Hollywood Casino Jamul-San Diego opened on October 10, 2016. The casino included a three-story gaming and entertainment facility of approximately 200,000 square feet, featuring over 1,700 slot machines, 40 live table games, multiple restaurants, bars and lounges and an enclosed below-grade parking structure with approximately 1,800 spaces. Hollywood Casino Jamul - San Diego, Jamul, CA. 386 likes 1 talking about this 3,940 were here. March 1, 2018 (Jamul) – In a press release issued tonight, the Jamul Indian Village Development Corporation, a wholly owned entity of Jamul Indian Village, announced termination of Penn Gaming and a transition to a new management team at the Hollywood Casino Jamul-San Diego, which will be rebranded as Jamul Casino. Hollywood Casino Jamul-San Diego (Contributed). Berks County-based Penn National Gaming Inc. Is cutting ties with Hollywood Casino Jamul-San Diego, saying the casino owed it nearly $48.5 million. Penn National, headquartered in Wyomissing, developed the 200,000-square-foot casino with the Jamul Indian tribe nearly two years ago for $390 million.

LATEST UPDATES: Tracking COVID-19 Racial Justice

Wednesday, October 12, 2016

By City News Service, Katie Schoolov

Concerns about persistent and widespread traffic tie-ups around a newly opened East County casino appeared to be unfounded Tuesday on its second day of operations.

On Monday, throngs of opening-day visitors to Hollywood Casino Jamul-San Diego, combined with roadway construction in the area, created miles of gridlock along state Route 94 between SR-125 and Honey Springs Road. Caltrans advised motorists that delays would be possible throughout the remainder of the week.

Those problems, however, largely failed to materialize Tuesday, according to the California Highway Patrol. As of midday, traffic was heavy only in the immediate vicinity of the gaming center, the state agency reported.

'This is pretty much nothing, compared to yesterday,' CHP public affairs Officer Tommy Doerr said.

In recent years, as plans for the resort casino made their way through approval processes, residents of surrounding rural communities, led by county Supervisor Dianne Jacob, fought hard against them.

Jacob argued that Caltrans was 'failing the public by allowing the casino to open without all the badly needed road improvements in place.'

'My advice to everyone out there: Stay away from that Jamul casino. Don’t gamble with your lives there,' Jacob said. 'And notify Caltrans that you want those traffic safety improvements now, and don’t allow access onto that state highway until it’s done.'

Tribal officials said they expected to pay $23 million for road and transportation improvements in the area.

'The tribe maintains a longstanding commitment to the community,' said Erica Pinto, chairwoman of Jamul Indian Village. 'We are proud to fund roadway improvements and other essential services to make our community safer. These efforts are meaningful and important for our tribe and our neighbors.'

In a statement, Caltrans said:

Per the (Tribal-State Gaming Compact), the (Jamul Indian Village) has acted in good faith to get the improvements implemented expeditiously but has encountered delays in the form of legal challenges. Caltrans requested approval from the County Board of Supervisors for use of the necessary right-of-way for the highway improvements twice in 2015. The County Board of Supervisors granted approval in April 2016.

Despite these delays, a new signalized intersection at the casino entrance has been installed, and more highway improvements are under construction and in planning for phased rollout. The responsibility of Caltrans related to these improvements is to review, approve, operate and maintain them for the safe and efficient movement of traffic on State Route 94.

The casino features 1,700 slot machines, 43 table games and seven restaurants including Tony Gwynn's Sports Pub, which features memorabilia from the late Padres icon and an array of televisions for watching athletic contests.

The 200,000-square-foot facility, on the property of the Jamul Indian Village, also includes a nightclub.

A 25-year gaming compact between the state and the tribe was signed in August by Gov. Jerry Brown, setting the operating terms for the three-story facility, which will employ more than 1,000 people.

The casino roughly 20 miles east of downtown San Diego was built and will be operated by Penn National Gaming, which runs 27 other casinos across the United States.

FEATURED PODCAST

San Diego news; when you want it, where you want it. Get local stories on politics, education, health, environment, the border and more. New episodes are ready weekday mornings. Hosted by Anica Colbert and produced by KPBS, San Diego and the Imperial County's NPR and PBS station.

Want more KPBS news?
Find us on Twitter and Facebook, or sign up for our newsletters. + Subscribe to our podcasts

To view PDF documents, Download Acrobat Reader.

