Full House Resorts recently celebrated the topping-off of a new six-story, 142-room hotel at its Silver Slipper Casino in Bay St. Louis, Hancock County, Mississippi. The .7 million hotel is scheduled to March 17, 2015, three months later than expected due to the large amount of debris found under the sand at the site.
Full House Resorts Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Andre Hilliou said, “This topping-off is an important step in completing what is sure to be a fantastic addition to the Silver Slipper. From the moment we purchased the Silver Slipper it was our intention to build a first-class hotel tower to welcome our loyal customers and invite new guests from further distances who will now have the option to stay overnight at our exciting casino on the Gulf Coast of Mississippi.” Full House Resorts bought Silver Slipper on Oct. 1, 2012.
Tish Williams, director of the Hancock County Chamber of Commerce, stated, “This is the single most important development for Hancock County right now. We need more hotel rooms. Our visitors are more than ready.” Williams said besides a new bed-and-breakfast, the Silver Slipper hotel is the first in Hancock County since Hollywood Casino’s hotel opened in 2006.
The Silver Slipper casino offers 37,000 square feet of gaming space with 940 slot and video poker machines, 26 table games and the only live Keno game on the Gulf Coast. The property includes a fine dining restaurant, buffet, quick service restaurant and two casino bars.
Casino General Manager John Ferrucci said the resort will start taking hotel reservations in mid-February.
Meanwhile, Full House Resorts, now fighting with investors seeking more control of the company’s board, showed signs of improvement at the end of the third quarter. But the Vegas-based casino operator is still looking to sell its operations.
The company posted a net loss of $800,000, compared to $2.2 million in 2013, or a loss per share of 4 cents compared to 11 cents during the same period last year. Overall revenues for Full House declined 12 percent to $32.9 million.
During a conference call last week, Full House Chairman and CEO Andre Hilliou advised stockholders to ignore a campaign from a shareholder group that wants to remake the company’s board. The rebel group, led by former Pinnacle Entertainment CEO Dan Lee, wants to double the size of the board from five to 10 members in a bid for more influence.
The Securities and Exchange Commission OK’d a request by the shareholder group, which has complained about excessive CEO compensation and massive revenue losses. Full House’s stock price has declined by 55 percent over the past 12 months. The company also breached its credit covenants.
Lee’s group controls 6.2 percent of Full House shares. The group would need approval from shareholders controlling 40 percent to remake the board. A trust set up by the company’s late CEO that owns 9.4 percent of Full House has sided with the shareholder group, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.
In October, Full House put itself up for sale. Despite the infighting, Full House Chief Operating Officer Mark Miller said the company looks forward to recovery in regional gaming markets. Full House is also part of two investment groups bidding on two casino projects in upstate New York. Those licenses are expected to be awarded by the end of the year.
“Given the sensitivity and fluidity of this situation, we will not be taking any questions regarding the consent solicitation effort,” Hilliou said during the call. “We will not be providing any additional commentary beyond the information we have already publicly filed.”
