Acquisitions and Other Investments - Calculation of Purchase Price (Details) $ / shares in Units, $ in Thousands		12 Months Ended
	Oct. 15, 2018 USD ($) $ / shares shares	Dec. 31, 2018 shares	Dec. 31, 2017 shares	Dec. 31, 2016 shares
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Pinnacle diluted shares outstanding (in shares) | shares		100,338,000	93,378,000	91,407,000
Pinnacle
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Share Exchange Ratio	0.42
Shares of Penn common stock issued to former Pinnacle shareholders (in shares) | shares	26,295,439
Price per share of Penn common stock (in dollars per share) | $ / shares	$ 28.51
Fair value of Penn common stock issued to former Pinnacle shareholders	$ 749,683
Cash paid to former Pinnacle shareholders	1,252,259
Cash paid by Penn to retire Pinnacle debt, inclusive of accrued interest	814,273
Purchase price	$ 2,816,215
Pinnacle
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Pinnacle diluted shares outstanding (in shares) | shares	62,608,188