Penn National Mississippi Casinos Remain Closed
WYOMISSING, Pennsylvania -- (PRESS RELEASE) -- Penn National Gaming, Inc. (PENN:Nasdaq) reported today that Casino Magic - Bay St. Louis, Boomtown Biloxi and Casino Rouge closed on Sunday, August 28 in anticipation of Hurricane Katrina. The Company's Casino Magic - Bay St. Louis, in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi and the Boomtown Biloxi casino in Biloxi, Mississippi remain closed, and the Company is currently unable to provide an estimate on re-opening dates for these properties. The Company's Casino Rouge property in Baton Rouge, Louisiana reopened at 10:00 am CDT on Tuesday, August 30.
Peter M. Carlino, Chief Executive Officer of Penn National commented, "Our first priority is to help locate and provide immediate assistance to our nearly 2,000 employees and their families who are dealing with the aftermath of this catastrophic event. We are in the process of setting up a toll-free Employee Assistance Hotline to provide information on such things as payroll and benefits, and to help respond to our employees' needs. We are also working internally and with local authorities to determine how best to assist in the local disaster relief efforts. With respect to our Casino Magic and Boomtown properties, we currently have only preliminary reports on the condition of these properties. It appears that both properties have suffered severe damage; however, access to these sites remains limited and due to ongoing safety concerns in the area we do not have enough information to determine the full extent of the damage. We will begin to inspect these sites directly as soon as practicable, pending approval of regional emergency coordinators."
The Company carries comprehensive business interruption and property damage insurance for both Casino Magic and Boomtown with an overall limit of $400 million. The business interruption insurance component of this policy limit for both affected properties is approximately $58 million and is subject to a five-day deductible. The company's property damage insurance is subject to deductibles for Casino Magic - Bay St. Louis and Boomtown Biloxi of approximately $6 million and $3.5 million, respectively.