Penn National Gaming Completes $610 Million Accretive Acquisition of Harrah's St. Louis

Penn National Gaming (NASDAQ: PENN) announced today that having received requisite regulatory approvals, it has completed its acquisition of the stock of the Harrah's St. Louis gaming and lodging facility from Caesars Entertainment (CZR: Nasdaq) for total consideration of approximately $610 million. Peter M. Carlino, Chief Executive Officer of Penn National, commented, “The acquisition of Harrah's St. Louis further expands and diversifies Penn National's regional operating platform with a facility that is extremely well-positioned in another large, stable metropolitan market. Our planned facility upgrades include the introduction of Penn National's Hollywood brand – which has been successfully deployed at thirteen other properties across the country – and will invoke the glamour of 1930s' art deco Hollywood. “We recently named 30-year gaming industry veteran, and former Harrah's executive, Tony Carlucci the Vice President and General Manager of the property and we are confident he will build upon the facility's current success and position in the attractive St. Louis market. We have budgeted $61 million to re-brand the facility including significantly upgrading and updating the gaming floor and aligning IT and reporting functions with our existing systems. We look forward to a full year benefit of operations at Hollywood Casino St. Louis as well as the three new Hollywood properties in Kansas City, Toledo and Columbus in 2013.” Hollywood Casino St. Louis is located in Maryland Heights, Missouri, directly off I-70 and adjacent to the Missouri River and approximately 22 miles northwest of downtown St. Louis, approximately eight miles west of Lambert St. Louis International Airport, and approximately 25 miles southwest of the Penn National's Argosy Casino Alton. The facility is situated on over 294 acres along the Missouri river and features approximately 109,000 square feet of gaming space with approximately 2,100 gaming machines and 80 table games (including poker positions), a 500 guestroom hotel, nine dining and entertainment venues and structured and surface parking for 4,644 vehicles.