Vicksburg, Mississippi-Based Ameristar Casino Vicksburg Was Owned by Pinnacle Entertainment, Which Was Acquired in 2018. Pinnacle Entertainment's Top-Tier Executive Average Annual Pay and Employee Benefits Increase Was a Blistering 30.0% Per Year During the Nine Years (2009-2017) Before It Was Acquired in 2018.

The State of Mississippi is holding its 2019 Governor's election on November 5, 2019.

Thus I think it would be helpful to research the extent of income inequality expansion in the State of Mississippi in the most recent years.

So far in my research of large US Corporations I have shown that their Top-Tier Executives have been rewarded continually with just enormous annual increases in pay and employee benefits, mostly stock equity compensation, even to the extent that the key issue to US citizens should be the huge and continuing Income Inequality Expansion which is at the core of many critical problems the US faces.

There have been many US Government laws enacted in the past two decades that have substantially increased income inequality expansion including the year after year after year of annual furtive tax extenders of predominately special interests additional tax loopholes, which both the Democratic and Republican Establishments voted for under the radar screen every year just before calendar year end, but nothing was even close to being more income inequality expanding than the Trump Tax Cuts Act.

On the other hand, the only highly effective US Government law enacted by either party in the past two decades that has substantially reduced income inequality expansion is Obamacare.

My objective is to get a better handle on just why the US has such massive continuing Income Inequality Expansion ..... it appears to be predominantly about the relative long-term annual pay and employee benefits percentage increases for the executives of a Company vs the many non-executive employees of a Company, coupled with the stock price appreciation subsequent to the time the company executives were rewarded in their pay with stock equity compensation.

In my study here of large Mississippi Companies, the ninth Mississippi Company I am addressing here is Pinnacle Entertainment, which before being acquired in 2018, owned Ameristar Casino Vicksburg, a large employer of Mississippi residents.

From annual compensation information contained in Company Proxy Statement and 10-12B filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, the table below shows Pinnacle Entertainment's Top-Tier Executives Annual Total Compensation for each of two consecutive full years of employment for the nine years (2009-2017) just before it was acquired in 2018.
   
Pinnacle Entertainment's Top-Tier Executives Average Annual Pay and Employee Benefits Increase was a blistering 30.0% per year during these nine years (2009-2017).

	FYE	FYE		FYE	FYE		FYE	FYE		FYE	FYE		FYE	FYE
Pinnacle Entertainment	Dec	Dec		Dec	Dec		Dec	Dec		Dec	Dec		Dec	Dec
Owner of Ameristar Casino Vicksburg	2018	2017		2017	2016		2016	2015		2015	2014		2014	2013
Top-Tier	Total	Total		Total	Total		Total	Total		Total	Total		Total	Total
Executive	Comp	Comp		Comp	Comp		Comp	Comp		Comp	Comp		Comp	Comp
	$ 000s	$ 000s		$ 000s	$ 000s		$ 000s	$ 000s		$ 000s	$ 000s		$ 000s	$ 000s
Anthony Sanfilippo Chair and CEO	N/A	N/A		10,070	7,285		7,285	5,653		5,653	7,845		7,845	6,669
Carlos Ruisanchez President and CFO	N/A	N/A		4,841	3,462		3,462	2,769		2,769	4,280		4,280	3,322
Virginia Shanks Chief Marketing Officer	N/A	N/A		3,698	2,662		2,662	2,048		2,048	3,235		3,235	2,572
Neil Walkoff EVP Operations	N/A	N/A		2,632	1,843		1,843	1,514		1,514	2,585		N/A	N/A
Troy Stremming EVP Govt Relations	N/A	N/A		1,758	1,410		N/A	N/A
John Godfrey General Counsel										1,521	2,591		2,591	2,123
Michelle Shriver EVP Operations													N/A	N/A
Totals	-	-		22,999	16,662		15,252	11,984		13,505	20,536		17,951	14,686
Annual % Change vs Prior Year	N/A			38.0%			27.3%			-34.2%			22.2%
4 Year Average Per Year % Change				13.3%
	FYE	FYE		FYE	FYE		FYE	FYE		FYE	FYE		FYE	FYE
	Dec	Dec		Dec	Dec		Dec	Dec		Dec	Dec		Dec	Dec
Pinnacle Entertainment	2013	2012		2012	2011		2011	2010		2010	2009		2009	2008
Top-Tier	Total	Total		Total	Total		Total	Total		Total	Total		Total	Total
Executive	Comp	Comp		Comp	Comp		Comp	Comp		Comp	Comp		Comp	Comp
	$ 000s	$ 000s		$ 000s	$ 000s		$ 000s	$ 000s		$ 000s	$ 000s		$ 000s	$ 000s
Anthony Sanfilippo Chair and CEO	6,669	3,381		3,381	1,685		N/A	N/A
Carlos Ruisanchez President and CFO	3,322	1,361		1,361	3,031		3,031	1,438		1,438	782		N/A	N/A
Virginia Shanks Chief Marketing Officer	2,572	1,255		1,255	1,173		N/A	N/A
Neil Walkoff EVP Operations
Troy Stremming EVP Govt Relations
John Godfrey General Counsel	2,123	1,213		1,213	1,462		1,462	1,412		1,412	784		784	1,326
Stephen Capp Former CFO							N/A	N/A		1,881	957		957	1,538
Alain Uboldi Former EVP										1,885	829		829	1,415
Totals	14,686	7,210		7,210	7,351		4,493	2,850		6,616	3,352		2,570	4,279
Annual % Change vs Prior Year	103.7%			-1.9%			57.6%			97.4%			-39.9%
5 Year Average Per Year % Change		43.4%
9 Year Average Per Year % Change		30.0%