Penn National Has 97% Of Employees On Unpaid Leave

• Penn National has put 97% of its employees on unpaid leave as all 41 of their casinos nationwide have closed due to the Coronavirus.
• The casino operating giant is losing over $6 million a day while their businesses are shut down.

PHILADELPHIA – Casino operator Penn National, a big name in the gaming business, has put 97% of its employees on unpaid leave due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

The mandatory and temporary furlough allows 3% of workers to continue working. This 3% is part of the Penn Interactive team as well as their Barstool Sportsbook application techs who are responsible for developing their sports betting app.

Penn Interactive is a department within Penn National that offers customers access to its online Hollywood casino platform.

Impact Of The Closures

Penn National has 41 locations in 19 different states nationwide that are enduring closures because of the Coronavirus outbreak. Over 26,000 employees will be left without any income but they are not the only people that will feel the effects of Penn’s businesses being closed.

It is estimated that Penn National will see a loss of $6.4 million with each passing day that casino doors are shut. It has been said that the company has less than six months of withstanding closures before going bankrupt by losses.

Why Barstool Work?

Barstool Sports sold 36% of its business to Penn National in early 2020 for $163 million. Penn Interactive is working to get the online sports betting platform with the Barstool Sports brand up and running in states by August.

Any sooner than that, the application may not see any real professional sports match ups available for bets but it all depends on how much profit could be seen in regards to an actual launch date. Barstool will have a hand in Penn’s internet casino business beginning in 2021 as part of their deal.

Will Penn National Survive?

Penn has already started to try and conserve money as there is no known date as to when casinos can reopen because of COVID-19. They sold the Tropicana Las Vegas for $307.5 million and have less than 900 people on the payroll since implementing the furlough on Wednesday. They are also discussing pay cuts to endure the closures and remain in business.

“As the global COVID-19 health crisis continues to evolve, we are navigating through this unprecedented time for our company, our industry and our nation,” said Jay Snowden, president and CEO of Penn National.

 

“With all of our 41 properties in 19 states temporarily shuttered, like many others in the gaming and hospitality sector, we are making difficult decisions to help preserve our liquidity and ensure a brighter future for our company’s team members, customers, shareholders and other key stakeholders.”

Penn National has become a veteran in the casino and legal sports betting business over the years. They wish to keep their title as a gaming giant intact after working so long to acquire it.

Making all of these changes now will hopefully keep them afloat. Unfortunately, this affects their employees in the process but it’s something they are doing in order to give their employees and their business a shot at remaining operational in the future.

News tags: Barstool Sports | Barstool Sportsbook | Coronavirus | COVID-19 | Jay Snowden | Penn Interactive | Penn National | Penn National Gaming furlough | Tropicana sold by Penn National