Penn National Gaming to File Lawsuit Against MyOhioNow PAC and Sponsors of Issue 6 for Libel and Defamation Penn National Gaming, Inc. today announced it was preparing a lawsuit against MyOhioNow PAC, the entity behind the Issue 6 casino proposal for Clinton County, as well as its sponsors, Lyle Berman, Chairman and CEO of Lakes Entertainment, Ricky Lertzman and Brad Pressman. “Lyle Berman is running an ad across Ohio in which he personally accuses our company of „fraudulent‟ activities. This is a very serious charge, and as a publicly traded company, we cannot stand idly by while Mr. Berman attempts to discredit and defame Penn National Gaming, which is licensed in 15 jurisdictions across the United States and in Canada,” said Eric Schippers, Penn National‟s Vice President of Public Affairs. “In addition, the No on 6 Committee will be filing a separate suit against MyOhioNow for continuing to try to deceive the voters of Ohio by perpetuating in its press statements the blatantly false and misleading claim that the proposed casino „must pay a 30% gross gaming win tax.‟ (emphasis added). The fact is, the Issue 6 amendment leaves to the General Assembly to set a tax rate „up to‟ thirty percent of the gross casino receipts of the casino, which means it could end up anywhere from zero up to 30%. Even if the casino tax were set at the maximum rate, there is a huge loophole in Issue 6, as confirmed by the Ohio Department of Taxation, that could reduce the casino tax to zero no matter what the General Assembly wishes to do. “MyOhioNow‟s ill-conceived Issue 6 scheme has been unmasked for what it really is – a badly construed string of self-serving loopholes that benefit Lyle Berman. These spurious attacks on Penn National‟s credibility are a desperate attempt to divert the spotlight away from what every major newspaper in Ohio and numerous state and local officials have agreed is a bad deal for the state,” said Schippers. “As for MyOhioNow‟s lawsuit against Penn National and the No on 6 Committee, the allegations are largely the same baseless arguments made before the Ohio Elections Commission,” said Schippers. “The Executive Director of the Elections Commission sided with the No on 6 Committee and recommended a dismissal of the complaint. The panel of three Elections Commissioners, however, chose by a vote of 2 to 1 for the Elections Commission to hear additional evidence before issuing a final ruling. We are confident that the Elections Commission – once it hears all the facts – will follow the Executive Director‟s lead and dismiss the complaint from MyOhioNow. In addition, we firmly believe the Court of Common Pleas will come to the same conclusion.” About Penn National Gaming Penn National Gaming owns and operates gaming and racing facilities with a focus on slot machine entertainment. The Company presently operates nineteen facilities in fifteen jurisdictions, including Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Ontario. In aggregate, Penn National‟s operated facilities feature over 25,400 slot machines, approximately
400 table games, over 2,000 hotel rooms and more than 930,000 square feet of gaming floor space.
Penn National Gaming, Inc. Eric Schippers, 610-378-8321 Vice President, Public Affairs