Full House Resorts (NASDAQ:FLL) reported higher third-quarter revenue as its American Place casino delivered its best quarter since opening, but adjusted EBITDA slipped slightly from a year earlier. Executives said they are cutting costs at the Chamonix casino and hotel in Colorado while working to complete financing for a permanent American Place facility in Illinois.
Revenue rose 4.9% to $81.8 million from $78 million in the prior-year quarter, President and Chief Financial Officer Lewis Fanger said on the earnings call. Adjusted EBITDA was $14.6 million, compared with $14.8 million a year earlier. Operating income increased 28.6% to $4.4 million.
Fanger noted that the prior-year quarter included a benefit from a gaming tax accrual adjustment at the company’s Colorado operations. Adjusted segment EBITDA in the Midwest and South rose 18% to $13.6 million, with all three properties in the segment improving and its margin expanding by 2.2 percentage points.
American Place Financing Remains a Focus
Fanger said American Place has increased revenue and adjusted property EBITDA in every quarter compared with the corresponding prior-year period since opening, despite new and expanded competition in the region. The company believes a permanent casino, designed to have roughly twice the square footage of the temporary facility, can generate more than $100 million in annual EBITDA before rent under its existing lease with the city, he said.
CEO Dan Lee said little work is taking place at the construction site, though the company has spent a couple of million dollars in recent months refining architectural and design plans. Full House would prefer to have all financing in place before substantially launching construction because starting and stopping work is expensive, he said.
Fanger outlined three parts of the proposed refinancing. Four banks have agreed to a new $100 million credit facility that the company expects to keep largely undrawn, and a third party would provide $315 million in delayed-draw funding for the permanent casino. Both agreements are essentially final and ready for signature, he said.
The remaining piece is a new bond to replace existing notes. Fanger said higher interest rates and weaker credit markets complicated the process, but the company remains in discussions with existing and potential bondholders. Lee described refinancing the existing bonds as the key outstanding item.
Chamonix Cost Cuts Target 2027 Profitability
At Chamonix, Fanger said the company has begun approximately $8 million in cost improvements and is targeting more than $10 million in total near-term bottom-line improvements. Management said the changes are intended to bring expenses in line with current business levels while continuing to build revenue.
The measures include bringing housekeeping and laundry in-house, shifting advertising toward targeted digital spending, reducing restaurant hours and ending a steakhouse consulting agreement. Fanger estimated annual savings of about $1 million from the housekeeping and laundry changes combined, net of equipment lease costs, and about $1.5 million from the marketing shift.
Fanger said the housekeeping transition was expected to be largely complete by the end of November, while laundry was expected to move in-house in the first half of 2027. He also said operating-efficiency measures, including changes to casino cage duties and restaurant hours, were expected to produce approximately $4.5 million in savings, with about $2 million implemented so far.
Lee said the expense reductions could bring Chamonix to between $10 million and $20 million of annual EBITDA in 2027, while growth beyond that would likely require higher revenue. He said management is also seeking more midweek group business and is talking with major hotel chains about a potential affiliation, though no agreement has been reached.
Asked whether the company would sell Chamonix, Lee said it would consider an offer under the right circumstances but emphasized that the property is not for sale and that no sale is imminently contemplated. He said the company has invested approximately $300 million in the property.
Property Trends and Wildfire Impact
Chamonix saw growth among its two highest-value customer segments, Fanger said. A July wildfire near feeder-market cities kept visitors away for a meaningful part of the month, he said, although room nights sold rose 10.4% year over year in a strong September.
Management did not quantify the wildfire’s financial effect. Lee said revenue had been growing 10% to 12% in the months leading into July, when it was flat or down slightly, before returning to the growth trend in September.
At Rising Star, gaming revenue rose 9%, hotel revenue increased 6% and food and beverage revenue grew 24%, contributing to the property’s best third quarter in three years, Fanger said. Silver Slipper increased property EBITDA by 13.6%, helped by operating efficiencies and lower property insurance rates.
Executives also said an October hurricane event in Mississippi caused a brief disruption, including flooding on the road to Silver Slipper, but did not damage the property.
About Full House Resorts (NASDAQ:FLL)
Full House Resorts, Inc (NASDAQ:FLL) is a regional gaming and hospitality company that owns, operates, and manages casinos and related entertainment properties in the United States. Its properties typically offer casino gaming, hotel accommodations, restaurants, bars, live entertainment, and other amenities designed to serve local and destination visitors.
The company’s portfolio includes Chamonix Casino Hotel and Bronco Billy’s Casino in Cripple Creek, Colorado; Silver Slipper Casino Hotel in Bay St.
