RENO, Nev., Dec. 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Sands Regent announced today that the Nevada Gaming Commission unanimously approved the proposed acquisition of The Sands Regent by privately held Herbst Gaming Inc.

The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and satisfaction of regulatory requirements. The Sands Regent and Herbst anticipate the closing of the acquisition by January, 2007.

"We are pleased to become part of a larger, more diversified gaming company and believe this approval provides excellent value to our shareholders and customers and expanded opportunities for our employees," said Ferenc B. Szony, President and CEO of The Sands Regent.

Las Vegas-based Herbst Gaming is one of Nevada's largest slot machine operators, with more than 8,400 machines in non-casino locations such as bars, restaurants, grocery, drug and convenience stores. Currently, it also operates eight casinos in southern Nevada, Missouri and Iowa.

About The Sands Regent

The Sands Regent owns and operates Rail City Casino in Sparks, Nevada, Sands Regency Casino and Hotel in downtown Reno, Nevada, Gold Ranch Casino and RV Resort in Verdi, Nevada, and the Depot Casino and Red Hawk Sports Bar in Dayton, Nevada.

Rail City Casino, located in Sparks, Nevada, has approximately 16,600 square feet of gaming space housing slot machines, table games, keno, a sports book, and the City Cafe family-style restaurant. Located near Victorian Square at 2121 Victorian Avenue in Sparks, it is the first casino a motorist encounters when exiting Interstate 80 at the Rock Boulevard exit (Exit 16).

The Sands Regency is an 833-room hotel and casino with 29,000 square feet of gaming space offering table games, a sports book, poker room, keno, bingo and slot machines. In addition to the amenities and on-site brand name restaurants, the Company's property also includes a 12,000 square foot convention and meeting center which seats close to 1,000 people.

The Gold Ranch Casino and RV Resort is located in Verdi, Nevada, twelve miles west of Reno. Gold Ranch offers slot machines in an 8,000 square foot casino, a sports book, two restaurants, a 105-space RV park, a California lottery station, an ARCO gas station and a convenience store.

The Depot Casino and the Red Hawk Sports Bar, acquired on September 1, 2005, are located in Dayton, Nevada. The Depot Casino has approximately 16,000 square feet of restaurant and casino space with 250 slots, a restaurant and two bars. The Red Hawk Sports Bar, across the street from Depot Casino, has 33 slots and a bar.

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. You can identify these statements by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. These statements contain words such as "may", "will", "project", "might", "expect", "believe", "anticipate", "intend", "could", "would", "estimate", "continue", or "pursue", or the negative or other variations thereof or comparable terminology. In particular, they include statements relating to, among other things, future actions, strategies, future performance and future financial results of the Company. The forward-looking statements contained in this release are based on current expectations and entail various risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those suggested in the forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, among others, the future performance of the Company's management team, general economic financial and business conditions, overall conditions in the gaming and entertainment industries, our ability to successfully integrate the operations of casinos that we acquire and realize the expected benefits of these acquisitions, and other factors discussed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended June 30, 2006, subsequent Forms 10-Q and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Sands is providing this information as of the date of this release and does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this document as a result of new information, future events or other wise.

Contact: Ferenc B. Szony, President and Chief Executive Officer The Sands Regent (775) 348-2210 or Sean Collins, Senior Partner CCG Investor Relations (310) 477-9800 For Further Information: The Sands Regent CCG Investor Relations 345 North Arlington Avenue 10960 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 2050 Reno, NV 89501 Los Angeles, CA 90024 (775) 348-2210 (310) 477-9800 (775) 348-6241 Fax (310) 231-8663 Fax Contact: Ferenc Szony, Contact: Sean Collins, President and CEO Senior Partner

CONTACT: Ferenc B. Szony, President and Chief Executive Officer, The Sands
Regent, +1-775-348-2210; Sean Collins, Senior Partner, CCG Investor Relations,
+1-310-477-9800

Web site: http://www.sandsregency.com/