Penn National Gaming Terminates Funding and Option Agreement with Lakes Entertainment Regarding Ohio Projects
Consolidates Equity Ownership of its Columbus and Toledo Developments
Penn National Gaming, Inc. (PENN: Nasdaq) announced today that Penn Ventures, LLC, its wholly owned subsidiary, has entered into a Termination Agreement with Lakes Entertainment, Inc. whereby the parties will terminate the October 2009 Funding and Option Agreement. In exchange for a $25 million cash payment, Lakes Entertainment has agreed to surrender all right, title and interest held in connection with the Columbus, Ohio and Toledo, Ohio casino properties currently under development by Penn National. Penn National had received approximately $1.9 million in funding under the initial Funding Agreement.
Peter M. Carlino, Chief Executive Officer of Penn National commented, “We wish to thank Lakes Entertainment for their support during the campaign and early stages of development in Columbus and Toledo. Penn National looks forward to breaking ground on our property in Toledo next month and on our property in Columbus early next year with planned openings of both facilities in 2012.”
About Penn National Gaming
Penn National Gaming owns, operates or has interests in gaming and racing facilities with a focus on slot machine entertainment. The Company presently operates twenty-two 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 26,300 gaming machines, over 500 table games, over 2,000 hotel rooms and over 959,000 square feet of gaming floor space.
The Company recently added table games to its facilities in West Virginia and Pennsylvania and expects to open the first video lottery terminal facility in the state of Maryland in Cecil County late in the third quarter. 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.
