Vote the GOLD Proxy Card Today to Win at PENN

Vote “FOR” HG Vora’s Three Highly Qualified Independent Nominees: William Clifford, Johnny Hartnett, and Carlos Ruisanchez.

How to Vote

The Case for Change

We believe PENN owns the best portfolio of geographically diverse regional casinos in the country and, prior to the distractions introduced by the current management team, had a track record of industry-leading efficiency in its core brick-and-mortar business. HG Vora was attracted to the consistency, predictability and steady growth of the core business as well as the potential upside opportunity from online casino gaming, an area in which we believe PENN is well positioned to succeed as a large scale omni-channel operator with a combination of the well-known Hollywood Casino brand and significant cross-sale opportunities from its large retail database.

But, PENN’s stock has underperformed those of its publicly traded gaming peers[i] over the last two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine and ten years, and during the tenure of the Company’s CEO and most of the independent directors.[ii]

In our view, this is the direct result of an unsuccessful strategic shift that has been plagued by value-destructive deal-making, reckless capital allocation and poor execution. We believe PENN trades at a discount to its intrinsic value because its management team and Board of Directors have lost credibility and investors fear further value destructive decisions.

Source: Bloomberg. Data as of April 25, 2025, the last trading day before PENN filed its Definitive Proxy Statement for the 2025 Annual Meeting of Shareholders. “Company Performance Peers” refers to Boyd Gaming, Caesars Entertainment, Las Vegas Sands, MGM Resorts Int’l, Red Rock Resorts and Wynn Resorts. “US Gaming Peers” refers to Boyd Gaming, Caesars Entertainment, Churchill Downs, MGM Resorts and Red Rock Resorts. Peer data refers to median.

Under the leadership of its President and CEO, Jay Snowden, and Board Chair, David Handler, PENN has been pursuing a misguided transformation from a best-in-class regional casino operator to a sports, media and technology conglomerate. Unfortunately, this transformation has been characterized by massively overpaying for acquisitions and poor execution.

Since the beginning of 2020, PENN has invested heavily in online sports betting, committing more than $4.3 billion[iii] of shareholder capital — nearly double PENN’s entire equity market value today — to several value-destructive acquisitions and partnerships.[iv] Under the oversight of the Board and David Handler — who purports to be an expert in gaming and technology M&A[v] — PENN has executed a string of transactions that, in our view, stand among the worst in the industry’s history. PENN paid more than $2 billion for Score Media and Gaming, a small Canadian company that was generating less than $25 million in annual revenue,[vi] and more than $500 million for Barstool Sports,[vii] whose controversial brand and outspoken founder reportedly threatened PENN’s relationships with its gaming regulators, putting the entire PENN franchise at risk.[viii] PENN has also committed to paying Disney more than $2 billion for the right to the ESPN Bet trademark for ten years, [ix] a sum that Disney’s CEO noted was substantially more than other suitors were willing to pay.[x]

Despite this prolific spending, we believe that PENN’s online sports betting strategy has failed. Nearly two years after Mr. Snowden announced that the Company was targeting double-digit market share[xi] and a “podium position,”[xii] ESPN Bet is the 8th-ranked online sports betting platform in the U.S., with its market share hovering around 2%.[xiii] Additionally, by nearly all relevant measures, PENN is less profitable and less valuable than it was before the Company embarked on its digital transformation. Earnings, Adjusted EBITDAR, return on invested capital and free cash flow have all declined over the last five years, while the Company’s share count and leverage have increased significantly.[xiv]

To ensure that the Company’s future does not look like the last five years under the leadership of Mr. Snowden and Mr. Handler, we believe change is needed at PENN. But change is unlikely to come from the very executives and directors that devised the current strategy, a strategy on which they claim to remain “laser focused.”[xv] Instead, in our view, PENN needs a Board that will ask tough questions, challenge the status quo and make difficult but necessary decisions about the Company and Board’s leadership.

This election is about more than improving the Board’s composition; it is about catalyzing meaningful change at PENN. It is imperative that shareholders send a clear and unambiguous message that continued ineffective leadership, lack of accountability and entrenching actions will no longer be tolerated.

We strongly urge shareholders to vote the GOLD proxy card for the election of each of the three HG Vora-nominated candidates. By voting HG Vora’s GOLD proxy card — and not the Company’s proxy card — you can convey that the status quo is no longer acceptable, and that it is time for genuine change. Join us in voting for accountability, fresh thinking and a better future for PENN. Vote GOLD to Win at PENN.


