Like his customers, there is nothing flashy about Carlino. He doesn't own designer suits. He drives himself to and from the airport. He will never have his own reality-TV show. "I don't need to see my name in lights," he said.
While he doesn't have the name recognition and the mega-watt ego of a Donald Trump or Steve Wynn, Carlino has quietly assembled a billion-dollar gambling empire after starting with a family racetrack in central Pennsylvania. Now, his company is about to assume a higher profile.
Penn National's $2.2 billion deal to acquire Argosy Gaming Co., of Alton, Ill., will double Penn National's size and make it the third-largest gambling company in the world, behind Las Vegas rivals Harrah's Entertainment Inc. and MGM Mirage. The deal is expected to close within the next two months.
Known as thrifty and deliberative, Carlino doesn't overbuild a casino for the sake of ego, those who work for him say. In an interview, he deflected questions about himself, preferring to give credit for the company's success to his top management team. He lets senior managers run their properties, and describes himself as "manic" about paying off debt.
"For me, it's a process of constantly scanning the universe in a fairly rigorous way to figure out what might be out there," Carlino said of his approach to growth, "or what's there that's not really available but we'll find a way to make it available."
Earlier this month, Carlino presented plans for a $240 million horse racing and slots complex in Grantville, just outside Harrisburg, at a closed-door session before the Pennsylvania Horse Racing Commission.
