Penn National Gaming Inc., the operator of 19 casinos and racetracks (including Hollywood Casino Lawrenceburg), reduced its full-year sales forecast and reported third-quarter profit that missed analysts' estimates as consumers gambled less.

Net income for the three months ended Sept. 30 declined 85 percent to $21.4 million, or 20 cents a share, from $147.5 million, or $1.69, a year earlier, the Wyomissing, Pa.- based company said Wednesday. Excluding some items, profit totaled 33 cents, missing the 34-cent average of 16 analysts' estimates compiled by Bloomberg News.

Penn said consumers spent less at its casinos as the gambling slump continued to spread beyond the biggest markets of Las Vegas and Atlantic City, N.J., into smaller locales. The company also booked charges during the quarter including lobbying costs and design and development fees.

"The challenging economic environment, which has resulted in lower consumer spending at gaming facilities, continued to impact operating results for both the overall industry and Penn National in the third quarter," Chief Executive Officer Peter Carlino said in the statement.

Revenue for 2009 will be $2.39 billion, less than Penn's July projection of $2.46 billion. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization will be $575.1 million, down from the prior $609.5 million projection. Net income will be $1.01 per share, lower than the $1.27 previously forecast.

Penn National's shares rose $1.29 or 4.7 percent to close $28.64.

Sales in the third quarter were little changed at $620.4 million, falling short of the $635.3 million average projection. Nine of Penn's 16 gaming properties reported Ebitda gains in the quarter, including Hollywood Casino Lawrenceburg, Argosy Casino Riverside in Kansas, and Boomtown Biloxi in Mississippi.

Penn National, the so-called stalking-horse bidder for the bankrupt Fontainebleau Las Vegas, said it's in talks with an unnamed partner to help it acquire, finish and run the 63-story casino resort which is about 70 percent complete.

The company has asked Fontainebleau's banks to provide a debtor-in-possession loan to finish construction, according to the statement. Penn is in line to control the unfinished project if no higher offer emerges.

"We would only approach this project with a strategic partner who could bring something beyond money to the table," Carlino said on a conference call. He said he expects the bankruptcy court to resolve the sale "fairly quickly because the judge himself has said this problem isn't going to get better with age."

Carlino wants to acquire a Las Vegas Strip casino, and has said the company is looking at most U.S. assets that come up for sale.

Separately, Penn said it won a license to operate 1,500 slot machine-style video lottery terminals in Maryland's Cecil County. The company will spend $97.5 million to build a Hollywood-themed casino on 36 acres along Interstate 95 near the Pennsylvania and Delaware borders.

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