A rendering of the Hollywood Casino Morgantown in Caernarvon Township in Berks County, PA.

HARRISBURG, PA—Penn National Gaming, Inc. has secured licensing approval from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board and will soon begin construction on the Hollywood Casino Morgantown to be built here on a vacant 36-acre site.

On Wednesday, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board voted unanimously to award a Class 4 license to Mountainview Thoroughbred Racing Association, LLC, a subsidiary of Penn National Gaming of Wyomissing, PA.

The award concludes a process the board began on April 4, 2018 when Mountainview Thoroughbred Racing Association secured a 15-mile radius area in which it could locate a casino with a winning bid of $7.5 million at the fifth Category 4 auction held by the board. The firm filed an application with the board on Oct. 31, 2018 to locate the facility just off the Morgantown exit of the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Berks County.

The development of Hollywood Casino Morgantown represents an overall investment of approximately $111 million, inclusive of license fees for the property's slot machines and table games. The approximately 80,000-square-foot facility in Caernarvon Township in Berks County will feature 750 slot machines and 30 table games, with the ability to accommodate an additional 10 table games.

The facility is expected to generate approximately 250 new local jobs and more than 275 construction jobs. The construction timeline is anticipated to be approximately 18 months.

“We are very pleased with today's unanimous approval and appreciate the diligence of the PGCB and their staff,” says Timothy J. Wilmott, CEO for Penn National Gaming. “We look forward to beginning the development of Hollywood Casino Morgantown promptly following receipt of all requisite approvals. The property will be ideally located to draw customers from the heavily populated suburbs to the west of Philadelphia, while also protecting our existing market share at Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course.”

Hollywood Casino Morgantown will also offer a sports and race book, a signature restaurant, an entertainment lounge and a food hall.

Penn National Gaming operates 42 facilities in 19 jurisdictions. In total, Penn National Gaming's facilities feature more than 51,000 gaming machines, over 1,300 table games and 9,000 hotel rooms.

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Penn National Gaming Secures Approvals for Hollywood Casino Morgantown

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