Penn National Gaming makes Forbes list

WYOMISSING, Pennsylvania -- (PRESS RELEASE) -- Penn National Gaming, Inc. has been named to Forbes' Platinum 400 list of Best Big Companies in America of 2006 and was further identified as the best managed company in the Hotel, Restaurant & Leisure industries in the magazine's January 8, 2007 issue. Penn National ranked 25th on the Platinum 400 list based on its 43% five-year total return as computed by Forbes.

The Platinum 400 list was compiled from a pool of over 1,000 corporations having at least $1 billion in revenue in the most recent fiscal year and a stock price of at least $5 per share. Companies were then assigned to 26 industries and ranked against their peers on five-year and 12-month sales and earnings growth as well as total return to shareholders. The ranking system also included consensus forecasts for long-term earnings growth and debt to capital ratios. Using these individual rankings, Forbes gave each company a composite score and an overall rank within its industry.

"We are honored to be recognized for the strength of our financial performance over the last five years alongside other elite companies," said Peter M. Carlino, Chief Executive Officer of Penn National. "Penn National has very talented management and operating personnel, each of whom have played a key role in driving our successful efforts to increase shareholder value. Our considerable pipeline of development projects will serve as the foundation of our plan to continue to deliver such growth for our investors while also delivering high quality entertainment facilities for our customers."