Full House Resorts, owner of casino properties including Bronco Billy’s in Cripple Creek, offered the most public pronouncement yet of a planned Colorado casino re-opening, saying it expects the doors to open “by June 14.”
The announcement was made during its first-quarter earnings call on Wednesday, May 13, during which the company made a number of other announcements regarding its Colorado operation.
Full House Resorts Colorado Sports Betting Update
The company said on the call it had secured three sports betting agreements for its Colorado operations. State law allows one sports betting website per casino license, and the company’s partnership with Bronco Billy’s includes use of the casino’s three licenses. Full House Resorts said it plans to bring “at least one” of its three slotted sports betting websites online before the end of the second-quarter of 2020, with all three to be operational by the third quarter.
The company also said it expects its annual revenue from its CO sportsbook operation to be “at least $3.5 million.”
Coronavirus Impact And Plans For CARES Act Money
Full House Resorts reported its Q1 2020 revenue at $5 million, down from $6.4 million, a drop they attributed to the state-mandated closure of their properties on March 17, 2020. It said it recently installed a new slot system at Bronco Billy’s, in part to “improve the customer experience” when it reopens “in early June.” This announcement is particularly notable because to date, no definitive re-opening timetables have been formally announced by Colorado casinos.
Full House Resorts also noted on the call it had received approximately $5.6 million in loans under the CARES Act, which the U.S. Congress passed in March in an effort to help businesses weather shutdowns resulting from the coronavirus pandemic. The company said on the call the money would be chiefly used to rehire “several hundred” employees at Bronco Billy’s and its sister property Rising Star Casino in Indiana.