Penn National Gaming Files for Ohio VLT Licenses and Consent to Relocate Its Racetracks to the Mahoning Valley and Dayton
July 02 2012 - 9:31AM
Business Wire
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.
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