Penn National Gaming announced it received approval from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board for the pending merger of the company and an entity indirectly owned by certain funds managed by affiliates of Fortress Investment Group LLC and Centerbridge Partners. On June 15, 2007, Penn National Gaming announced that it had entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by PNG Acquisition Company, an entity indirectly owned by certain funds managed by affiliates of Fortress and Centerbridge.

A House-Senate conference committee was expected to meet this week to work out a compromise on a statewide smoking ban, but the meeting has been postponed again. The debate has already stretched for an entire year. Tuesday’s meeting was originally scheduled for April 1. It was postponed when some members of the committee said they needed more time to draft amendments to the legislation.

Less than a month after Pennsylvania's newest slots parlor -- Hollywood Casino at Penn National outside Harrisburg -- opened its doors, four machines have skyrocketed to stardom and become some of the casino's biggest moneymakers. The machines feature a game many thought wouldn't see the inside of a Pennsylvania casino anytime soon: blackjack. Or, to be more precise, virtual blackjack.

The Washington County District Attorney’s Office received a grant today from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. Washington County officials say they plan to use the USD 153,000 grant to crack down on illegal slot machines with the formation of a new task force. "It’s obviously a problem, it really is," said Washington County DA, Steven Toprani. "We have meetings with state police, with the vice unit, so there are problems around the county that pertain to this."

Harrisburg - Mount Airy Casino Resort owner Louis DeNaples was charged today with four counts of perjury for lying to state regulators about not having ties to two mob figures from Northeastern Pennsylvania and two men swept up in the federal corruption probe of Philadelphia City Hall. A grand jury found that DeNaples, 67, a wealthy Scranton businessman, misled gaming regulators by denying having connections with the late mob boss Russell Bufalino...

Pennsylvania slots are no longer just a threat here, but are wreaking havoc on the Boardwalk casinos - a point underscored by the Tropicana Casino & Resort’s fight for its life in a state relicensing hearing. "We really underestimated the impact of Pennsylvania,” William J. Yung III, president and CEO of the Tropicana’s parent company, said during last month’s hearing, trying to explain to the New Jersey Casino Control Commission why he ordered 900 layoffs at the casino resort this year.

Land development plans for the Sands BethWorks casino, hotel and conference center, got final approval from the Bethlehem Planning Commission this week at the conclusion of a six-hour meeting. Las Vegas Sands Corp. will now be able to pursue a building permit to begin construction of its USD 600 million complex with 3,000 slot machines, a 12-story hotel with 300 rooms, an upscale shopping center and an events center with up to 3,800 concert seats. The casino developers hope to have the project built by the middle of 2009.

The early success of Pennsylvania slots parlors has energized an influential lawmaker who wants to bring table games next to the state -- and do so soon. At a hearing in North Strabane of the House Gaming Oversight Committee yesterday, Majority Leader Bill DeWeese, D-Greene, touted his legislation to broaden the state's gambling options. The expansion beyond slots, not surprisingly, was embraced by Pennsylvania racetrack casino operators who say they need it to compete with other states that offer the full gambling menu.

Hundreds of people waited in line this morning to try their luck at the first slots casino in southwestern Pennsylvania. The Meadows Racetrack and Casino became the fifth gambling parlor in Pennsylvania when it threw its doors open at 8:44 a.m. after a ribbon-cutting ceremony. The opening came a week later than scheduled because of security improvements.

After six months, Pennsylvania’s casino industry has generated more money than anyone expected. Slots at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs, the first slots parlor when it opened near Wilkes-Barre in November, average more than double the money predicted by either the state or the operator during licensing process. And the temporary casino - with little more than half the games - is on pace to make more than the fifth-year projections for Pocono Downs’ permanent slots parlor set to open next summer with 2,000 machines.