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Charles Town Races to be Upgraded

WYOMISSING, Pennsylvania -- (PRESS RELEASE) -- Penn National Gaming, Inc. (Nasdaq:PENN) today announced that the track at Charles Town Races & Slots will be undergoing upgrades and renovations, including a new surface, banking the turns, replacement of the lighting system and other significant improvements, to further enhance live racing at the historic track.

Work on the track is scheduled to begin on August 2, and will be completed on August 25. During this period, live racing will not be conducted at Charles Town. Charles Town Races will continue to offer simulcast racing and wagering, and there will be no disruption to the facility's slots operation, food court or other amenities.

"These improvements reflect our ongoing commitment to live racing at Charles Town, and are part of our continued investment in the facility and its amenities, which have resulted in a premier entertainment center for the region and the state," stated Peter Carlino, Chairman and CEO of Penn National Gaming. "Our partnership and cooperation with the horsemen at Charles Town has revived first-class racing at the facility, and we look forward to the track's re-opening following three weeks of construction in August."

Since Penn National Gaming's acquisition of Charles Town in 1997, the Company has invested approximately $200 million in new capital into the property with further investments planned. With over 3,500 slot machines, Charles Town has experienced record growth in revenues, profitability and purses, while generating more than $250 million in taxes to West Virginia since 1997, and more than $4.5 million a year to local governments.

Penn National Gaming owns and operates: three Hollywood Casino properties located in Aurora, Illinois, Tunica, Mississippi and Shreveport, Louisiana; Charles Town Races & Slots(TM) in Charles Town, West Virginia; two Mississippi casinos, the Casino Magic - Bay St. Louis hotel, casino, golf resort and marina in Bay St. Louis and the Boomtown Biloxi casino in Biloxi; the Casino Rouge, a riverboat gaming facility in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and the Bullwhackers casino properties in Black Hawk, Colorado. Penn National also owns two racetracks and eleven off-track wagering facilities in Pennsylvania; the racetrack at Charles Town Races & Slots in West Virginia; a 50% interest in the Pennwood Racing Inc. joint venture which owns and operates Freehold Raceway in New Jersey; and operates Casino Rama, a gaming facility located approximately 90 miles north of Toronto, Canada, pursuant to a management contract.

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