Penn National Gaming Closes on Toledo Casino Site

Penn National Gaming, Inc. (Nasdaq: PENN) announced today that it completed the purchase of the 44-acre site at 1968 Miami Street that was expressly authorized for casino gaming in the successful November 3 Issue 3 constitutional ballot initiative. Penn National’s proposed $250 million Hollywood Casino Toledo is expected to open at this location in the second half of 2012.

"Closing on the property moves us a major step closer to making Hollywood Casino Toledo a reality,” said Eric Schippers, senior vice president of Penn National. "We’re eager to move forward and excited that this project will bring thousands of construction and permanent jobs to the Toledo area, as well as tens of millions of dollars for the city of Toledo as well as all of the counties and school districts in Northwest Ohio.”

Penn National has designated Kenneth Schultz, Vice President of Design and Construction, to lead its development efforts on the ground in Toledo and the Company announced two new additions to its Toledo team:

• Local attorney Richard Mitchell of Mitchell Law LLC, will serve as Penn National’s legal counsel, primarily focusing on employment and real estate matters. The Company’s legal team also includes former Ohio Supreme Court Justice Andy Douglas of Crabbe, Brown & James LLP of Columbus. Mr. Douglas served as Penn National’s legal and political advisor for Northwest Ohio during the Issue 3 campaign, and will continue to serve in that capacity during the development of the casino.
• After working closely with the NAACP in Toledo, Penn National has named Jay Black as its diversity consultant for Hollywood Casino Toledo. Mr. Black will assist in developing a comprehensive diversity plan to ensure that the project and the casino’s workforce is inclusive and reflects the diverse nature of the community.

The Miami Street site was purchased by Toledo Gaming Ventures, Inc., an Ohio corporation established by Penn National, from River Road Development, which acquired the property in 2006. River Road used a Clean Ohio Revitalization Fund grant and a matching grant from the city of Toledo to perform environmental remediation on the site. In February 2009, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency approved the completed remediation, clearing the way for redevelopment.

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.

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) in the jurisdictions in which we do business; the activities of our competitors and the emergence of new competitors; construction factors, including delays 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, 2008, 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.