Penn National Gaming Files for Ohio VLT Licenses and Consent to Relocate Its Racetracks to the Mahoning Valley and Dayton

Penn National Gaming, Inc. (PENN: Nasdaq) announced today that on June 30, it formally filed with the Ohio Lottery Commission for Video Lottery Sales Agent Licenses for its Ohio racetracks, and with the Ohio State Racing Commission for permission to relocate the racetracks from Columbus and Toledo to Austintown in Mahoning County and Dayton, respectively.

Penn National previously announced its intention, conditioned on state approval, to relocate Beulah Park in Columbus to Austintown and Raceway Park in Toledo to Dayton, and to construct new $125 million racetrack and video lottery terminal (VLT) facilities at the new locations (consistent with applicable law).

“Filing for VLT licenses and formally requesting that the Racing Commission approve our relocation plans is another major step forward for these two significant economic development projects,” said Tim Wilmott, President and COO of Penn National Gaming. “We are hopeful we can receive state approval in a timely manner, allowing us to break ground this fall on the new facilities in the Mahoning Valley and in Dayton.”

Under terms of a memorandum of understanding with the office of Ohio Governor John Kasich, Penn National has agreed to pay, over time, a $75 million relocation fee for each racetrack, in addition to the $50 million VLT license fee per track.

In addition to up to 1,500 VLTs per facility, both of the new properties will feature restaurants, bars and other amenities. Each is expected to create approximately 1,000 direct and indirect jobs, and to generate approximately 1,000 construction jobs.

Penn National has previously indicated that it will continue to operate Beulah Park in the Columbus suburb of Grove City and Raceway Park in Toledo until the expected opening date of the new facilities sometime in 2014. The Company is working cooperatively with local officials in Grove City and Toledo to determine the best possible use of the land once the racetracks cease operations.

The new Austintown facility – which will be a thoroughbred track – will be located on 184 acres in Austintown’s Centrepointe Business Park near the intersection of Interstate 80 and Ohio Route 46. It will be known as Hollywood Slots at Mahoning Valley Race Course.

The Dayton facility – a standardbred track – will be located on 125 acres on the site of an abandoned Delphi Automotive plant near Wagner Ford and Needmore roads in North Dayton. It will be called Hollywood Slots at Dayton Raceway.

Full details and design of both projects are in the development stage.

If approved, the Mahoning Valley and Dayton racinos will be the third and fourth new Penn National facilities to open in Ohio. The company opened the $320 million Hollywood Casino Toledo on May 29, and construction is near completion on the $400 million Hollywood Casino Columbus, which is expected to open in the fall of this year.

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-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 currently feature approximately 31,700 gaming machines, approximately 725 table games, 2,400 hotel rooms and 1.35 million square feet of gaming floor space. Penn National is also developing a casino in Columbus, Ohio targeted to open in fall 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. Penn National Gaming describes certain of these risks and uncertainties in its filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011. 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 successfully integrate the new facilities into our existing business and to achieve the expected returns; our ability to receive, or delays in obtaining, the regulatory approvals required to own, develop and/or operate our facilities (which can result in lost revenue and forfeiture of deposits), or other delays or impediments to completing our planned projects, including favorable resolution of any related litigation, including the recent appeal by the Ohio Roundtable addressing the legality of VLTs in Ohio; our ability to reach agreements with the thoroughbred and harness horsemen addressing the subsidy from the operator to the racing industry; 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; 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; 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.

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