Profile

Penn National Gaming, Inc. is an American operator of casinos and racetracks, based in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania. It operates 43 facilities in the United States and Canada, many of them under the Hollywood Casino brand. The company also controls a 36% stake in Barstool Sports. Penn formed a corporate spin-off in November 2013 called Gaming and Leisure Properties. In 1967, Pennsylvania enacted a law allowing thoroughbred horse racing with parimutuel wagering. Two companies that would later form part of Penn National Gaming were founded in 1968 by groups seeking one of the four available racing licenses: Pitt Park Raceway, Inc., formed by several Erie area businessmen, and the Pennsylvania National Turf Club, established by a group of Central Pennsylvania investors. The Turf Club was awarded one of the licenses, and soon began construction on Penn National Race Course. The complex included a motor speedway, which held its first races in 1971, and the horse track, which opened in 1972.