"It’s a long, slow climb back" for the casino industry, Penn National executive says

Penn National Gaming, which owns Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races in West Virginia, has been forced to take drastic measures to stay afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Eric Schippers, the Senior Vice President of Public Affairs & Govt. Relations for the company said in a recent interview with WV MetroNews ‘Takline’ that around 26,000 team members have been furloughed, including 1,300 in Charles Town.

Penn National Gaming (PNG), which has 41 properties in 19 states, gave employees payments through the end of March and health benefits through June 30. Schippers said PNG has also set up an emergency fund for team members, which has surpassed $1.4 million to this point.

He said the company is being as creative as possible to preserve liquidity and give leeway to climb out of the situation when the clear is given. “We’ve had to freeze all spending, we’re looking at and have announced we’ve restructured our rent payments with our landlord, which is a real estate investment trust. We’ve sold one of our properties in Vegas in return for rent credits,” Schippers said. 

Furthermore, Schippers admitted that there is still a way to go, even when the peak is passed in the pandemic. According to his studies of Macau in China and other countries that are starting to rebound, it’s not an instant fix. “It’s a long, slow climb back. Business levels are still not back to normal there. Yeah, there’s a light but it’s a question of how long that light gets to us,” he said. He said bringing back employees will depend on how the social distancing protocols are eased and implemented.

PNG has had plans in place to turn off for a rebound including every other slot machine shut off, close poker rooms and buffets, put sanitizer misters in the ceilings, and even close the facility every few hours to clean.

The gaming industry in West Virginia represents $487 million in annual taxes from five casinos, including $161 million at Charles Town, according to Schippers. He said he hopes when the state legislature works on elements of relief, it keeps the 8,500 casino jobs in the state in mind.