Penn National Gaming Opens Maryland’s First Casino Three Days Early and One Month Prior to Original Projections

Penn National Gaming (Nasdaq: PENN) unveiled Maryland’s first casino today when it opened Hollywood Casino Perryville three days prior to its projected September 30 launch and four weeks earlier than original estimates. The new gaming entertainment facility, completed at a total investment of $97.5 million and located directly off Interstate 95 in Cecil County just 30 minutes northeast of Baltimore, is designed in classic 1930s Hollywood art deco style and features a casino floor with 1,500 slot machines purchased and owned or leased by the Maryland State Lottery.

Expected to generate significant new annual state and local tax revenues, the approximately 75,000 square-foot gaming facility will attract guests from throughout the mid-Atlantic region. More than 350 full time jobs have been created and 80 percent of Hollywood Casino Perryville’s employees are Cecil and Harford County, Maryland residents.

Penn National has scheduled an official grand opening ceremony with Maryland Governor, Martin O’Malley; Penn National President and Chief Operating Officer, Tim Wilmott; and other company representatives, local officials and media for Thursday, September 30 at 10:00 a.m. at Hollywood Casino Perryville.

Peter M. Carlino, Chief Executive Officer of Penn National, commented, "Less than two years after Maryland voters approved slots facilities in the state, we have developed a first-rate casino that flawlessly executes our unique Hollywood brand and design. With our strategic location less than a half-mile from Interstate 95, we expect Hollywood Casino Perryville to be a popular stop for the more than 82,000 cars passing the Perryville/Port Deposit Exit 93 on a daily basis. Hollywood Casino Perryville is also expected to capture a high percentage of the players who travel to Delaware casinos as we estimate that more than 40 percent of the players in Delaware are coming from Maryland.

"The accelerated opening is also being facilitated by the work of the Maryland State Lottery Commission, which has ensured that Maryland’s first casino offers the best slot floor available to casino players on the East Coast. In addition, we are grateful to Maryland Video Lottery Terminal Facility Location Commission, our hosts, Cecil County and the City of Perryville, and the many other local and state government officials who have worked tirelessly with our team throughout the planning and construction process. The opening will result in over 350 new full time jobs as well as significant tax revenue and other sustainable economic benefits for the community, county and state.”

Top Slots

Hollywood Casino Perryville features the newest slot machines available. The casino is home to the world’s largest concentration of Advantage Revolution™ machines that feature two high-definition video screens combined with traditional mechanical reels as well as approximately 200 BLUEBIRD xD™ games which create an interactive experience between the gaming content and the gaming cabinet and are equipped with state-of-the art Bose® audio.

Other featured slots include Sex And The City, Kitty Glitter, Jeff Foxworthy’s Redneck Rumble, and Cash Spin, a new groundbreaking machine that allows players to spin a virtual wheel on the game’s display. A mix of classic slot machine favorites are also included throughout the casino floor, and guests can enjoy a cocktail while playing video poker at the Sunset Video Poker bar. All slot machines are coinless, so there’s no need for guests to carry heavy buckets when they play.

In addition, Hollywood Casino Perryville offers players six electronic table games with five player stations each, including video roulette, three-card video poker and video blackjack.

Players are invited to join Club Hollywood, Hollywood Casino’s premier player loyalty program that provides A-list rewards and star-studded benefits.

Dining & Retail

Hollywood Casino Perryville offers several delicious dining choices for guests available every day of the week. The Epic buffet is open daily for lunch and dinner. Guests can dig into a never-ending parade of flavors, including shrimp, seafood, pasta, freshly carved meats, salads, a sweet collection of delectable desserts and more.

Extras Grill starts the day with signature breakfast specials. Players looking to grab a quick bite at any time the casino is open, enjoy a selection of pastries and Starbucks® coffees, and a lineup of juicy burgers and sandwiches, piled high.

The Rodeo Drive Gift Shop sells an array of Hollywood Casino logoed merchandise as well as Maryland souvenirs, sunglasses, jewelry and handbags.

Getting to Perryville

Hollywood Casino Perryville is approximately 30 minutes from Baltimore and Wilmington and an hour and a quarter from Washington, D.C.’s Capital Beltway. The casino offers 1,600 parking spaces with valet and self-parking. In addition, 13 motor coach companies from the Baltimore and Washington, D.C. area offer trips to the casino, which are listed on the casino website.

For more information, go to www.hollywoodcasinoperryville.com

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-three facilities in sixteen jurisdictions, including Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Ontario. In aggregate, Penn National's operated facilities feature over 27,800 gaming machines, over 500 table games, over 2,000 hotel rooms and over one million square feet of gaming floor space.

Penn National Gaming recently added table games to its facilities in West Virginia and Pennsylvania. Through a joint venture, Penn National is developing a full casino at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, which is anticipated to open in the first half of 2012, and is also developing casinos in Toledo and Columbus, Ohio, with openings targeted for 2012. The Company recently agreed to establish a joint venture (subject to final approval by the Texas Racing Commission and the satisfaction of certain other closing conditions) to own and operate pari-mutuel operations in Texas, including the Sam Houston Race Park in Houston, Texas, the Valley Race Park in Harlingen, Texas and a planned racetrack in Laredo, Texas.

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; delays in obtaining regulatory approvals required to complete, or other delays or impediments to completing, our pending transactions, including relative to satisfaction of certain conditions to closing; 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.