Hollywood Casino is slated for a fresh new start in the coming months, as the casino undergoes a much-awaited rebranding. There are a total of 18 Hollywood-branded casinos and gambling facilities spread throughout the US, and the rebranding also comes with a new font and logo that will first be introduced at Pennsylvania's three Hollywood Casinos.

Hollywood Casino, the flagship gaming brand of Penn Entertainment, is undergoing a major rebranding - starting with its Pennsylvania properties. The new initiative, unveiled Tuesday through coordinated social media teasers, showcases a sleeker logo and a modernized font, signaling a departure from the retro glam of its old Hollywood-style imagery.

Clips posted to Facebook, X, and Instagram by the three Hollywood Casinos in Pennsylvania - Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course, Hollywood Casino Morgantown, and Hollywood Casino York - feature a nostalgic Golden Age soundtrack that suddenly shifts to an upbeat, contemporary tune. "Farewell, old Hollywood," the clips begin. "A new vibe is coming to Hollywood Casino," they conclude.

These posts appear to be the first step in what may be a wider national rollout of the refreshed brand across Penn's Hollywood Casino portfolio.

Why the change?

Penn Entertainment acquired Hollywood Casino Corp. back in 2003, paying $688 million. The deal brought three riverboat casinos under Penn's control, and with them, the now-retired version of the Hollywood Casino logo - a stylized take on the famous Hollywood Sign in Los Angeles.

More than 20 years later, the brand refresh marks a significant departure from that visual identity. While Penn has not issued a formal statement on the reason behind the redesign, the move appears to be part of a broader effort to modernize and unify the brand across physical and digital platforms.

The new logo and typeface were recently seen in Penn's first-quarter earnings release and are already being used on Hollywood Casino's online gaming platform, which operates in New Jersey, Michigan, and Pennsylvania.

Focus starts in Pennsylvania

For now, only Hollywood's three Pennsylvania properties have shared content promoting the brand's fresh identity. This includes Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course close to Harrisburg and the two satellite mini-casinos in York and Morgantown, which feature up to 750 slot machines as well as 40 live dealer tables each.

Hollywood Casino is the core brick-and-mortar brand under the Penn Entertainment umbrella, which includes 18 casino and gambling facilities in 11 states. Other land-based brands in the Penn portfolio include Argosy, Ameristar, Boomtown, Cactus Petes, M Resort, and L'Auberge, among others. Whether the new Hollywood Casino design will soon appear across the rest of Penn's national casino footprint remains to be seen.

Rebranding comes with high stakes

If Penn does move forward with a full rebranding across all 18 Hollywood Casino properties, it would represent another substantial investment for a company still recovering from previous branding setbacks.

Between 2020 and 2023, Penn spent over $500 million to acquire and rebrand its sportsbook operations under the Barstool Sports name. But following regulatory concerns tied to Barstool founder Dave Portnoy, the company sold Barstool back to Portnoy for just $1 in 2023. In a separate move, Penn signed a $1.5 billion licensing agreement with ESPN to transition its sportsbook operations to the ESPN Bet brand - a costly but potentially stabilizing pivot. Those rebranding efforts, however, came at a steep price. Penn's stock, which traded for more than $100 back in 2021, has fallen sharply. As of Wednesday, shares were trading at $17.30.

The Hollywood Casino brand refresh appears to be part of Penn's ongoing efforts to stabilize its image and energize its customer base across both physical and online gaming channels. Whether this new 'vibe' will resonate with players - and help reverse recent financial setbacks - remains to be seen. For now, it's lights, camera, and rebrand in Pennsylvania.