[i] “Publicly traded gaming peers” refer to the companies PENN used to benchmark its stock price performance in the Company’s Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022 and include Boyd Gaming Corporation, Caesars Entertainment Inc., Las Vegas Sands Corp., MGM Resorts International, Red Rock Resorts, Inc., and Wynn Resorts, Ltd. Peer data refers to median.
[ii] Source: Bloomberg. Data as of April 25, 2025, the last trading day before PENN filed its Definitive Proxy Statement for the 2025 Annual Meeting of Shareholders.
[iii] Source: Company filings. Includes 1) approximately $569 million in total consideration for the acquisition of Barstool Sports; 2) approximately $2.1 billion for the acquisition of Score Media and Gaming; 3) $550 million in warrants issued to ESPN; and 4) approximately $1.2 billion in Adjusted EBITDAR losses in the Interactive Segment since 2021
[iv] Source: FactSet. Data as of April 25, 2025, the last trading day before PENN filed its Definitive Proxy Statement for the 2025 Annual Meeting of Shareholders.[v] See PENN Entertainment Definitive Proxy Statement, filed with the SEC on April 28, 2025 at page 16 (“As a co-founder of an M&A advisory firm focused on the technology sector, Mr. Handler contributes to the Board deep strategic insights into the evolving industry landscape, expertise in effective risk oversight and the ability to identify strategic opportunities for PENN's omnichannel growth strategy.”)
[vi] Source: PENN Entertainment Press Release, August 5, 2021. See also Score Media and Gaming Press Release, July 13, 2021, noting that the company had generated CAD$6.4 million in revenue during the three months ended May 31, 2021 (i.e., approximately USD$5.3 million based on exchange rates at the time, or approximately USD$21.3 million on an annualized basis).
[vii] Per PENN Entertainment Press Releases dated January 29, 2020 and February 17, 2023, PENN paid approximately $163 million to acquire a 36% interest in Barstool Sports and $388 million to acquire the remaining interest.
[viii] See Todd Spangler, “Barstool Sports Founder Dave Portnoy Explains Breakup With Penn: ‘We Got Denied’ Gambling Licenses ‘Because of Me,’” Variety, August 9, 2023 (“’We got denied [gambling] licenses because of me, you name it,’ Portnoy said. ‘So the regulated industry [is] probably not the best place for Barstool Sports and the type of content we make.’”).
[ix] Source: PENN Entertainment Press Release, August 8, 2023. Amount includes cash payments of $1.5 billion plus the grant date fair value of warrants to purchase approximately 31.8 million in PENN common shares.
[x] Source: The Walt Disney Company Q3 2023 Earnings Call (“And PENN, why PENN? Because PENN stepped up in a very aggressive way and made an offer to us that was better than any of the competitive offers by far.”).
[xi] During the Company’s Q2 2023 Earnings Call, Mr. Snowden noted that the Company was targeting market share for ESPN Bet that was “within the range that we provided here on Slide 9 in our investor presentation,” which was 10% to 20%.
[xii] Source: PENN Entertainment Q2 2023 Earnings Call.
[xiii] Source: Eilers & Krejcik Gaming.
[xiv] Source: Bloomberg and Company filings. Data based on a comparison of 2019 and 2024 financial results.
[xv] Source: PENN Entertainment Letter to Shareholders, filed with the SEC on April 28, 2025.

View the Case for Change

PENN’s Attempt to Disenfranchise Shareholders

On April 25, 2025, PENN announced it was reducing the number of seats up for election at the Company’s 2025 Annual Meeting from three to two. HG Vora believes this reduction is a breach of fiduciary duty and violation of the law.

On May 6, 2025, HG Vora filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania against PENN and its Board alleging that PENN violated Pennsylvania’s Business Corporation Law and the Board breached its fiduciary duties when it reduced the number of seats up for election from three to two (the “Board Reduction Scheme”) at the Annual Meeting. The complaint further alleges that PENN violated federal securities laws by failing to abide by the universal proxy rules and making materially false and misleading statements and omissions in proxy materials filed with the SEC.

PENN’s Board Reduction Scheme, implemented amidst a contested election and while facing the prospect of losing three Board seats is, in HG Vora’s view, a self-serving action with no legitimate corporate purpose. HG Vora believes the Board’s manipulation of the Company’s election rules is an affront to shareholder democracy and only benefits its incumbent directors, including its ineffective Chairman and underperforming CEO. HG Vora believes that substantial changes are necessary to restore accountability and ensure all options are considered to maximize shareholder value.

PENN has previously violated state law with respect to the number of directors up for election. In 2024, when HG Vora was planning to nominate candidates, PENN had too few directors in the class up for election in clear violation of Pennsylvania law. Only after the deadline for nominating directors had passed did the Company remedy its breach of Pennsylvania law.

Because it is unclear if PENN’s stated intention regarding the number of seats up for election in 2025 will persist, HG Vora is nominating its three candidates and solicit votes on their behalf.
Read More about the Board’s Entrenching Actions to Disenfranchise Shareholders

The Nominees

The three independent director candidates – Messrs. Clifford, Hartnett, and Ruisanchez – have significant experience and expertise in the gaming and entertainment industries, as well as strong track records of disciplined capital allocation and history of value creation through strategic transactions that can help provide proper oversight of management and help create long-term value for PENN shareholders.

