Full House Resorts to run Lake Tahoe casino

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Las Vegas-based Full House Resorts has signed a deal to lease the Grand Lodge Casino at the Hyatt Regency in Lake Tahoe, giving the gaming operator its second Nevada property.

Full House, which manages several Indian casinos in the Midwest, also owns the Stockman's Casino in Fallon.

Under the agreement with Hyatt Equities announced Thursday, Full House will have a five-year lease and will pay a fixed monthly rent of $125,000 over the initial term of the lease. Full House will pay $600,000 to acquire the operating assets and certain liabilities related to the Grand Lodge Casino, which has 260 slot machines, 25 table games and a sports book. The facility is integrated into Hyatt Regency on Lake Tahoe's north shore.

Full House said the casino had net revenues of $12.5 million and cash flow of $3.2 million in 2010.

The deal is subject to approval by Nevada gaming authorities.

Full House CEO Andre Hilliou said in a statement the company hopes to gain control of the operation by September.

"We believe this is a great deal for Full House," Morgan Joseph gaming analyst Justin Sebastiano told investors. He estimates that the Lake Tahoe casino could add annual cash flow of $1.7 million to the company.

Full House's largest casino is the FireKeepers Casino in Battle Creek, Mich., which it operates for the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi Indians. FireKeepers has 2,763 slot machines, 67 table games and a 120-seat poker room.

Full House owns the Grand Victoria Casino and Resort in Rising Sun, Ind., and recently announced a management agreement with the Pueblo of Pojoaque to manage the operations of the Buffalo Thunder Resort & Casino in Santa Fe, N.M.

Sebastiano said the Hyatt deal along with the New Mexico contract would offset any revenue loss Full House could experience when its contract to manage a casino in Delaware expires in August.