Full House Resorts recently purchased a 4-acre plot of Ohio River riverfront land in Rabbit Hash, Kentucky. The company plans to run a ferry boat there, taking gamblers from Northern Kentucky to Rising Star Casino in Rising Sun, Indiana.
Daniel Lee, chief executive officer at Las Vegas-based Full House Resorts, owners of Rising Star, announced the ferry boat plan in a March 17 conference call regarding fourth quarter earnings. “There’s a lot more people in Northern Kentucky than there are in Indiana. That takes us from a geographically challenged place to being the closest casino to something like 60,000 people, whereas today, we’re probably the closest casino to about 6,000 people.”
Lane Siekman, executive director of the Ohio County Economic Development Corporation, said Full House wants to open the ferry “as soon as possible. They know their database. They know who their customers are. So, they know there are people over there who they can draw back more often.”
For the first time since it opened in October 1996, revenue at the 40,000 square foot Rising Star dropped below $3.1 million in February. Since then it averaged $3.6 million a month but still ranks last among the six competitors in the region.
