Penn National’s Charles Town Races and Slots to Request December 5 Special Election for Table Games

Penn National Gaming, Inc. (PENN: Nasdaq) announced today that Charles Town Races and Slots intends to file a request for a special election in Jefferson County, West Virginia to seek voter approval for table games at Charles Town Races and Slots. Charles Town Races and Slots expects to submit the filing in September 2009 with the special election to be held on Saturday, December 5, 2009.

Since being acquired by Penn National Gaming in 1997, the historic Charles Town Races facility has been completely revitalized through over $300 million of capital investments. These investments have restored live thoroughbred racing and created a broad based regional entertainment complex featuring slot machines, live entertainment, diverse food and beverage offerings, expanded parking and a 153-room hotel which opened in 2008.

Peter M. Carlino, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Penn National Gaming, commented, "Throughout its ownership, Penn National has worked closely with local officials, the county development office, residents and the horsemen to re-establish Charles Town as an outstanding thoroughbred race track facility, a quality entertainment center and a significant economic contributor to the region. Residents of Jefferson County have benefited from the partnership that has developed between the facility and the county and will gain further from the installation of table games. The passage of the table game referendums in 2007 in Hancock, Ohio and Kanawha counties has clearly demonstrated that such legislation will further boost tax revenue for schools and needed community infrastructure improvements. In addition, local residents will benefit from the 600 new jobs we expect to add based on continued enhancements to Charles Town including the placement of table games. Given the current state of the economy and the ongoing expansion of gaming in neighboring states, table games are an important addition that will keep Charles Town Races & Slots and Jefferson County competitive in today’s marketplace. We are committed to working with all involved parties to achieve this goal.”

In March 2007, the Governor of West Virginia signed into law the West Virginia Lottery Racetrack Table Games Act, which allowed the four existing horse and dog tracks in the State to offer table games subject to local voter approval. Since in June 2007, three of the four counties that have racetracks have approved table games. In June 2009 the West Virginia Legislature amended the existing law to double the percentage of table games revenues kept by Jefferson County’s local governments, with an estimated $6.4 million to be generated for the Board of Education, County Commission and five municipalities.

The 250-acre Charles Town facility is located less than one hour from Baltimore and about ninety minutes from Washington, D.C.

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 maintain regulatory approvals for our existing businesses and to receive regulatory approvals for our new businesses; the passage of state, federal or local legislation or referenda 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; construction factors, including delays and increased cost of labor and materials; 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.