Full House Resorts might not know until next year if the New Mexico Racing Commission likes the company’s idea of a racetrack, casino, luxury hotel, and golf course complex near Clovis.
The Las Vegas-based casino company said during its third quarter earnings call Wednesday the state might have a decision for awarding a sixth racing license in next few months.
“We’re hopeful and we think we have something that is unique,” said Full House CEO Dan Lee.
The project – La Posada del Llano – was presented to the commission in October. The racetrack features a “moving grandstand” that is similar to a trolley system, which follows the race 360 degrees around the track.
Lee said the project would attract customers from nearby Texas, a state that does not allow casino-style gambling.
“Management continues to push forward internal growth initiatives while also pushing potential external projects to add further equity to the stock,” Macquarie Securities gaming analyst Chad Beynon told investors.
During the quarter that ended Sept. 30, Full House said its five casinos in four states reported net income of $1.6 million, or 4 cents a share, up from $800,000 or 3 cents a share a year ago.
Net revenues in the quarter increased to $44 million from $43.7 million in the prior-year period.
Lee credited two properties with boosting results.
At the Silver Slipper in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, the company opened a sports betting facility in August, which helped total revenue increase 8.7 percent at the property.
“New amenities have contributed to increases in guest traffic and casino win,” Lee said.
At the company’s Rising Star Casino in Indiana, Full House in September began operating a ferry service across the Ohio River between Boone County, Kentucky, and Rising Sun, Indiana. The casino transports up to 10 vehicles per trip, with an estimated four round-trips per hour. Lee said the casino’s cash flow grew 14.1 percent in the quarter.
Full House also operates two casinos in Northern Nevada and Bronco Billy’s, in Cripple Creek, Colorado, which is under-going an expansion. Last week, Full House opened the Christmas Casino and Inn, located in a freestanding building a block from the existing Bronco Billy’s complex.
“It is the first new and differentiated casino in Cripple Creek in more than a decade, and the response bodes well for our broader plans to expand Bronco Billy’s,” Lee said.
The quarterly earnings were announced a little more than two weeks after Full House rejected a $132.5 million buyout offer from an Illinois-based investment fund Z Capital Partners, saying the proposal “undervalued” the company.
There was no discussion on Wednesday’s earnings call about the offer from the fund which owns rival casino operator Affinity Gaming.
Lee said Full House remains interested in acquisitions to grow the company beyond its five casinos.
Shares of Full House, traded on the Nasdaq, closed at $2.79 Wednesday, down 9 cents or 3.13 percent.
Howard Stutz is the executive editor of CDC Gaming Reports. He can be reached at hstutz@cdcgamingreports.com. Follow @howardstutz on Twitter.
