- Two New $125 Million Projects Expected to Generate 1,000 New Direct
and Indirect Jobs Each and Up To 1,000 Construction Jobs Per Facility -
WYOMISSING, Penn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jul. 2, 2012--
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.
Source: Penn National Gaming, Inc.
Penn National Gaming, Inc.
Eric Schippers
Senior Vice
President, Public Affairs
610/378-8321
eric.schippers@pngaming.com
or
Bob
Tenenbaum
614/313-2315
btenenbaum@themilenthalgroup.com
