Penn's shares are down 20% year-to-date. Shares of DraftKings are about 1% lower and shares of Flutter Entertainment, FanDuel's parent company, are nearly 6% lower over the same period. The activist, which on May 7 sued Penn in Pennsylvania federal court, claims the underperformance is a "direct result" of Penn's strategic shift to invest heavily in online sports betting, including its more than $2 billion deal with Disney for the right to the ESPN Bet trademark for 10 years. That deal has not been going so well, with Snowden in February acknowledging difficulties and even suggesting the company could exercise an opt-out clause that's available next year. All of that background led to Thursday, with Penn's statement saying it has nominated two of HG Vora's proposed board members, that two of its existing directors will step down, and another recently decided to retire.