Company exec sees positive signals
Full House property opening soon in Miss.
The top executive of a small Las Vegas casino company is hoping demand will be as strong as it has been for tribal casinos that already have opened their doors — especially as one of his five properties is due to open May 22.
Dan Lee, president and CEO of Full House Resorts, on Wednesday cited the experiences of tribal casinos in Idaho and a slot-route operation of Las Vegas-based Golden Entertainment Inc. as evidence that pent-up demand might be stronger than some analysts are anticipating, especially in the regional markets his company operates.
“People showed up and stood in lines to get in,” Lee said of a tribal operation in Idaho, which he didn’t name. “They only had half their slot machines turned on. They limited the number of people coming in, and they still had the highest handle in their 20-year history on the day they reopened. I’m not forecasting that we’ll be as fortuitous as they were.”
Lee also noted that Golden Entertainment, which services a collection of slot machines operated in Montana taverns, shared that demand soared to levels reached before state governments shut down gambling operations as a means to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
Lee is focused on that because his 129-room Silver Slipper Casino Hotel in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, will open its doors May 22 after the lifting of closure orders by regulators in that state.
“Our other properties are expected to follow shortly thereafter, with Stockman’s Casino and Grand Lodge Casino (in Nevada) expected to reopen before the end of May, Bronco Billy’s (in Colorado) expected to reopen in early June, and Rising Star (in Indiana) expected to reopen on June 14,” Lee said.
“Given the fluid nature of the coronavirus situation, these dates may change, but we look forward to welcoming back our guests and employees in relatively short order,” he added.
Lee said many Full House customers are retirees.
“If you’re retired, you can’t be laid off and you still have a $1,200 stimulus check,” he said.
Still, Lee said Full House would take a conservative approach to reopening with lean staffing initially.
“It’s almost like having a development company where you’ve got a handful of employees and you’re looking at opening five casinos and we’ll put all those people back to work,” he said.
Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @Rickvelotta on Twitter.