Penn Entertainment Shacking Up With Shake Shack, 10 Casino Locations Planned

Posted on: May 21, 2025, 11:36h. 

Last updated on: May 21, 2025, 11:43h.

Devin O'Connor @CasinoorgDevinO Read More
Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Commercial Gaming, Legislation, Politics.
  • Penn Entertainment is bringing Shake Shack to its casinos
  • Penn and Shake Shack plan to open 10 casino locations
  • Shake Shack is famous for its burgers and milkshakes

Penn Entertainment and Shake Shack are partnering to bring the popular fast-casual burger joint to 10 casinos across the nation.

Penn Entertainment Shake Shack
Shake Shack at the New York-New York Hotel & Casino on the Las Vegas Strip. Ten Shake Shack locations are coming to casinos across the country operated by Penn Entertainment. (Image: Shutterstock)

Penn, the Pennsylvania-based gaming operator behind the Hollywood, L’Auberge, and ESPN Bet Sportsbook brands, said Wednesday it will incorporate Shake Shack eateries at 10 properties beginning next year. The company’s Hollywood Casino Toledo and River City Casino Hotel in St. Louis will be the first Shake Shack casino destinations in the Penn portfolio.

“This partnership marks another exciting development as we continue to reimagine our properties with refreshed dining and entertainment options,” said Todd George, Penn Entertainment’s executive vice president of operations. “Shake Shack is a well-known brand that resonates with customers, and we look forward to welcoming them to a core segment of our property portfolio.”

Shake Shack began in 2004 as a small burger and fries snack bar at New York City’s Madison Square Park. Over the past two decades, the company has grown to almost 600 locations in 34 US states and Washington, DC. Shake Shack has also gone global, with locations in London, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore, Mexico City, Istanbul, Dubai, Tokyo, and Seoul.

Shake Shack is famed for its burgers, milkshakes, and crinkle-cut fries.

Shake Shack is a publicly traded company controlled by founder Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group. Meyer runs several of Manhattan’s most acclaimed restaurants, including Gramercy Tavern, The Modern, and Ci Siamo. 

Fast-Casual Resonates With Regional Casinos

Penn Entertainment specializes in regional casinos, or gaming properties not located in Las Vegas or Atlantic City.

Many of Penn’s casinos rely most on locals, not overnight travelers. As such, many guests at Hollywood, L’Auberge, Boomtown, Argosy, and Penn-run Ameristar gaming properties seek more casual dining options. At Hollywood Toledo, for example, the casino has four casual restaurants to accompany its Final Cut Steak & Seafood.

Michael Kark, Shake Shack’s president of global licensing, says the Penn pact is the restaurant’s “meaningful step into the entertainment space.”

“We continue to explore flexible formats that allow us to expand the Shake Shack brand into new regions of the US. Together with Penn, we’re creating new opportunities to share our special blend of top-notch ingredients and warm hospitality with even more guests,” Kark said. 

Shake Shack Las Vegas

When the first Shake Shacks inside a Penn casino opens in early 2026, it won’t be the restaurant’s first inclusion in a gaming facility. Shake Shack has operated a location inside the New York-New York Hotel & Casino on the Las Vegas Strip since early 2014.

A most fitting casino hotel, the Shake Shack at NY-NY is near the Brooklyn Bridge replica and the property’s community green space.

Shake Shack has several other locations in Southern Nevada, including in Summerlin and other parts of Las Vegas.