American casino operator Penn National Gaming Incorporated has announced that it has been given official regulatory approval to take over the running of Maryland’s small Hollywood Casino Perryville property.

The Wyomissing-headquartered firm used an official Thursday press release to detail that the consent from the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Commission comes after it inked a definitive agreement in December to acquire the venue’s operations from former owner Gaming and Leisure Properties Incorporated for $31.1 million. The company also revealed that this arrangement is to see it pay the real estate investment trust (REIT) it spun off in November of 2013 some $7.7 million every year in rent.

Coming completion:

Jay Snowden serves as the President and Chief Executive Officer for Penn National Gaming Incorporated and he used the press release to declare that his firm now expects to finalize its takeover of the ten-year-old Hollywood Casino Perryville later this year ‘subject to customary closing conditions’. The boss furthermore disclosed that this move will allow the operator to add Maryland to its list of jurisdictions and exploit the state’s recent decision to legalize sportsbetting.

Former founder:

Located in the northern Maryland community of Perryville, the 75,000 sq ft Hollywood Casino Perryville was premiered by Penn National Gaming Incorporated in September of 2010 complete with a selection of 1,500 slots and twelve gaming tables as well as a private poker room. However, the Pennsylvania-based firm handed the Cecil County venue off to Gaming and Leisure Properties Incorporated a little over three years later as part of a divestiture to give the newly-independent entity control over 21 American properties.

Legislative largess:

Penn National Gaming Incorporated, which already runs land-based casinos in the neighboring states of Pennsylvania and West Virginia, proclaimed late last year that the Hollywood Casino Perryville takeover would enable it to take advantage of the November decision by Maryland voters to overwhelmingly pass the Question Two ballot initiative. This move legalized land-based and online sportsbetting and should now permit the operator, subject to the receipt of the appropriate license, to rollout its Barstool-branded omni-channel sports wagering platform for use by afficionados located across ‘The Old Line State.’

Read a statement from Snowden…

“We are thrilled to be re-entering the Maryland market at a property we developed in 2010 as it will add a 20th gaming jurisdiction to our already leading nationwide footprint. In addition, we’re equally excited to be entering this market following the legalization of sportsbetting in Maryland a few weeks ago. This acquisition provides another opportunity to expand our unique omni-channel platform with a Barstool-branded retail sportsbook and mobile app.”