Penn National mulls legal options re Pennsylvania satellite casinos

Regional casino operator Penn National Gaming (PNG) saw its shares fall nearly 3% on Thursday over concerns that Pennsylvania’s gambling expansion plans will hurt its local racino operations.

On Thursday, PNG released its Q3 earnings report, which showed revenue in the three months ending September 30 rising 5.3% year-on-year to $806.2m, as the company posted growth across its three main geographic areas of operation. Operating income improved 4.7% to $106.5m while adjusted earnings edged up 2.6% to $127.6m.

PNG’s mainstay Northeast market’s eight properties posted the largest revenue ($401.8m) but the smallest percentage gain (+1.5%). The Midwest region improved nearly $232m while the South/West division gained 18.5% to $160.1m, largely due to PNG’s acquisition of two Mississippi casinos this March.

PNG CEO Timothy Wilmott credited his company’s “continued ramp of our newer properties and business segments” for ensuring “another period of strong spend per visit” across its three operating segments.