W.Va. operation boosts Penn profits

Vicki Smith

Friday, July 26, 2002 | 9:56 a.m.

Penn National Gaming Inc., the Wyomissing, Pa.-based parent of racetracks and casinos, posted a 40 percent increase in net income for the second quarter.

Net income for the period ending June 30 was $9.2 million, or 23 cents per share, on revenue of $165 million, company officials announced Thursday. That compares to $6.5 million, or 20 cents per share, on revenue of $132 million in the same period last year.

West Virginia's Charles Town Races showed the largest single gain, reporting earnings of $16.4 million before taxes and other charges. That's up $2.7 million from the $13.7 million reported in the same period last year.

Nearly 2,600 slot machines are now in place at the Eastern Panhandle thoroughbred track, and the owners have approval for another 900. Charles Town also recently opened a 1,500-space parking garage to accommodate heavy weekend crowds.

Gains at Charles Town, at the Boomtown Biloxi casino in Mississippi and at Penn National's Pennsylvania and New Jersey racetracks offset losses at the newly expanded Casino Magic Bay St. Louis, also in Mississippi.

Each of the newly expanded properties is intended to become a regional entertainment center, and each project was completed on time and on budget, Penn National CEO Peter Carlino said.

The company will continue to grow, acquiring additional properties and pushing for legislation to allow slot machines at the Pennsylvania tracks, he said.

Penn National's holdings include: Penn National Race Course in Grantville, Pa.; the Downs at Pocono in Wilkes-Barre, Pa.; Freehold Raceway in Freehold, N.J.; 11 off-track betting parlors in Pennsylvania; the four-story riverboat Casino Rouge in Baton Rouge, La.; and the Bullwhackers casino in Black Hawk, Colo. The company also manages Casino Roma in Orilla, Ontario.