Hollywood Casino Lawrenceburg Puts Tri-State Players in the Spotlight with New Name, New Boat and New Gaming Experience

LAWRENCEBURG, Indi. & WYOMISSING, Penn. - (BUSINESS WIRE) - The curtain lifts on a new gaming experience today in Lawrenceburg as the former Argosy Casino Hotel owned by Penn National Gaming, Inc. (PENN: Nasdaq) unveils a new $336 million casino boat and becomes Hollywood Casino Lawrenceburg.

Lawrenceburg Mayor William Cunningham and other elected officials joined Penn National Gaming Chief Executive Officer Peter M. Carlino at the opening and ribbon cutting ceremony.

"With four years of planning, two years of construction and a significant capital investment, Hollywood Casino Lawrenceburg is bringing guests new gaming and entertainment experiences that are unrivaled in the market," said Carlino. "The Hollywood decor and theme is flawlessly executed throughout the facility, we have added a large number of slots and gaming positions to accommodate significantly more patrons during peak periods and we have expanded parking and made infrastructure improvements which will make the facility more accessible than ever before.

"The new facility is so impressive that it was recently selected as a stop on the World Poker Tour, and we've established the World Poker Tour room at the facility, which will be the premier poker room for Midwest players. We are grateful for the support of local and state government officials and regulators throughout the planning and development process and look forward to bringing our special brand of 'Hollywood' entertainment to visitors from across the tri-state region."

Marked by the scale, grandeur and modern design of the project, the new Hollywood Casino boat is more than twice the size of the property's existing casino vessel and offers 4,400 gaming positions - the most of any riverboat casino in the United States. Hollywood's two decks, each wider than an aircraft carrier and nearly as long as a football field, can accommodate nearly 9,000 guests, approximately a 5,000-person increase from the casino's former capacity.

Style and Design

The classic style and glamour of 1930s art deco Hollywood is evident throughout the casino and is complemented by the latest technology and amenities designed for ultimate guest comfort. Among the casino's major attractions is an exclusive VIP Producer's Lounge, expanded high-limit gaming area and a 41-table World Poker Tour poker room, the largest card room of any kind in the Midwest.

The casino brings classic Hollywood to life with a 60-foot serpentine video wall, nine large billboards and more than 300 flat screen displays featuring first-run movie trailers, video shorts, entertainment programming and sporting events.

At the center of it all is Hollywood on the Roof, a performance area with a panoramic screen resembling the Hollywood Bowl where bands can entertain guests and video content can be projected in grand scale. Hollywood on the Roof features a high-energy circular bar that looks out onto the casino atrium and its giant eye-catching chandelier.

The casino floor is marked by two back-lot Hollywood film sets: Central Park, complete with a classic wrought iron gate at the perimeter and trees and foliage sprinkled among slot machines; and Water Works, designed to create an atmosphere reminiscent of a Busby Berkeley movie.

"We really didn't have an identity when we were Argosy, but the classic Hollywood theme is something that resonates with every guest," said Tony Rodio, Hollywood Lawrenceburg general manager. "Our goal is to create an energetic yet sophisticated ambiance that exudes Hollywood no matter where you play on the floor, and to deliver a unique experience each and every visit a player makes here."

Thirty-foot ceilings that slope upward to 45 feet add to the spaciousness of the casino, and 12 bio-climatic air-handling units ensure that guests enjoy fresh air while they play, something missing from older generation riverboat casinos.

On the casino floor, the 108-seat Celebrity Grill, featuring a Hollywood canteen-style menu, serves sandwiches, salads and sweets. Hollywood Casino also offers additional eateries including a large buffet and a steakhouse in its entertainment pavilion.

Players Club and VIP Treatment

Just prior to entering the new casino boat, guests can visit the player's services desk and pick up their new Club Hollywood card, which replaces the casino's Preferred Card. Club Hollywood features three levels based on a guest's amount of play - Club, Celebrity and Producer.

Players with a Producer's Card can relax in the new Producer's Lounge just inside the casino entrance. The lounge features an exclusive bar and specialty food service along with couch seating and a fireplace.

Electronic Machines

Once inside the casino, the gaming action is hot. Players can choose from an array of over 3,200 state-of-the-art electronic machines, up from 2,400 electronic games on the casino's former boat. The games range from penny slots to high-limit machines, progressives, electronic table games and video poker. There is an expanded high limit area near Hollywood on the Roof on the upper deck, and a non-smoking area on the lower level with four hundred slot machines.

"We have 800 more electronic units than we had on the former boat," said Rodio. "Players can find all their favorite games along with new ones such as Monopoly, Wizard of Oz, Bally Hot Shot and Hot Hot Penny. We've also doubled the number of video poker units we offer and now feature well over 30 limited progressive banks, including many that are multi-level."

Table Games and Poker

The new Hollywood boat features 88 live table games and six electronic tables (up from 64 tables and two electronic tables on the previous boat). Fifteen different table games are offered with new variations added to many favorites. In the casino's expanded high limit area, 18 tables are featured including six "super high limit" blackjack tables.

"The goal was to add more variety among our most popular games," said Rodio. "Our blackjack players will find that we've introduced several new side bet options that offer extra chances to win."

The new additions, designed to enhance Hollywood Casino's variety of popular table games, include rapid roulette, three-card poker progressive, fortune pai gow poker and lucky ladies blackjack.

The new World Poker Tour (WPT) poker room will establish Hollywood Casino Lawrenceburg as the poker capital of the Midwest. The casino will host four WPT tournaments in the coming year, including the Indiana State Poker Championships in August and the Hollywood Poker Open Championship in March 2010, an event filmed for broadcast on FOX Sports Net in the United States and on leading networks in more than 100 countries worldwide, and hosted by poker and WPT veterans Mike Sexton and Vince Van Patten.

About Hollywood Casino Lawrenceburg

Hollywood Casino is located on the Ohio River in the City of Lawrenceburg, Indiana just off I-275, less than 30 minutes from Cincinnati. With 4,400 gaming positions, Hollywood is the largest riverboat casino in the United States with 3,232 slot machines, 88 table games and a 41-table World Poker Tour poker room. The property includes a 300-room hotel and multiple dining options to meet every guest's needs. On-site parking is available for up to 4,000 vehicles. For more information, visit www.hollywoodindiana.com.

About Penn National Gaming

Penn National Gaming owns and operates gaming and racing facilities with a focus on slot machine entertainment. The Company presently operates nineteen facilities in fifteen jurisdictions, including Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, 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, approximately 400 table games, over 2,000 hotel rooms and over 959,000 square feet of gaming floor space.

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 maintain regulatory approvals for our existing businesses; the passage of state, federal or local legislation that would expand, restrict, further tax, prevent or negatively impact operations (such as a smoking ban at any of our facilities) in the jurisdictions in which we do business; the activities of our competitors and the emergence of new competitors; increases in the effective rate of taxation at any of our properties or at the corporate level; delays or changes to, or cancellations of, planned capital projects at our gaming facilities or an inability to achieve the expected returns from such projects; the effects of local and national economic, credit, capital market, housing, energy conditions on the economy in general and on the gaming and lodging industries in particular; the impact of weather; and other factors as discussed in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2008, 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.

Penn National Gaming, Inc.
William J. Clifford, 610-373-2400
Chief Financial Officer
or
Jaffoni & Collins Incorporated
Joseph N. Jaffoni, Richard Land
212-835-8500
penn@jcir.com
or
TBC Public Relations
Brent Burkhardt, Kaitlin Kenny
410-986-1303, 410-986-1275
bburkhardt@tbc.us, kkenny@tbc.us

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