"Things are kind of mushy," said Peter Carlino, the company's chairman and chief executive officer. "They're up; they're down. The wheels aren't coming off the cart. Business is good, it's just not wonderful."

Three properties dragged down the rest of the firm's 19-asset portfolio. It's Hollywood Casino Lawrenceburg [VA] was hurt by the transition to a new facility there, Charles Town [WV] Races & Slots suffered from an unsuccessful marketing program and Zia Park & Black Gold Casio, in Hobbs, NM, was hit by a tough economy in that area.

Recession aside, Penn National is trying to build new projects while other firms are cutting back. It is proposing an $84-million facility in Cecil County, MD; a $564-million Hollywood Casino project in Kansas City, KS; and two facilities in Ohio--in Toledo and Columbus--totaling $600 million. Penn National is awaiting government approvals on all of those proposals.