Penn National Debuts Inaugural Hollywood Poker Open Featuring Five Regional Tournaments Culminating with Las Vegas Championship at M Resort with $500,000 Pot

WYOMISSING, Pa. and LAS VEGAS, Oct. 25, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Penn National Gaming is launching the inaugural Hollywood Poker Open (HPO) next month at Hollywood Casino Lawrenceburg (Indiana) followed by qualifying tournaments at four Penn National properties culminating with the $500,000 championship event at the M Resort Spa Casino in Las Vegas on June 28-30. Poker players can enter the championship event with a $2,500 buy-in or by qualifying through a regional event or local promotion such as a satellite or drawing.

The action begins on November 8 in Lawrenceburg, Indiana with ten days of events including a $200,000 guaranteed Deep Stack No Limit Hold' Em opening event, Seniors and Ladies No Limit Hold' Em, Pot Limit Omaha as well as mega satellites.  Winners of Events 1 through 8, plus mega satellite winners, will earn a $2,500 seat for the championship in Las Vegas and $1,500 in travel expenses.  All events will allow entries and re-entries through Level 4.

Early in 2013, the action moves to the M Resort in Las Vegas where from January 25-27 a $70,000 prize pool is guaranteed over the three-day event.

Known for operating some of the largest and most comfortable poker rooms at its casinos in the East and Midwest, Penn National will host the final three regional tournaments in spring 2013 at Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races (West Virginia), Hollywood Casino St. Louis (Missouri) and Hollywood Casino Columbus (Ohio). Tournament dates will be announced shortly.

"Poker players throughout America's heartland have come to know the Hollywood brand and its reputation for hosting some of the hottest poker action in the industry," said Gaye Gullo, Penn National Corporate Vice President, Marketing. "The inaugural Hollywood Poker Open is a great way for our players to match strategy and wits and allows us to introduce top players to the luxurious M Resort in Las Vegas.  In doing so, we'll expand the choices in poker rooms and tournaments we make available to our players while strengthening our brand."

To reserve seats for the HPO Championship Event ($2,500 buy-in) and the HPO event in Lawrenceburg and obtain additional information about future HPO tournaments, visit www.hollywoodpokeropen.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-eight 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 34,700 gaming machines, approximately 800 table games, 2,400 hotel rooms and approximately 1.5 million square feet of gaming floor space. Penn National has agreed to acquire Harrah's St. Louis gaming and lodging facility from Caesars Entertainment with the transaction expected to close in the fourth quarter of 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.  Although Penn National Gaming, Inc. and its subsidiaries (collectively, the "Company") 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 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; our ability to receive timely regulatory approval for and to otherwise complete our planned acquisition of Harrah's St. Louis (failure to do so could, among other things, result in the loss of certain deposits); our ability to successfully integrate Harrah's St. Louis into our existing business; our expectations for the continued availability and cost of capital; our dependence on key personnel; 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