"Penn National Gaming Stocks Plummet as ESPN Bet Launch Erodes Profits"
Penn Entertainment's ESPN Bet, which launched in November, saw significant success in terms of app downloads but suffered a substantial loss of $333.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2023 due to costs associated with the launch. This exceeded Wall Street's expectations, leading to a more than 15 percent drop in Penn's stock. Despite the losses, the company remains aggressive, aiming for ESPN Bet to break even by 2025 and projecting meaningful cash flow by 2026.