colleges."

In the four years Ameristar has owned the property, the Company has paid
more than $63 million in casino and other taxes to Black Hawk, Gilpin
County and the state. Amendment 50 is expected to increase guest traffic
and spending for all Colorado gaming properties, thus increasing state and
local tax revenues while creating more jobs.

With the opening of the new hotel and spa, Ameristar Casino Hotel Black
Hawk has undergone a transformational expansion, offering guests:

-- A 33-story, four-diamond quality hotel tower with 536 well appointed
rooms, including 64 suites. All rooms have wireless high-speed Internet
access and such luxury furnishings as plasma-screen televisions, double
vanities and separate tubs and showers. Each standard 450-square-foot
guest room has a marble foyer and either one king-size or two queen-size
beds. All suites include hot tubs, and some feature double-sided
fireplaces and views of the Rocky Mountains. All rooms are furnished with
top-of-the-line mattresses, luxurious linens and premium bath products.

-- The property's swimming pool, along with its indoor and outdoor
whirlpool spas, are located on an open-air, heated patio on the hotel's
roof. This pool level includes a movable glass wall to enclose the pool
during winter months while preserving the panoramic mountain views. The
patio surrounding the pool is made of dry-stacked, quarried stone, with
wrought-iron details, and heavy wood beams and trusses.

-- The full-service ARA day spa is located within the hotel and features
six treatment rooms, hot tubs, and sauna and steam rooms. The spa offers
traditional spa services, including massages, scrubs, facials, pedicures
and manicures. An adjoining fitness center with state-of-the-art
cardiovascular and strength-training machines is available to all hotel
guests.

-- The new hotel tower contains more than 15,000 square feet of flexible
meeting space. Conference and meeting rooms are equipped with the latest
technology, and the property's diverse restaurants can cater any event.

The new hotel tower complements existing amenities, including:

-- The 55,000-square-foot state-of-the-art casino, which includes more
than 1,600 slot machines featuring ticket-in/ticket-out coinless slot
technology, as well as a 14-table live poker room, 18 table games including
blackjack, craps and roulette, classic gambling reels and the newest
video-style games.

-- A wide range of food and beverage outlets.

-- The largest parking garage in the market, with more than 1,500
spaces.

Forward-Looking Information

This release contains certain forward-looking information that generally
can be identified by the context of the statement or the use of
forward-looking terminology, such as "believes," "estimates,"
"anticipates," "intends," "expects," "plans," "is confident that,"
"should" or words of similar meaning, with reference to Ameristar or our
management. Similarly, statements that describe our future plans,
objectives, strategies, financial results or position, operational
expectations or goals are forward-looking statements. It is possible that
our expectations may not be met due to various factors, many of which are
beyond our control, and therefore we cannot give any assurance that such
expectations will prove to be correct. For a discussion of relevant
factors, risks and uncertainties that could materially affect our future
results, attention is directed to "Item 1A. Risk Factors" and "Item 7.
Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results
of Operations" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended Dec.
31, 2008, and "Item 2. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial
Condition and Results of Operations" in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q
for the quarter ended June 30, 2009.

About Ameristar Casino Hotel Black Hawk

Ameristar Casino Hotel Black Hawk offers an outstanding gaming experience
to the Denver area at a desirable location just 40 minutes west of the
city at Highway 119 and Richman Street in the Black Hawk/Central City
gaming district. The facility offers more than 1,600 slot and video
machines, 18 table games and 14 live poker tables, along with five dining
and entertainment venues and the largest parking garage in the market,
with more than 1,500 spaces.

About Ameristar

Ameristar Casinos, Inc. is a leading Las Vegas-based gaming and
entertainment company known for its premier properties characterized by
innovative architecture, state-of-the-art casino floors and superior
dining, lodging and entertainment offerings. Ameristar's focus on the
total entertainment experience and the highest-quality guest service has
earned it leading positions in the markets in which it operates. Founded
in 1954 in Jackpot, Nev., Ameristar has been a public company since
November 1993. The Company has a portfolio of eight casinos in seven
markets: Ameristar Casino Resort Spa St. Charles (greater St. Louis);
Ameristar Casino Hotel East Chicago (Chicagoland area); Ameristar Casino
Hotel Kansas City; Ameristar Casino Hotel Council Bluffs (Omaha, Neb. and
southwestern Iowa); Ameristar Casino Hotel Vicksburg (Jackson, Miss., and
Monroe, La.); Ameristar Casino Hotel Black Hawk (Denver metropolitan
area); and Cactus Petes Resort Casino and The Horseshu Hotel and Casino in
Jackpot, Nev. (Idaho and the Pacific Northwest).

Visit Ameristar Casinos' web site at www.ameristar.com (which shall not
be deemed to be incorporated in or a part of this news release).

MEDIA CONTACTS:
Heather Leigh
Public Relations Manager
Ameristar Casino Black Hawk
(720) 946-4123 direct
(303) 250-0204 cell
Email Contact

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