Penn National Gaming Names Todd George General Manager of Hollywood Casino Lawrenceburg

Penn National Gaming Names Todd George General Manager of Hollywood Casino Lawrenceburg

George Brings Over 17 Years of Experience in Major Regional Gaming Markets to Lawrenceburg

WYOMISSING, Pa. & LAWRENCEBURG, Ind.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Penn National Gaming, Inc. (NAS: PENN) announced today that subject to customary regulatory approvals, Todd George, 43, has been named General Manager of Hollywood Casino Lawrenceburg. Mr. George will join Penn National early in the fourth quarter of 2012 and will report to John Finamore, Senior Vice President Regional Operations.

Mr. George has over 17 years of gaming industry experience in major regional gaming markets and comes to Penn National following 12 years at Pinnacle Entertainment, including the last six years during which he oversaw the $900 million development and launch of Pinnacle's two St. Louis properties. He most recently served as Senior Vice President and General Manager of Pinnacle Entertainment's Lumière Place Casino & Hotels in St. Louis, Missouri. Mr. George joined Pinnacle in 2000 as a controller at Belterra Casino Resort and was named General Manager of Boomtown Bossier City in 2003. He moved to St. Louis in 2006 on being named Vice President and General Manager of Lumière Place Casino & Hotels ahead of that property's opening in December 2007. In October 2009, Mr. George was named Regional Vice President of the St Louis Region and General Manager of River City Casino and led the property opening in March 2010. Mr. George moved back to Lumière Place Casino & Hotels in September 2010 when he was promoted to Senior Vice President and assumed the role of General Manager. Prior to joining Pinnacle, Mr. George served in the finance department at the Turning Stone Casino from 1995 to 2000. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from LeMoyne College in Syracuse, NY.

John Finamore commented, "We believe Todd's extensive regional gaming market experience and knowledge of the greater Cincinnati region make him the ideal person to lead Hollywood Casino Lawrenceburg as the property evolves to face new competition in the coming months. Todd will build on the strong foundation of success at Hollywood Casino Lawrenceburg and drive further improvements in operating performance. We expect Todd to be a local leader who will foster deeper ties with the various community groups we work with on a daily basis as he consistently demonstrated in St. Louis where he served on several boards and participated in community service initiatives.

"Hollywood Casino Lawrenceburg established itself as the region's top gaming entertainment destination with the opening of its new 270,000 square foot, 4,400 gaming position vessel in 2009 and we believe Todd's success with large-scale facilities in the St. Louis market will help position Hollywood Casino Lawrenceburg for long-term success. Furthermore, as Penn National works with the City of Lawrenceburg to build and open the Lawrenceburg Event Center, which will add 104,000 square feet of meeting space, a 1,800-seat concert venue, 180-room hotel, parking garage and river view restaurant to the downtown area, we believe Todd's deep experience with project development initiatives will prove invaluable in making Lawrenceburg a hub for regional entertainment."

About Penn National Gaming

Penn National Gaming, through its subsidiaries, owns, operates or has ownership interests in gaming and racing facilities with a focus on slot machine entertainment. The Company presently operates twenty-seven facilities in nineteen jurisdictions, including Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, West Virginia, and Ontario. In aggregate, Penn National's operated facilities feature approximately 31,700 gaming machines, 725 table games, 2,400 hotel rooms and 1.35 million square feet of gaming floor space. Penn National is currently developing a casino in Columbus, Ohio which is expected to open October 8, and has agreed to acquire Harrah's St. Louis gaming and lodging facility from Caesars Entertainment with the transaction expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2012.

Forward-looking Statements

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, the "Company") 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 actual results to differ from expectations include, but are not limited to, risks related to the following: our ability to receive and maintain, or delays in obtaining, the regulatory approvals required to own, develop and/or operate our facilities, or other delays or impediments to completing our planned acquisitions or projects, including favorable resolution of any related litigation, including the recent appeal by the Ohio Roundtable addressing the legality of video lottery terminals in Ohio and the lawsuit to protect our interests in Iowa; our ability to secure state and local permits and approvals necessary for construction; construction factors, including delays, unexpected remediation costs, local opposition and increased cost of labor and materials; our ability to receive timely regulatory approval for and to otherwise complete our planned acquisition of Harrah's St. Louis (failure to do so could, among other things, result in the loss of certain deposits); our ability to successfully integrate Harrah's St. Louis into our existing business; our ability to reach agreements with the thoroughbred and harness horseman in Ohio and to otherwise maintain agreements with our horseman, pari-mutuel clerks and other organized labor groups; the passage of state, federal or local legislation (including referenda) that would expand, restrict, further tax, prevent or negatively impact operations in or adjacent to the jurisdictions in which we do or seek to do business (such as a smoking ban at any of our facilities); the effects of local and national economic, credit, capital market, housing, and energy conditions on the economy in general and on the gaming and lodging industries in particular; the activities of our competitors and the emergence of new competitors (traditional and internet based); increases in the effective rate of taxation at any of our properties or at the corporate level; our ability to identify attractive acquisition and development opportunities and to agree to terms with partners for such transactions; the costs and risks involved in the pursuit of such opportunities and our ability to complete the acquisition or development of, and achieve the expected returns from, such opportunities; our expectations for the continued availability and cost of capital; the outcome of pending legal proceedings; changes in accounting standards; our dependence on key personnel; the impact of terrorism and other international hostilities; the impact of weather; and other factors as discussed in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011, subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K as filed with the SEC. The Company does not intend to update publicly any forward-looking statements except as required by law.

Penn National Gaming, Inc.
William J. Clifford, 610-373-2400
Chief Financial Officer
or
Jaffoni & Collins Incorporated
Joseph N. Jaffoni, Richard Land
212-835-8500 or penn@jcir.com

KEYWORDS: United States North America Indiana Pennsylvania

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