More Like This

• Jamul Casino Files Suit Against Insurance Company Regarding COVID-19 Closures

  Aug. 20, 2020

• Major Road Widening Project Finished On North County Highway

  May. 17, 2017

• Tribes Look Beyond Slot Machines For Future Income

  Apr. 11, 2017

• Hollywood Casino Jamul-San Diego Opens To The Public Monday

  Oct. 10, 2016

Latest News

• New Program Serving City Heights Businesses And Residents Hit Hardest By Pandemic

• San Diego Police Say They Are Ready To Enforce Stay-At-Home Orders On New Year’s Eve

• County Reports Record 62 COVID-19 Deaths, 3,083 New Cases

WYOMISSING, Penn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Penn National Gaming, Inc. (PENN: Nasdaq) (“Penn National” or the “Company”) announced today that it has entered into a series of agreements with an affiliate of the Jamul Indian Village of California (“JIV” or the “Tribe”) and the JIV’s senior lender, which will complete Penn National’s separation from Hollywood Casino Jamul – San Diego (“JIV Casino”). In March 2018, Penn National disclosed plans for an orderly transition of the management of the JIV Casino to JIV, and the Company’s involvement in JIV Casino ended on May 28. These new agreements terminate substantially all of the Company’s remaining obligations and liabilities in connection with this project.

In October 2016, the Tribe obtained long term secured financing for the JIV Casino, consisting of revolving and term loan credit facilities (the “Credit Facilities”) totaling approximately $460 million. The term loan C facility is held by the Company’s subsidiary, San Diego Gaming Ventures, LLC. The borrower is currently in default on its obligations under the loan and the Company’s loan is fully subordinated to the other lenders that have extended credit to the Tribe. At present, approximately $95 million is outstanding on the term loan C facility, and the Company recorded charges of $89.8 million related to the loan and related loan commitments in 2017. The net carrying value of the term loan C and related obligations totaled $20.6 million at March 31, 2018.

As a result of the agreements, Penn National will receive a total of approximately $15 million in cash proceeds for the sale of the loan and the payment of outstanding licensing fees and the Company will be relieved of its approximately $29 million current funding obligation. The Company anticipates offsetting the capital loss associated with the sale of the loan against the capital gains related to asset sales that are part of the Company’s pending acquisition of Pinnacle Entertainment, Inc., which should result in a net tax benefit of approximately $20 million.

About Penn National Gaming

Hollywood Casino Jamul-san Diego Casino

Penn National Gaming owns, operates or has ownership interests in gaming and racing facilities and video gaming terminal operations with a focus on slot machine entertainment. At March 31, 2018, the Company operated twenty-nine facilities in seventeen jurisdictions, including California, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, West Virginia, and Ontario, Canada. At March 31, 2018, in aggregate, Penn National Gaming operated approximately 36,100 gaming machines, 810 table games and 4,800 hotel rooms. The Company also offers social online gaming through its Penn Interactive Ventures division.

Hollywood Casino San Diego Buffet

Important Additional Information

In connection with the proposed transaction, on February 8, 2018, Penn filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) a registration statement on Form S-4 that contains a joint proxy statement of Penn and Pinnacle and also constitutes a prospectus of Penn (the “joint proxy statement/prospectus”). The registration statement was declared effective by the SEC on February 28, 2018 and Penn and Pinnacle commenced mailing the definitive joint proxy statement/prospectus to their respective shareholders and stockholders on February 28, 2018. This communication does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities or a solicitation of any vote or approval. Shareholders of Penn and stockholders of Pinnacle are urged to read the definitive joint proxy statement/prospectus regarding the proposed transaction and any other relevant documents filed or that will be filed with the SEC, as well as any amendments or supplements to those documents, because they contain or will contain important information. Investors may obtain a free copy of the registration statement and the joint proxy statement/prospectus, as well as other filings containing information about Penn and Pinnacle, without charge, at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Copies of the documents filed with the SEC by Penn can be obtained, without charge, by directing a request to Justin Sebastiano, Penn National Gaming, Inc., 825 Berkshire Boulevard, Suite 200, Wyomissing, Pennsylvania 19610, Tel. No. (610) 401-2029. Copies of the documents filed with the SEC by Pinnacle can be obtained, without charge, by directing a request to Vincent Zahn, Pinnacle Entertainment, Inc., 3980 Howard Hughes Parkway, Las Vegas, Nevada 89169, Tel. No. (702) 541-7777.

Forward-looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements can be identified by the use of forward looking terminology such as “expects,” “believes,” “estimates,” “projects,” “intends,” “plans,” “seeks,” “may,” “will,” “should” or “anticipates” or the negative or other variations of these or similar words, or by discussions of future events, strategies or risks and uncertainties. Although the Company believes that its expectations are based on reasonable assumptions within the bounds of its knowledge of its business, there can be no assurance that actual results will not differ materially from our expectations. Meaningful factors that could cause actual results to differ from expectations include, but are not limited to, risks relating to the successful transition of the Company’s responsibilities and obligations with respect to the JIV Casino, the ability of the Company to utilize any capital loss tax benefits and unanticipated changes in tax laws, the various risks relating to the Company’s pending acquisition of Pinnacle Entertainment, Inc., and other factors as discussed in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017, subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K, each as filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company does not intend to update publicly any forward-looking statements except as required by law. In light of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the forward-looking events discussed in this press release may not occur.