Operator News
US – One and a half months of operations at The Temporary helps boost Full House Resorts’ revenues by 21 per cent
By Phil - 9 May 2023
With the soft opening of The Temporary, the first phase of Full House Resorts’ American Place project in Waukegan, Illinois, delivering revenue since February 17, Full House Resorts was able to announce first quarter revenues of $50.1m, marking a 21 per cent increase from last year.
Net loss for the first quarter of 2023 was $11.4m, or $(0.33) per diluted common share, which includes $10.5m of preopening and development costs, primarily related to the February 2023 opening of The Temporary and the Company’s Chamonix construction project.
“This was a transformational quarter for our company, with the first phase of our American Place project now open and already contributing meaningfully to our financial results,” said Daniel R. Lee, President and Chief Executive Officer of Full House Resorts. “In its first 1.5 months of operations, The Temporary by American Place generated $10.4m of revenue and $3.6m of Adjusted Property EBITDA, resulting in an Adjusted Property EBITDA margin of 34.3 per cent. Its marketing database currently consists of approximately 25,000 people and continues to grow steadily. As The Temporary’s database continues to expand and its remaining amenities come online, we expect continued growth in the property’s revenue and profit contributions.
“Since our soft opening of The Temporary on February 17, we have continued to ramp up operations. In early April, our second restaurant — Asia-Azteca, serving a fusion of Mexican and Asian cuisines — began welcoming guests. On May 12, we expect to begin 24-hour casino operations on weekends, as well as the removal of all restrictions on table game limits and table game operating hours. We expect to complete our opening of The Temporary with the addition of 22 more table games by June, followed by the opening of our fine-dining restaurant and an on-site sportsbook. In contrast, we have generally operated only 28 table games since opening.
“We also continue to make substantial progress at our Chamonix project in Cripple Creek, Colorado,” continued Mr. Lee. “Barry Dakake, a celebrated chef known for leading Barry’s Downtown Prime and N9NE Steakhouse in Las Vegas, Nevada, recently agreed to operate our fine dining restaurant at Chamonix. Barry and his team are known for creating restaurants with amazing guest service and equally amazing cuisine. He began his career with Chef Charlie Palmer at the Aureole restaurants in New York and on the Las Vegas Strip, which earned numerous Michelin stars and James Beard Awards. He was also a part of the opening team of N9NE Steakhouse, which was named a “Top 100 Restaurant in the World” by Condé Nast Traveler, “Best Steakhouse” by Vegas Magazine, “Hottest New Restaurant” by Wine Spectator, and one of “America’s Best Restaurants” by Gourmet Magazine. We look forward to vying to be one of the state’s leading restaurants with Barry at our Chamonix Casino Hotel.
“We also have finalized an opening day for Chamonix: December 26, 2023. On that day, we expect to open with a near-complete experience, with all three of our hotel towers, our new casino, fine dining restaurant, and parking garage. We look forward to welcoming our first guests to what we believe will be the most unique casino destination in Colorado.”
The company’s Midwest & South segment, which includes Silver Slipper Casino and Hotel, Rising Star Casino Resort, and The Temporary by American Place generated revenues of $40.8m in the first quarter of 2023, a 36.2 per cent increase from $29.9 million in the prior-year period. Adjusted Segment EBITDA rose to $10.7m, a 50.8 per cent increase from $7.1m in the prior-year period. These results reflect approximately 1.5 months of operations at The Temporary, the company’s newest casino located in Waukegan, Illinois. In the first quarter of 2023, The Temporary generated $10.4m of revenue and $3.6m of Adjusted Property EBITDA, resulting in an Adjusted Property EBITDA margin of 34.3%. Additionally, the current-period results include Rising Star’s sale of “free play,” which resulted in $2.1m of revenue and income in the first quarter of 2023. Rising Star also sold its “free play” for $2.1m during 2022, although not until the second quarter.
The West segment includes Grand Lodge Casino (located within the Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe luxury resort in Incline Village), Stockman’s Casino, Bronco Billy’s Casino and Hotel and, upon its expected opening in December 2023, will include Chamonix Casino Hotel. Revenues for the segment were $8.1m in the first quarter of 2023 versus $8.6m in the prior-year period. Adjusted Segment EBITDA was $56,000 versus $0.5 million. Results in both periods reflect the temporary loss of all on-site parking and on-site hotel rooms at Bronco Billy’s to accommodate the construction of neighboring Chamonix. Additionally, the current period reflects significant snowfall near Lake Tahoe and in Colorado, adversely impacting guest traffic at our Grand Lodge and Bronco Billy’s properties.
This segment consists of the company’s on-site and online sports wagering “skins” (akin to websites) in Colorado, Indiana and, upon launch, Illinois. Revenues and Adjusted Segment EBITDA were both $1.2m in the first quarter of 2023, reflecting all three of our permitted skins now contractually live in Colorado and two of our three skins live in Indiana. Revenues and Adjusted EBITDA were both $2.8m in the prior-year period, reflecting an acceleration of deferred revenue for two agreements that ceased operations in May 2022, when one of the company’s contracted parties ended its online operations.
