Penn National Gaming Appoints Ameet Patel General Manager of New Hollywood Casino Columbus

Penn National Gaming, Inc. (Nasdaq: PENN) announced today that subject to customary regulatory approvals, Ameet Patel, 44, has been named General Manager of Hollywood Casino Columbus in Franklin County, Ohio, effective August 1, 2011. Mr. Patel currently serves as General Manager of Penn National’s Argosy Casino Hotel & Spa in Riverside, Missouri, a position he has held since October 2008. Penn National also announced today that subject to customary regulatory approvals, John Chaszar, 48, currently the General Manager of Hollywood Casino Baton Rouge, will succeed Mr. Patel as General Manager of Argosy Casino Hotel & Spa. Penn National intends to commence a search for a new General Manager for Hollywood Casino Baton Rouge.

In his new role as General Manager of Hollywood Casino Columbus, Mr. Patel will have full responsibility for the start-up, opening and management of the planned $400 million facility, including the recruitment and training of approximately 2,000 employees. Hollywood Casino Columbus, which is scheduled to open in the fourth quarter of 2012, will feature 180,000 square feet of gaming space and a variety of food and beverage offerings as well as an entertainment lounge.

Prior to joining Argosy Casino Hotel & Spa, Mr. Patel served for four years as Executive Vice President and Assistant General Manager at Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races in Charles Town, West Virginia. He joined Penn National in 2001 as Vice President of Gaming at Charles Town. Mr. Patel previously held senior management positions with Sun International including Vice President, Casino Administration at Atlantis Paradise Island in the Bahamas and Director at Mohegan Sun in Connecticut. He also held senior management positions at several Atlantic City properties including Resorts Casino Hotel and Trump Plaza Hotel & Casino. In addition, Mr. Patel served as a Corporate Director at Hemmeter Enterprises, which owned and operated casinos in Colorado, Louisiana and Acapulco, Mexico.

John Chaszar joined Penn National Gaming in 2001 as Director of Resort Operations at Hollywood Casino Bay St. Louis and was subsequently named Assistant General Manager in 2006. He ascended to the role of General Manager of the property in August 2007. In April 2010, he was named General Manager of Hollywood Casino Baton Rouge. Mr. Chaszar has worked in the gaming industry for ten years and came to Penn National following a 17-year career in hotel management, including his role of General Manager of the Brown Palace Hotel in Denver, CO.

Timothy Wilmott, President and Chief Operating Officer of Penn National Gaming, commented, "Ameet’s appointment completes the exceptional team of property general managers who will oversee the start-up and opening activities at Hollywood Casino Columbus, Hollywood Casino Toledo and Hollywood Casino at Kansas Speedway, all of which are on schedule to open in 2012. Ameet’s two decades of proven management experience and his contributions to the success of Penn National’s Charles Town facility and Argosy Casino Riverside operations make him ideally suited to manage the Hollywood Casino Columbus opening and operations.

"Ameet played an instrumental role in establishing Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races as a pre-eminent provider of regional gaming and entertainment offerings based on his commitment to working with the local community and attracting, training and retaining a growing base of employees as Penn National invested in and expanded the facility during his tenure there. Similarly, Ameet joined Argosy Casino Hotel & Spa in Riverside following a significant investment in and expansion of the property, and under his leadership the facility significantly strengthened its presence in the Kansas City market. Ameet brings extensive experience in all aspects of casino operations, including gaming, food and beverage, marketing and human resources to his new role and we are confident that he will establish deep ties with the local community in Columbus and Franklin County.

"John brings a wealth of industry experience to his new role at Argosy Casino Riverside. His appointment demonstrates Penn National’s continued success in attracting and promoting proven gaming industry veterans to manage our regional gaming properties with a focus on operations, customer service and employee development. John was a key member of our team in Bay St. Louis that led the post Katrina recovery efforts and enabled the property to resume operations earlier than anticipated. I am confident John will bring seamless leadership to Argosy Casino Riverside as he builds on the solid performance at the property and continues to solidify Penn’s presence in the Kansas City market. In addition, we look for him to further enhance our existing strong community partnership while continuing to cultivate and establish new relationships in the market.”

About Hollywood Casino Columbus

The $400 million Hollywood Casino Columbus is located on the 123-acre site of the former General Motors/Delphi Automotive plant on the west side of Columbus. Upon opening, it will include 4,000 slot machines, 100 table games and 25 poker tables in approximately 180,000 square feet of gaming space. Other amenities will include a structured parking facility for 4,000 vehicles, a variety of food and beverage offerings and an entertainment lounge.

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-six facilities in eighteen jurisdictions, including Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, West Virginia, and Ontario. In aggregate, Penn National's operated facilities feature approximately 29,000 gaming machines, 560 table games, 2,400 hotel rooms and 1.1 million square feet of gaming floor space.

Through a joint venture, Penn National is developing a full casino at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, which is anticipated to open in the first quarter of 2012, and is also developing casinos in Toledo and Columbus, Ohio, with openings targeted for 2012.

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 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, 2010. 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 receive, or delays in obtaining, the regulatory approvals required to own, develop and/or operate our facilities, or other delays or impediments to completing our planned acquisitions or projects, including favorable resolution of any related litigation and/or enforcement of contingent settlement agreements; 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 passage of state, federal or local legislation (including referenda) that would expand, restrict, further tax, prevent or negatively impact operations in or adjacent to the jurisdictions in which we do business (such as a smoking ban at any of our facilities) or in jurisdictions where we seek to do business; 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; the activities of our competitors and the emergence of new competitors; our ability to identify attractive acquisition and development opportunities and to agree to terms with partners for such transactions; the costs and risks involved in the pursuit of such opportunities and our ability to complete the acquisition or development of, and achieve the expected returns from such opportunities; our expectations for the continued availability and cost of capital; the maintenance of agreements with our horsemen, pari-mutuel clerks and other organized labor groups; the outcome of pending legal proceedings; changes in accounting standards; our dependence on key personnel; the impact of terrorism and other international hostilities; 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, 2010, 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.