Penn National Gaming Names Greg Hinton General Manager of Hollywood Casino Tunica

Penn National Gaming Names Greg Hinton General Manager of Hollywood Casino Tunica

- Hinton, Most Recently Assistant GM for Caesars Entertainment's Tunica Properties, Brings Extensive Gaming and Financial Experience to New Role -

WYOMISSING, Pa. & TUNICA, Miss.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Penn National Gaming, Inc. (NAS: PENN) announced today that subject to customary regulatory approvals, Greg Hinton, 53, has been named General Manager of Hollywood Casino Tunica. Mr. Hinton most recently served as Assistant General Manager of Caesars Entertainment's three properties in Tunica, Mississippi. He replaces Tony Carlucci, who was recently named General Manager of Harrah's St. Louis, subject to completion of the acquisition of the property by Penn National which is expected in early November 2012, after which it will be re-branded Hollywood Casino St. Louis.

Mr. Hinton joined Caesars in 2006 as Regional Director for Planning and Analysis in Atlantic City before being named as Vice President of Finance for Harrah's St. Louis in September 2007. He added the responsibilities of Vice President of Non-Gaming Operations in March 2008 and held both roles until January 2010 when he was named Assistant General Manager of Harrah's Tunica. In December 2011, Mr. Hinton was named Assistant General Manager for Caesars Entertainment's three Tunica-based properties. Before joining Caesars Entertainment, he was a Partner at Accenture from 1998 to 2006, with a specialization in finance and performance management. Mr. Hinton also served as Senior Manager at Ernst & Young and in several roles of increasing prominence at PricewaterhouseCoopers for 14 years. A Certified Public Accountant, he holds a Masters of Business Administration from Northwestern University in Chicago, IL and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the California State Polytechnic University in Pomona, CA.

Thomas P. Burke, Senior Vice President Regional Operations of Penn National Gaming, commented, "Greg's background and intimate knowledge of the Tunica gaming market make him ideally suited to take on his new role as General Manager of Hollywood Casino Tunica. Over the course of his career, Greg has developed a strong background in accounting and finance and, more recently, assumed increasing responsibility in both the financial and operational areas of property management. We expect his existing relationships in Tunica, including his involvement with the local Boy Scouts of America and the Make-A-Wish Foundation of the Mid-South, to serve him well as he seeks to build on Tony's excellent work and further position Hollywood Casino Tunica as a key destination in the marketplace and key contributor to the local community."

About Penn National Gaming

Penn National Gaming owns, operates or has ownership interests in gaming and racing facilities with a focus on slot machine entertainment. The company presently operates twenty-eight 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 currently feature approximately 34,700 gaming machines, approximately 800 table games, 2,400 hotel rooms and approximately 1.5 million square feet of gaming floor space. Penn National 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 the expansion of gaming under consideration in Maryland and Illinois or 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
Chief Financial Officer
610/373-2400
or
Joseph N. Jaffoni, Richard Land
JCIR
212/835-8500 or penn@jcir.com

KEYWORDS: United States North America Mississippi Pennsylvania

INDUSTRY KEYWORDS:

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