Casino operator Penn National Gaming (PNG) has bought its way into Maryland’s gambling market ahead of that state’s expected legalization of sports betting. 

On Tuesday, PNG announced that it had reached a deal with its real estate investment trust (REIT) Gaming & Leisure Properties Inc (GLPI) to acquire the operations of Hollywood Casino Perryville in the Maryland city of the same name. The $31.1m cash deal is expected to close in mid-2021 subject to standard regulatory approvals. 

The Perryville property was the first casino to open in Maryland way back in 2010 with none other than PNG at the helm. But PNG unloaded the property to GLPI during the 2013 corporate restructuring that saw PNG spin off its real estate assets into GLPI. The parties reached a deal this spring that gave PNG the option to (re)acquire Perryville’s operations at a future date. 

Under the new arrangement, PNG will pay GLPI an initial annual rent of around $7.77m for the Perryville property. PNG’s new lease will run for an initial 15-year term, with options for four five-year extensions.