Full House Resorts’ CEO and president Daniel Lee says the casino operator has entered a “new phase”, with the opening of new properties helping drive revenue up 47.6% in 2023.
Revenue for the 12 months to 31 December 2023 hit $241.1m (£189.5m/€221.7m). This is some way clear of the $163.3m reported by Full House in the previous year.
Highlights in 2023 included the opening of American Place, currently a temporary facility in Illinois. The venue opened in February just one year after Full House secured a licence in the state. Plans are in place to open a permanent venue for American Place. However, Full House has secured approvals to operate the temporary facility until August 2027.
“After several years of construction, we are entering a new phase for our company,” Lee said. “American Place celebrated its one-year anniversary a few weeks ago As expected, it continues to ramp up its operations.
“In December, American Place reached a new monthly gaming revenue record of $8.2m. It subsequently set a new monthly all-time record for revenues in February 2024, despite it being a short month. We expect American Place’s gaming revenues to continue to grow in 2024.”
Full House opens new Colorado casino
Right at the end of 2023, Full House also opened its new Chamonix Casino Hotel in Colorado. The casino welcomed its first visitors on 27 December, meaning it did not have much of an impact on the full-year results.
However, Lee says the venue will help drive growth in 2024 and beyond.
“By design, it was a soft opening, with the casino, meeting rooms and approximately 40% of the property’s guest rooms initially open,” Lee said. “Over the past few weeks, we have continued the rollout of the property’s amenities, including completion of the destination’s remaining hotel rooms and its parking garage.
“Chamonix was designed to be the most beautiful casino in the state of Colorado and we look forward to the completion of all of its amenities over the next few months.”
Widespread growth in 2023
Taking a closer look at the 2023 figures, Full House reported growth across all core areas.
Casino was the main source of income, with revenue rising by 55.3% to $176.9m. Food and beverage revenue was 28.3% higher at $34.0m and hotel revenue climbed 4.4% to $9.4m. Revenue from other operations, including contracted sports wagering, increased 52.2% to $20.7m.
As for segmental performance, Full House’s operations in the Midwest & South generated $192.4m, up 60.4%. American Place contributed $77.0m to this total in 2023.
Revenue from West activities was marginally lower at $35.9m. This was put down to the temporary loss of on-site parking and hotel rooms at Bronco Billy’s to accommodate the construction of the neighbouring Chamonix. Now Chamonix is open, Bronco Billy’s is benefiting from its integration with Chamonix, including a new parking garage and guest rooms.
Contracted sports betting revenue for 2023 was 78.1% higher at $12.8m. This was helped by the launch of an Illinois sports skin in August and the launch of a replacement operator in Colorado in March. Full House also noted the impact of accelerated revenues related to two other sports wagering agreements with operators that ceased operations in Q3.
Higher costs lead to wider net loss
In terms of spending, total operating costs were 60.8% higher at $242.2m, with expenses up across the board. The main outgoing for Full House was selling, general and administrative at $85.7m, up 43.6%.
Full House also noted $23.0m in interest expense which, coupled with its higher operating costs, left a pre-tax loss of $23.8m, compared to $14.8m in 2022.
The operator paid $1.1m in tax, resulting in a net loss of $24.9m, wider than $14.8m in the previous year. However, adjusted EBITDA for the year was 51.4% higher at $48.6m.
Similar story for Full House in Q4
Turning to the final quarter of the year, revenue in Q4 was 66.2% higher at $60.0m. Casino was again the main source of revenue at $45.3m, with revenue from food and beverage at $8.6m, hotel $2.4m and contracted sports wagering $3.7m.
Midwest & South revenue, which also includes the Silver Slipper Casino and Hotel and Rising Star Casino Resort, jumped 78.8% to $49.1m. This was again put down to the opening of American Place.
West revenue climbed 14.0% to $8.6m. Along with Bronco Billy’s and the Chamonix Casino, this segment also covers the Grand Lodge Casino and Stockman’s Casino. As for contracted sports betting, revenue rocketed 109.1% in Q4 to $2.3m, on the back of the Illinois skin launch.
Costs-wise, operating expenses were up 65.9% at $65.2m and net interest costs hit $6.7m, leaving a pre-tax loss of $11.8m, compared to $7.0m in 2022.
Full House noted $697,000 in tax payments, which meant it ended Q4 with a net loss of $12.5m, wider than last year’s $7.0m. Adjusted EBITDA, however, jumped 87.2% to $7.3m.
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