With an increase in year-over-year first-quarter revenue; an ongoing construction project; a pending renovation of an existing brick-and-mortar casino; a possible new site in Illinois; and promising sports betting partnerships, Full House President and CEO Dan Lee is upbeat about the gaming operator’s finances.
“It varies from property to property, but in general business has stayed strong,” Lee said Monday during a conference call with investors to discuss results for the quarter that ended March 31.
Revenues for the Las Vegas-based gaming operator in the quarter were $42.2 million, a 36.8% increase from $30.9 million from the same period in 2020. Net loss for the quarter was $3.4 million compared to a net loss of $4.4 million in 2020, an improvement of 22.8%.
Lee and Chief Financial Officer Lewis Fanger attributed the growth to operational and marketing improvements, some of them adjustments due to COVID-19 mandates, that yielded results beginning in the second half of 2020 and continuing through the first quarter of 2021.
In Colorado, Full House tore down an old hotel next to its Bronco Billy’s Casino in Cripple Creek. When construction is finished in late 2022, the new venue will be called the Chamonix Casino Hotel.
Lee credited 2019 refurbishments to the Silver Slipper Casino Resort in Bay St. Louis as part of the reason for the location’s success. A potential expansion to the Silver Slipper is in the planning stages, despite a lack of land.
“We figured the best way to expand it is to build a pier out over water, like the Santa Monica pier and put a hotel tower on it,” Lee said. More parking also will need to be added, as will the replacement of affected wetlands.
Full House applied to the Illinois Gaming Board for a license for a proposed casino, called American Place, in Waukegan. Lee said that if selected, Full House would be able to open a temporary casino soon after signing a development agreement.
The company currently has agreements for six online and onsite sports wagering skins in Colorado and Indiana. Four were operational in the first quarter, bringing in approximately $1 million in revenue. Two became operational in April, and the sixth is due to start operating soon.
“Our skins were all introduced a little late,” Lee said, noting FanDuel and DraftKings dominance in the state’s sports betting market. “But we know that each of our three partners (Wynn, William Hill, Twin Spires) have different marketing plans they haven’t ramped up yet.”
Lee also expressed hope that Full House properties in Nevada – Stockman’s Casino in Fallon and Grand Lodge Casino in Lake Tahoe – would rebound in the next few months due to easing of COVID-19 restrictions in the state.
Shares of Full House, traded on the NASDAQ, closed at $9.45, down 53 cents or 5.31%.
