Casino
Magic Bay St. Louis Expansion Completes
BAY ST. LOUIS,
MS - Penn National Gaming, Inc. completed the $37 million expansion
of its Casino
Magic property in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. With the public
opening of the 14-story, 291-room Bay Tower Hotel on May 27, Casino
Magic Bay St. Louis is the most comprehensive casino resort
on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
 Penn
National acquired Casino
Magic Bay St. Louis in August 2000 and broke ground on the expansion
project in April 2001.
Commenting on the project's completion, Peter M. Carlino, Chief
Executive Officer of Penn National, said, "The Bay St. Louis
expansion highlights our strong skills in property planning and
development and construction management, and underscores our commitment
to prudent capital investments in our properties. With nearly 500
total rooms, excellent restaurants, 40,000 square feet of casino
space, a championship golf course, live entertainment and a host
of great guest amenities, we believe Casino Magic has emerged as
the ultimate resort in the region and we expect to derive solid
returns from our investments."
Situated on approximately 600 acres along the Bay of St. Louis,
the new tower hotel includes the Jourdan River Grille, the Cypress
Cove Ballroom, Spa at the Bay, Tokens Gift Shop and additional property
enhancements. The property presently offers a 24-hour casino, daily
entertainment in the casino lobby, weekly concerts in the 22,000
square foot entertainment complex, five restaurants, an onsite Arnold
Palmer championship 18-hole golf course, RV park, and a 201-room
Inn. Casino
Magic Bay St. Louis is approximately 46 miles east of New Orleans,
Louisiana.
Penn National's Casino Magic hotel expansion has created approximately
200 new jobs in Hancock County. Currently, Casino
Magic Bay St. Louis employs over 1,250 people. It is also expected
that the upgrades will generate additional gaming taxes, property
taxes and tourism taxes for the state and local governments and
the area school district.
In addition to Casino
Magic Bay St. Louis, Penn National Gaming owns and operates
Charles Town Races in Charles Town, West Virginia, which presently
features 2,000 gaming machines; the Boomtown
Biloxi casino in Biloxi; the Casino
Rouge, a riverboat gaming facility in Baton Rouge, Louisiana
and the Bullwhackers properties in Black Hawk, Colorado. Penn National
also owns two racetracks and eleven off-track wagering facilities
in Pennsylvania and the racetrack at Charles Town Races in West
Virginia, and operates the Casino
Rama, a gaming facility located approximately 90 miles north
of Toronto, Canada, pursuant to a management contract.
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Harrah's
Opens Atlantic City's
First Las Vegas-Style Resort
|
 ATLANTIC
CITY, NJ - New Jersey Governor James McGreevey joined executives
from Harrah's Entertainment, Inc. on May 22 to celebrate
the grand opening of what is now the state's largest hotel
and the first resort of its kind east of Las Vegas. With
the addition of its 25-story Bayview Tower and expanded
gaming space, the new Harrah's
Atlantic City boasts a total of 1,626 hotel rooms and
more than 3,700 slot machines.
In addition to McGreevey, the ribbon-cutting ceremony was
attended by Phil Satre, Harrah's chairman and chief executive
officer; Gary Loveman, Harrah's president and chief operating
officer; Tim Wilmott, Harrah's Eastern Division president;
Dave Jonas, Harrah's
Atlantic City senior vice president and general manager;
New Jersey State Senator William Gormley; and Atlantic City
Mayor Lorenzo Langford.
"Great things are happening in Atlantic City, and we
are bullish about the future of this market," said
Satre. "Harrah's has always been a leader in Atlantic
City, and we are extremely proud to bring the first Las
Vegas-style casino resort to the burgeoning Marina District."
 The
new 452-room Bayview Tower at Harrah's is the most obvious
of many firsts created by the company's $200 million investment
in the coastal destination. Serving as a beacon on the Atlantic
City skyline, the tower features a unique light show with
as many as 42 different light configurations that can be
seen for miles.
"New Jersey welcomes Harrah's $200 million investment
in Atlantic City," said Gov. McGreevey. "The project
will provide another popular attraction for visitors while
creating new jobs and invigorating the economy."
Visitors approach the property via a new cobblestone grand
entrance modeled after Rittenhouse Square in Philadelphia.
Under the porte cachere, customers enjoy separate drop-off
and pick-up areas for seamless traffic flow. Automated revolving
doors lead to a sprawling Las Vegas-style grand lobby adorned
with imported Italian marble, rich wood, art deco columns,
brass outlays and a stained glass dome 30 feet above the
rotunda that sits immediately adjacent to a new slot area
featuring 450 slot machines.
"Harrah's
Atlantic City is one of our strongest performing casinos
and is one of the many properties throughout the United
States where we are making a significant reinvestment,"
said Loveman. "Through our Total Rewards loyalty program,
our Atlantic City customers have enjoyed unsurpassed customer
benefits that will now be complemented by a luxurious casino
environment."
The new hotel tower features 36 Bayview suites on the 22nd
through 24th floors and eight super suites on the 25th floor.
The new front desk registration area has 19 separate stations
positioned in front of three aquariums, each measuring seven
feet high and 20 feet wide and stocked with schooling fish.
Founded in 1937, Harrah's Entertainment, Inc. operates 25
casinos in the United States, primarily under the Harrah's
brand name.
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