The Hollywood Casino brand is getting a redesign. The update seems set to start with the company's casinos located in Pennsylvania.
On Tuesday, multiple social media accounts of Hollywood Casino hinted at a brand revamp. Videos and posts posted to X, Instagram, and Facebook showcased a more streamlined, thinner, and possibly neater font.
"Farewell, old Hollywood,” the short clips began with Golden Age music playing. The tune then pivots to a modern upbeat track.
“A new vibe is coming to Hollywood Casino,” the spot concludes.
The Hollywood Casinos featuring the brand tease comprise Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course located near Harrisburg, Pa. The other three Hollywood Casinos in Pennsylvania — Hollywood Casino York and Hollywood Casino Morgantown, both identified as “mini-casinos” featuring a limit of 750 slot machines and 40 live-dealer table games — also posted about the brand refresh. Hollywood at The Meadows did as well.
To view the Hollywood Casino rebranding video, click here.
Hollywood Label
Hollywood is the primary physical casino brand of Penn Entertainment. The gaming operator based in Pennsylvania purchased the Hollywood Casino Corp. along with its three riverboats in 2003 for $688 million in cash and debt liabilities.
The new logo is taking the place of the Hollywood Casino brand that Penn has used since it purchased Hollywood Casino Corp. over twenty years ago. The Hollywood emblem was a version of the famous Hollywood Sign that gazes down on Hollywood and Los Angeles from the Santa Monica Mountains.
Currently, Penn provides the Hollywood brand to 18 gaming facilities and casinos across 11 states: Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.
Penn's additional land-based casino brands consist of Ameristar, Argosy, Boomtown, Cactus Petes, L’Auberge, M Resort, Margaritaville, Plainridge Park, and River City. Its main brands for online gaming and mobile sports betting encompass ESPN Bet, Hollywood Casino, theScore, and Penn Play Casino.
Casino.org contacted Penn Entertainment for insights regarding the Hollywood Casino rebranding but did not receive a response in time for this article. The new logo and "vibe" seem to be initially rolled out at the company's Pennsylvania operations, as Hollywood Casinos in other states did not post similar messages on social media.
The updated Hollywood Casino font has been applied to the gaming company's iGaming platform, which is operational in Pennsylvania, as well as in New Jersey and Michigan.
The recently unveiled Hollywood Casino logo and icons were included in Penn's earnings release for the first quarter from last month.
Expensive Rebranding
If Penn Entertainment is launching its new Hollywood Casino brand nationwide with new physical marquees and replacements for casino signage, it will signify yet another expensive rebranding effort for the company.
Following an investment of over half a billion dollars to obtain Barstool Sports and rebrand its physical sportsbooks to the Barstool name from 2020 to 2023, Penn offloaded Barstool to Dave Portnoy for only a dollar in 2023 due to regulatory issues arising from his participation. Penn subsequently invested $1.5 billion in ESPN to utilize the sports media brand and transform its physical casino sportsbooks into ESPN Bet locations.
The Barstool catastrophe has significantly impacted Penn’s financial outcomes and led to its stock price plummeting from more than $100 in 2021 to $17.30 during trading on Wednesday afternoon.