Penn National Gaming Readies for Addition of Table Games at Charles Town Races & Slots with Property Management Changes

Penn National Gaming, Inc. (Nasdaq: PENN) today announced two property management changes as Charles Town Races & Slots prepares for both the introduction of table games and the re-branding of the property as a Hollywood® casino. Effective February 15, 2010, Bill Hayles, currently the General Manager of the Company’s Black Gold Casino at Zia Park, will become the Assistant General Manager of Charles Town Races & Slots. The Assistant General Manager position at Charles Town has been vacant since late 2008 when Ameet Patel was named General Manager of Penn National’s Argosy Casino Hotel & Spa in Riverside, Missouri. In addition, Brent Willits has joined the Company and will assume the General Manager position at Zia Park effective at the time Bill Hayles assumes his new role at Charles Town. Both appointments are subject to customary regulatory approval.

Bill Hayles, a 20-year veteran of the hospitality/gaming industry, has served as General Manager of Zia Park with overall responsibility for operation of the 750-slot casino, live horse racing and simulcast facility, since it was acquired by Penn National in April 2007. Prior to joining Penn National, he spent six years at Harrah’s Entertainment and Caesars Entertainment in a variety of operations roles at the respective companies’ Atlantic City properties. He also served in senior property management roles at Starwood Hotels and Resorts’ hotel and convention center property in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Brent Willits comes to Penn National and Black Gold Casino at Zia Park with over 18 years of gaming industry experience. Most recently, he served as Senior Vice President and General Manager of Ameristar Casinos’ property in Council Bluffs, IA. There, he had overall responsibility for the operation of both the full-service casino and the only four-diamond hotel in Iowa. Prior to joining Ameristar, he spent over 14 years at Harrah’s Entertainment, serving in an array of senior management and operations positions, including Vice President of Operations and Director of Slot Operations, at the company’s properties in Bossier City, LA, Metropolis, IL and Joliet, IL.

John V. Finamore, Senior Vice President Regional Operations of Penn National Gaming, commented, "With his industry experience at casinos offering full gaming, Bill Hayles is an excellent and timely addition to Al Britton’s successful team at Charles Town as the property prepares to take the next step in its evolution with a $40 million expansion for table games and poker and entertainment lounges. Bill will be directly involved in a variety of expansion-related construction projects, including the addition of 85 table games and approximately 20 poker tables to the casino floor, the opening of a new steakhouse and Hollywood on the Roof entertainment lounge and the shift at Charles Town to Penn National’s Hollywood brand which is now synonymous with great gaming and entertainment in many of the markets where we operate.

"Bill has an excellent track record of success at Zia Park where he took over following Penn National’s acquisition of the property and immediately cultivated strong ties with the local community as well as a positive working relationship with the horsemen in New Mexico and we look for him to contribute with our ongoing community partnership efforts in West Virginia.”

Thomas P. Burke, Senior Vice President Regional Operations of Penn National Gaming, commented, "We are extremely excited to add Brent to the Penn National team and believe that his success in managing full-scale hotel and casino operations will contribute to the ongoing success of Black Gold Casino at Zia Park. This property is a key part of our property portfolio and we believe Brent’s experience in a variety of small and large regional markets will serve him well. Furthermore, we expect his success in creating strong community relationships will be an important component in our ability to serve the Zia community and its west Texas feeder market as we seek to maintain and enhance the solid working relationship established by Bill Hayles with the local community and horsemen.”

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.

In addition to historical facts or statements of current conditions, this press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements reflect the Company’s current expectations and beliefs but are not guarantees of future performance. As such actual results may vary materially from 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 obtain requisite regulatory and other approvals; the passage of state, federal or local legislation that would expand, restrict, further tax, prevent or negatively impact operations; 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 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 the Company’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. The Company does not intend to update publicly any forward-looking statements except as required by law.