After last month receiving conditional approval from the West Virginia Lottery Commission (WVLC) and The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB), Penn National Gaming (NASDAQ:PENN) announced that its pending purchase of Pinnacle Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ: PNK) had been approved by the Pennsylvania State Horse Racing Commission and the Mississippi Gaming Commission during recent regulatory meetings.

According to the press release, the recent approval is subject to customary conditions while the finalization of the proposed transaction is dependent on various regulatory approvals along with other conditions.

Timothy J. Wilmott, CEO for Penn National Gaming, said, “We are grateful to the Mississippi Gaming Commission and the Pennsylvania State Horse Racing Commission for their prompt review and approval of our proposed transaction. Ameristar Vicksburg and The Meadows will be great additions to our Mississippi and Pennsylvania operations, respectively, and we look forward to welcoming their employees and patrons to the Penn National family. As a Company, we are proud that our employees and operations in these states contributed to the record first quarter results announced yesterday. We look forward to securing additional regulatory approvals in the near term and based on our progress to date, we remain confident of closing the transaction in the second half of this year.”

After the March approvals by the WVLC and PGCB, last month the Illinois Gaming Board (IGB) approved the Wyomissing, Pennsylvania-based owner operator’s proposed financing for its pending purchase of Pinnacle Entertainment, Inc. The proposed merger was overwhelmingly approved on March 29 by shareholders of both Pinnacle Entertainment and Penn National.

The recent approvals bring Penn National Gaming one step closer to becoming one of the largest regional casino operators in the U.S.

Already the operator of 34 venues in 16 states, the $2.8 billion cash-and-stock deal first announced in December 2017, would reportedly see Penn National Gaming create a unified company with 41 properties spanning 20 North American jurisdictions with about 1,300 table games, 53,500 slot machines and 8,300 hotel rooms in the United States.