Chicagoland 2.0 With PENN; The Right Regional Strategy

Research evidence excerpt

Chicagoland 2.0 With PENN; The Right Regional Strategy

USA | Gaming

Penn Entertainment EquityJuneResearch26, 2026

FLASH NOTEChicagoland 2.0 With PENN; The Right Regional

RATING HOLDStrategy

PRICE $21.09^

We come away from PENN's property tours and mgmt. presentation with

a positive perspective on the current and future productivity of internal PRICE TARGET | % TO PT $16.00 | -24%

investments. We believe this is the right strategy for regional gaming operators 52W HIGH-LOW $22.36 - $11.65

generally, including PENN, in the face of increased competition. As for the FLOAT (%) | ADV MM (USD) 107.0% | 73.92

stock, we believe current levels of 7.5X 2026E EV/EBITDAR reflect the growth MARKET CAP $2.6B

prospects, regional gaming stability and capital structure. TICKER PENN ^Prior trading day's closing price unless otherwise

noted.

The new Hollywood Aurora. On June 25, PENN mgmt. hosted the Street for a tour of its newly

opened Hollywood Aurora Casino Hotel, which replaced its prior riverboat property. The cost of

the project to PENN was $310M net of $50M subsidy from the City of Aurora. The property

features 1,000 slots, ~50 table games, 226 hotel rooms, eight restaurants and a retail sports book.

Importantly, the property is located with direct access from the Chicago Premium Outlets Aurora,

which public documents report 6M+ foot traffic annually, which is among the largest in the Midwest.

Joliet update. Mgmt. also toured its Hollywood Joliet Casino which was a similar redevelopment

of a legacy riverboat property for $185M and opened in September 2025. Management reiterated

commentary that the property is performing ahead of underwriting with GGR growth of 60-70% YTD,

with mid-teens returns expected over 12-14 months of operations. The update is further progress