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Ameristar Casinos Names President

2 August 2006

LAS VEGAS – (PRESS RELEASE) -- Ameristar Casinos, Inc. (Nasdaq: ASCA) today announced that it has appointed John M. Boushy to become President. In this position, he will be responsible for leading operations, finance, human resources, marketing, information technology, food and beverage, administration, communications and entertainment. In addition, Boushy will participate in the Company's pursuit of development opportunities as it considers growth through acquisitions, building new properties and expansion. Boushy is expected to join Ameristar on or about August 31, 2006.

"I am very pleased to welcome John to the Ameristar executive team," said Chairman and CEO Craig H. Neilsen. "As the Board and I considered the strategic direction of Ameristar and various growth opportunities, we determined the need for a seasoned executive to assist Ameristar in our future growth. Given John's involvement in charting the strategy for growth and leading integration activities at Harrah's over the past decade, I fully expect that he will be a tremendous contributor to our continuing efforts to successfully leverage the Ameristar brand and build on its successes. In addition, his outstanding depth of experience in marketing, information technology and operations over nearly three decades in the casino industry will be valuable assets to the Company. Ameristar has always been committed to providing unsurpassed experiences in every market. I expect John's focus on quality, coupled with his demonstrated leadership, will contribute to the continued enhancement of our guest satisfaction programs. Furthermore, John's leadership in technology-enabled marketing strategies is well known. I am confident that Ameristar guests, team members and shareholders will benefit from our future technology initiatives. I value his impressive credentials and proven track record as a leader and strategic thinker. John's background and personal style is uniquely suited to achieve our objectives."

"I am very enthusiastic about joining the Ameristar team," said Boushy. "I have long admired Ameristar's continuous, unwavering commitment and dedication to provide their guests with a truly complete entertainment experience -- one that exceeds their expectations of product quality as well as service in every category. The Ameristar brand has an unparalleled reputation for delivering the best-in-market, broadest and highest-quality guest experience in every one of its markets."

Prior to joining Ameristar, Boushy had a long and distinguished career as a senior executive with Harrah's Entertainment, Inc., most recently serving as Executive Vice President, Project Development, Design & Construction. In this role he led the efforts to develop master plans for Harrah's properties in Las Vegas, Atlantic City and elsewhere around the country. He began his career with Harrah's in 1979 in Atlantic City and held various positions within Harrah's and its former parent companies, Holiday Corporation and The Promus Companies. As Vice President of Strategic Marketing for Harrah's, Boushy developed numerous innovations, including the industry's first customer loyalty program and the technology that powers it, now known as Total Rewards®*. Boushy led Harrah's information technology initiatives beginning in 1993, and served as the company's Chief Information Officer from 1995-2003, as well as serving as Senior Vice President of Brand Operations and Design & Construction beginning in 1999. In 2004, he assumed the responsibilities of Chief Integration Officer for Harrah's acquisition of Caesars Entertainment, Inc., which achieved first-year synergies in only nine months and exceeded synergy expectations for the first year by over 30 percent.

During his career, Boushy has received numerous recognitions. In 1994, he was named by The Journal of Business Strategy as one of the top 100 strategists in the nation, and that year he was also the first in the casino industry to be recognized as one of the top 100 marketing executives in America by Advertising Age. He was ranked among Computerworld's top 100 CIOs in 2000, the first casino executive to be recognized for this honor. Under his leadership, Harrah's IT organization was recognized as one of the top 10 Best Places To Work in IT for several years in a row. He was honored with the CIO Enterprise Value Award in 2001 for his contributions to the Total Rewards®* customer loyalty system. In 2002, Boushy earned CIO magazine's "20/20 Vision" award -- which recognized 20 people globally for their achievements in the application of information technology.

"I appreciate the confidence that Craig and the Board have demonstrated with my appointment. I look forward to working with Craig, an inductee to the casino industry Hall of Fame and "CEO of the Year" award winner, and the entire Ameristar team to leverage its great brand and operating prowess to fully achieve Ameristar's tremendous growth potential for the future," Boushy said.

Boushy holds a bachelor's degree in Mathematics and a master's degree in Applied Mathematics, both from North Carolina State University. He is the holder of several U.S. patents.

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