WYOMISSING, Pa. & PERRYVILLE, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Penn National Gaming, Inc. (Nasdaq: PENN) announced today that its new Hollywood Casino Perryville in Cecil County, Maryland will open to the public on September 30, 2010, four weeks earlier than originally estimated, subject to final customary approvals. Hollywood Casino Perryville, located along Interstate 95 approximately 30 miles northeast of the Baltimore Beltway, will feature a 75,000 square foot casino and 1,500 video lottery terminals (“VLTs”). The VLTs will be purchased and owned or leased by the Maryland State Lottery Commission. In addition to the VLTs, Hollywood Casino Perryville will feature a 150-seat buffet, a grill, a gift shop and parking for over 1,600 vehicles.

Expected to be completed at a cost of approximately $89 million, following the payment of a $9 million licensing fee, Hollywood Casino Perryville will be the first casino to open in Maryland following a November 2008 state-wide referendum that approved VLTs in the city of Baltimore and the counties of Allegany, Anne Arundel, Cecil and Worcester.

Peter M. Carlino, Chief Executive Officer of Penn National commented, “Hollywood Casino Perryville is opening earlier than anticipated and less than two years after voters approved VLTs in the state, an accomplishment which reflects the dedication, expertise and coordinated efforts of our facility design, government relations, construction and property management teams. The accelerated opening is also being facilitated by the work of the Maryland State Lottery Commission, which this week received approval for the purchase of VLTs to meet the new opening date. The opening will result in over 350 new permanent jobs as well as tax revenue and other sustainable economic benefits for the community, county and state.”

Penn National has successfully used the Hollywood Casino brand and theme in the Pennsylvania, Indiana, Baton Rouge, Maine, Mississippi Gulf Coast and Aurora, Illinois markets and this summer will rename its West Virginia facility Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races. In addition, the Company is presently developing new Hollywood-themed casinos in Kansas and Ohio that are slated to open in 2012. Penn National’s Hollywood-branded facilities bring the classic style and glamour of 1930s art deco Hollywood to the gaming floor along with the latest technology and amenities designed for ultimate guest comfort.

Mr. Carlino added, “The opening of Maryland’s first gaming facility is consistent with Penn National’s long-term strategy to increase our scale and diversity in new and established regional gaming markets by leveraging our property development skills and financial resources. In addition to opening early, like our other development projects, we will also complete the facility on budget. We look forward to the launch of Penn National’s newest gaming facility and the first in the state of Maryland on September 30, 2010.”

Following multiple successful job fairs and job information sessions throughout the county, hiring for employee positions has begun and will continue throughout the summer.

About Penn National Gaming

Penn National Gaming owns and operates gaming and racing facilities with a focus on slot machine entertainment. The Company presently operates nineteen facilities in fifteen jurisdictions, including Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Ontario. In aggregate, Penn National’s operated facilities feature over 26,300 gaming machines, approximately 400 table games, over 2,000 hotel rooms and over 959,000 square feet of gaming floor space.

In the second half of 2010, the Company plans to add table games to its facilities in West Virginia and Pennsylvania and expects to open the first video lottery terminal facility in the state of Maryland in Cecil County. Through a joint venture, Penn National is developing a full casino at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, which is anticipated to open in early 2012, and is also developing casinos in Toledo and Columbus, Ohio, with openings targeted for the second half of 2012. Penn National has agreed to acquire Beulah Park in Ohio in a transaction expected to close in mid 2010 and has also agreed to establish a joint venture to own and operate the Maryland Jockey Club (expected to close in mid-2010), subject to regulatory and other approvals.

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results may vary materially from expectations. Although Penn National Gaming, Inc. and its subsidiaries (collectively “Penn National”) believe that our expectations are based on reasonable assumptions within the bounds of our knowledge of our business and operations, there can be no assurance that actual results will not differ materially from our expectations. Meaningful factors that could cause Penn National’s actual results to differ from expectations include, but are not limited to, risks related to the following: our ability to maintain regulatory approvals for our existing businesses and to receive regulatory approvals for our new businesses; the passage of state, federal or local legislation that would expand, restrict, further tax, prevent or negatively impact operations (such as a smoking ban at any of our facilities or the results of local referenda) in the jurisdictions in which we do business or seek to do business; the activities of our competitors and the emergence of new competitors; construction factors, including delays, unexpected remediation costs, local opposition and increased cost of labor and materials; the costs and risks involved in the pursuit of those development opportunities; the availability and cost of financing; the effects of local and national economic, credit, capital market, housing, energy conditions on the economy in general and on the gaming and lodging industries in particular; and other factors as discussed in Penn National’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2009, subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K as filed with the SEC. Penn National does not intend to update publicly any forward-looking statements except as required by law.

Source: Penn National Gaming, Inc.