William Clifford
William Clifford has more than 30 years of experience delivering excellent returns for shareholders in the gaming industry.
Johnny Hartnett
Johnny Hartnett has decades of experience building and running online sports betting and gaming businesses.
Carlos Ruisanchez
Carlos Ruisanchez has a strong track record of capital allocation and value creation for shareholders.
Read More about the Nominees

Latest Materials

View Materials
May 13, 2025
HG Vora Files Definitive Proxy Materials and Sends Letter to PENN Entertainment, Inc. Shareholders
Read Now

“The Interactive segment reported $290.1M of revenue and an Adjusted EBITDA loss of $89M, lower than our revenue estimate of $319.4M and our estimated Adj. EBITDAR loss of $80.6M. Consensus expectations were $308.3M of revenue and an EBITDA loss of $86.6M, which implies modest downside to a widely dispersed consensus.”

Jefferies
May 8, 2025

Vote “FOR” William J. Clifford, Johnny Hartnett, and Carlos Ruisanchez and “WITHHOLD” on PENN Nominees

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Disclaimer

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

The information herein contains "forward-looking statements" that can be identified by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. Specific forward-looking statements can be identified by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts and include, without limitation, words such as "may," "will," "expects," "believes," "anticipates," "plans," "intends," "estimates," "projects," "potential," "targets," "forecasts," "seeks," "could," "should" or the negative of such terms or other variations on such terms or comparable terminology. Similarly, statements that describe our objectives, plans or goals are forward-looking. Forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties and assumptions. There can be no assurance that any idea or assumption herein is, or will be proven, correct. If one or more of the risks or uncertainties materialize, or if HG Vora’s underlying assumptions prove to be incorrect, the actual results may vary materially from outcomes indicated by these statements. Accordingly, forward-looking statements should not be regarded as a representation by HG Vora that the future plans, estimates or expectations contemplated will ever be achieved. The information herein does not constitute an offer to sell or solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities described herein in any state to any person.


Certain Information Concerning the Participants

HG Vora and the other Participants (as defined below) filed a definitive proxy statement and accompanying gold universal proxy card with the SEC on May 12, 2025 to be used to solicit proxies for the election of its slate of director nominees at the 2025 annual meeting of shareholders (the “2025 Annual Meeting”) of PENN Entertainment, Inc. ("PENN").

The participants in the proxy solicitation are currently anticipated to be HG Vora Capital Management, LLC (the “Investment Manager”), HG Vora Special Opportunities Master Fund, Ltd. (“Master Fund”), Downriver Series LP – Segregated Portfolio C (“Downriver”), Parag Vora (“Mr. Vora” and, collectively with Investment Manager, Master Fund and Downriver, “HG Vora”), William Clifford, Johnny Hartnett , and Carlos Ruisanchez (collectively all of the foregoing, the “Participants”).

As of the date hereof, (i) Master Fund directly owns 3,825,000 shares of common stock, par value $0.001 per share (the “Common Stock”), of PENN, including 100 shares of Common Stock as the record holder and (ii) Downriver directly owns 3,425,000 shares of Common Stock, including 100 shares of Common Stock as the record holder (collectively, the 7,250,000 shares of Common Stock owned by Master Fund and Downriver, the “HG Vora Shares”). The HG Vora Shares collectively represent approximately 4.80% of the outstanding shares of Common Stock, based on the 150,852,769 shares of Common Stock outstanding as of April 24, 2025, as disclosed by PENN on its proxy statement for the Annual Meeting. The Investment Manager is the investment manager of Master Fund and Downriver, each of which have delegated all investment and voting decisions to the Investment Manager. Mr. Vora is the manager of the Investment Manager and has authority over day-to-day operations and investment and voting decisions, including with respect to the HG Vora Shares, of the Investment Manager. Each of the Investment Manager and Mr. Vora may be deemed to have the shared power to vote or direct the vote of (and the shared power to dispose or direct the disposition of) the HG Vora Shares and indirect ownership thereof. Mr. Ruisanchez directly owns 3,150 shares of Common Stock. Neither Mr. Clifford nor Mr. Hartnett beneficially own any shares of Common Stock. Certain of the Participants are also from time to time party to certain derivative instruments that provide economic exposure to PENN’s Common Stock. All of the foregoing information is as of the date hereof unless otherwise disclosed.


Important Information and Where to Find It

HG VORA STRONGLY ADVISES ALL SHAREHOLDERS OF THE CORPORATION TO READ THE DEFINITIVE PROXY STATEMENT AND OTHER PROXY MATERIALS BECAUSE THEY CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION. SUCH PROXY MATERIALS ARE AVAILABLE AT NO CHARGE ON THE SEC’S WEBSITE AT WWW.SEC.GOV. THE DEFINITIVE PROXY AND ACCOMPANYING PROXY CARD WILL ALSO BE FURNISHED TO SOME OR ALL OF THE COMPANY’S SHAREHOLDERS. SHAREHOLDERS MAY DIRECT A REQUEST TO THE PARTICIPANTS’ PROXY SOLICITOR, OKAPI PARTNERS LLC, 1212 AVENUE OF THE AMERICAS, 17TH FLOOR, NEW YORK, NEW YORK 10036 (SHAREHOLDERS CAN CALL TOLL-FREE: (877) 629-6355).