On the nice list? Full House offering trip to North Pole

Full House Resorts has a cool promotion underway at its Indiana casino — a trip giveaway to the North Pole.

The Las Vegas-based regional casino company, which operates five casino properties in four states, plans a drawing at its Rising Star Casino for an overnight trip to the North Pole by way of Norway.

The casino, which rebrands itself as the Christmas Casino with a North Pole during the holiday season, will pick a winner in February. The winner will take the trip in April.

Dan Lee, president and CEO of Full House, said the Sept. 29 opening of a ferry on the Ohio River from populous Boone County, Kentucky, improved access to the Rising Star.

Full House also opened the yearround Christmas Casino & Inn by Bronco Billy’s at its Bronco Billy’s property in Cripple Creek, Colorado, on Nov. 1.

In the company’s third-quarter earnings call Wednesday, Lee said

Full House submitted a proposal for a racetrack, casino, hotel and golf course near Clovis, New Mexico, to the New Mexico Racing Commission last month. The commission could reach a decision in the next few months.

“We are always searching for ways to extend our development pipeline and prudently grow our company,” Lee said of its La Posada del Llano proposal, one of five submitted for consideration.

“While there is never certainty in such competitive processes, we firmly believe our proposal is the strongest of the five proposals in terms of benefits for the racing industry, the city of Clovis and the state of New Mexico,” he said.

Lee said he expects to attract customers from nearby Texas with new technology — a “moving grandstand” tram next to the track that follows the horses during races.

Full House reported revenue for the quarter that ended Sept. 30 was flat from a year earlier, missing analysts’ estimates. The company reported net income of $1.6 million, or 4 cents a share, on revenue of $44 million. For the same quarter last year, Full House reported net income of $789,000, or 3 cents a share, on revenue of $43.7 million.

A survey of four analysts on average had projected revenue of $45.1 million and earnings of 7 cents a share.

Full House’s stock closed up 7 cents, or 2.5 percent, to $2.86 a share Thursday.

Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @Rickvelotta on Twitter.