No comment on Barstool purchase other than regulatory filing

HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) — A Penn Entertainment spokesman declined to comment Thursday, except for Regulatory filings on Wednesday As well as the company’s previous comments on the company’s plans to fully acquire Barstool Sports — it did not respond to a request for comment on Barstool founder David Portnoy.

Portnoy is well known for his philanthropy It also includes allegations of sexual misconduct, including non-consensual sex, published by multiple women in Business Insider. Portnoy has sued Business Insider for defamation.

Penn Entertainment, known as Penn National Gaming until earlier this month, initially purchased a 36 percent stake in Barstool, with an option to acquire the rest. Penn Entertainment CEO Jay Snowden discussed Portnoy’s report with stock analysts on a February conference call — mostly to discuss the company’s quarterly financial earnings.

“These allegations come from anonymous sources about Dave and his personal life, which Dave has responded to publicly,” Snowden said. “If you’ve read or plan to read this article, I suggest you also read and watch Dave’s response posted last night.”

Snowden also noted that the article “was published last night from the same paywall subscription publisher — Business Insider — as the last article, exactly on the same day we had our earnings call three months ago.”

In a video cited by Snowden and posted on the social media platform, Portnoy denied the allegations.

“Are they going to keep lying?” he said. “Does it matter how much evidence I have that directly contradicts everything these girls say? No one seems to care.”

On the same February earnings call, Snowden also expressed optimism about the acquisition.

“We look forward to becoming 100 percent owners of Barstool,” Snowden said. “They’ve been a valued partner for us. It’s a high-growth sports media business.”

In early August, Snowden made his last public comments on the deal before confirming the full buyout on Wednesday, describing Payne’s rationale.

“This involves cross-selling and monetization in sports betting and online casinos,” he said.

Snowden didn’t elaborate: “We’ll share a lot when the Barstool deal closes early next year,” he said.

The acquisition could close in February 2023, Penn Entertainment’s filing with regulators on Wednesday showed.The announcement was made on the same day New figures show modest 1% growth Pennsylvania’s overall gambling revenue in July 2022 compared to July 2021.

That figure, though, was driven by a vastly different underlying trend, including a 28% surge in in-person sports betting at casinos — including Barstool-branded sports betting at Penn Entertainment’s Hollywood casino in New York and elsewhere — but a 45% decline . Fantasy sports betting, almost entirely online.

DraftKings, Pennsylvania’s largest fantasy sports platform, saw a 28% drop in fantasy sports revenue in the state in July 2022 compared to July 2021; the second largest, FanDuel, saw a 66% drop.