Penn National Gaming exited

Market position

At the completion of the Pinnacle acquisition in October 2018 the company was the second-largest gaming company by number of U.S. properties, behind Caesars Entertainment, which operated nearly 50 U.S. properties. Its 2005 Argosy acquisition had earlier made it the third largest publicly held gaming company in the country behind MGM Mirage and Harrah's Entertainment.

Scale built through successive acquisitions gives the company one of the largest U.S. casino property counts, combined with a REIT spin-off structure that separated most owned real estate into Gaming and Leisure Properties, and an in-house digital and sports-media arm through Score Media and Gaming and theScore Bet.

Technology

Digital operations include online sports betting and online casino gaming delivered under the theScore Bet brand, supported by subsidiaries Score Media and Gaming and Penn Sports Interactive.

Go-to-market

Casino and racing patrons at regional and destination properties in the United States, and online sports betting and iGaming customers in regulated U.S. jurisdictions.

Geography

Headquartered in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania, with 43 properties across 20 states as of 2022, including Nevada properties such as the Tropicana Las Vegas, M Resort in Henderson, and Cactus Pete's and the Horseshu in Jackpot. It has also held Canadian interests, including the management contract for Casino Rama in Ontario and ownership of Score Media and Gaming.", "go_to_market">

History

The company's roots trace to 1968, when Pitt Park Raceway, Inc. and the Pennsylvania National Turf Club were formed to pursue Pennsylvania thoroughbred racing licenses enabled by a 1967 state law. The Turf Club won a license and built Penn National Race Course, which held its first horse races in 1972; a motor speedway on the complex raced from 1971. Pitt Park, initially denied, received a license in 1970, raced at The Meadows, was sold to investors including Peter D. Carlino after heavy losses, and was renamed Mountainview Thoroughbred Racing Association before moving to Penn National Race Course in 1973. Carlino bought Penn National Race Course from the Turf Club in 1982. The entities were reorganized in 1994 under PNRC Corp. (incorporated 1982), renamed Penn National Gaming, ahead of a May 1994 Nasdaq IPO that raised $18 million.

Expansion followed through racetrack purchases (Pocono Downs in 1996, Charles Town Races in 1997, interests in Freehold Raceway and Garden State Park in 1999) and a shift toward casinos: standalone casino properties bought from Pinnacle Entertainment in 2000 for $201 million, Carnival Resorts & Casinos in 2001, Bullwhackers in 2002, Hollywood Casino Corp. in 2003 for $328 million, Argosy Gaming for $1.4 billion in 2005, and Zia Park for $200 million in 2007. A proposed acquisition of Harrah's Entertainment collapsed in 2006, and a $6.1 billion take-private by Fortress Investment Group and Centerbridge Partners failed in 2007. The M Resort was acquired in 2011, the GLPI REIT was spun off on November 1, 2013, and the $2.8 billion Pinnacle Entertainment acquisition closed in October 2018. The company was renamed Penn Entertainment in 2022.

Risks & controversies

Transactions have depended on gaming regulatory approvals — the Pinnacle deal cleared its final hurdle with Nevada Gaming Commission approval on October 3, 2018, and required divesting four Pinnacle properties to Boyd Gaming — while antitrust concerns forced the sale of Argosy Baton Rouge in 2005. Two major transactions failed: the 2006 Harrah's Entertainment acquisition and the 2007 $6.1 billion take-private by Fortress Investment Group and Centerbridge Partners. Shares fell 3.4% to $28.89 on the day the Pinnacle deal closed.