Penn National Gaming to reopen Mississippi properties on 21 May

(PRESS RELEASE) -- Penn National Gaming, Inc. announced today that on 18 May 2020, the Company successfully reopened its five casino properties in Louisiana. The Company also announced that it plans to reopen its five casinos in Mississippi on Thursday, 21 May 2020, pending final regulatory approval. The reopened facilities represent over 25% of the Company’s portfolio of regional casino assets.

Penn National has implemented property-specific comprehensive social distancing and safety protocols, developed in close consultation with state regulators and public health officials. Examples of these procedures can be found online. Additionally, each property that has received approval to reopen has provided more details for on-site health and safety protocols on its corresponding property website.

“As the largest operator of casinos in Louisiana and Mississippi, we are excited and grateful to be able to reopen our doors and welcome back our team members and loyal guests to our facilities,” said Jay Snowden, President and Chief Executive Officer for Penn National. “We are continuing to work closely with our regulators and state and local leaders to prepare for the eventual reopening of all of our properties nationwide, and I want to thank the team at Penn who has worked tirelessly over the last several weeks to prepare for this process.”

The Louisiana properties that reopened include Boomtown Casino & Hotel Bossier City, Boomtown Casino - New Orleans, L'Auberge Casino Hotel Baton Rouge, L'Auberge Casino Resort Lake Charles and Margaritaville Resort Casino Bossier City. The Mississippi properties scheduled to reopen this week include 1st Jackpot Casino, Ameristar Vicksburg, Boomtown Casino - Biloxi, Hollywood Casino - Gulf Coast and Hollywood Casino - Tunica. Each state’s gaming facilities must operate at a limited capacity at this time, per state and regulatory guidelines.

Other states are beginning to prepare for the resumption of gaming operations, including West Virginia, which is anticipated to reopen on 5 June 2020. The Company will provide updated information on the scheduled reopening of its properties upon receiving final approval from state regulators.

Snowden continued, “Penn National is very well-positioned to resume its positive momentum that was cut short in mid-March by the COVID-19 pandemic. Our geographic diversification across 19 states - with no more than 15% of our revenues being derived from any single state - should be a significant benefit as states begin to open casinos on a sequential basis.”