Full House Resorts Says No to Casino Acquisitions, Eyes Growth at Existing Properties
CEO Dan Lee and President Lewis Fanger told investors on the Q2 earnings call that Full House is too busy with Chamonix and American Place to take on more properties. The company posted a strong May and outlined ambitious targets for both venues.
Not Shopping, Just Building
With Churchill Downs and other operators putting casino properties on the market, you might expect smaller regional companies to circle like buyers at an estate sale. Full House Resorts is not one of them. CEO Dan Lee and President Lewis Fanger made that clear during the company’s second-quarter earnings call on Thursday, according to CDC Gaming.
“We’re a small company and we’re pretty busy,” Lee said. He described any acquisition as a “third challenge” he wasn’t eager to take on, given the demands of the company’s two active properties, Chamonix in Cripple Creek, Colorado, and American Place in Waukegan, Illinois. Any deal would require financing and debt that Full House doesn’t want to take on right now, and Lee was blunt about the equity market: “We certainly don’t want to issue equity at these prices.” He did briefly float the idea of Full House serving as an operating partner for a real estate investment trust someday, and gave a characteristically candid assessment of what’s actually being sold out there. “A lot of times when stuff is being offered, it’s got hair on it.”
Fanger, laughing, said the conversation might look very different in three years.
American Place Finds Its Footing
The headline number from the call was a $12.7 million month at The Temporary at American Place in May, which Fanger described as leading a strong quarter of growth. July came in below that peak but still ranked as the property’s second-best month yet, he added.
The permanent American Place, budgeted at $302 million, has also gone through a round of design refinements. Lee said the updated layout means guests will no longer have to cross the casino floor to reach the restaurants, a common friction point in older casino designs. He also confirmed the casino will open at less than full slot and gaming machine capacity, a deliberate soft-launch approach.
The design work drew heavily from Las Vegas’s Durango Resort. “We didn’t exactly copy it, but we learned from it,” Lee said. Full House added a food hall and is planning a more compact back-of-house footprint. Lee also said he studied the four new Illinois casinos that share a similar budget range to American Place. “I know some of these places better than the CEOs of their own companies,” he said.
On the Waukegan side, Full House received regulatory approval to operate the temporary casino structure through February 2029. After that, rather than tear it down, the company plans to repurpose it as a trade-show and entertainment venue for five years. Lee credited former casino executive Bill Richardson with the idea. The sprung structure, Lee noted, would become the largest event center between Chicago and Milwaukee.
Chamonix Chases Black Hawk’s Numbers
Chamonix had a breakeven quarter, Fanger reported, with the property’s win per gambling position per day running at roughly half the $300-per-day average in nearby Black Hawk and about a quarter of what Monarch Black Hawk earns. Fanger’s stated target is $175 per position per day over the next 18 months, which would represent a meaningful step up.
New, more targeted marketing and fresh casino hosts are part of the push. VIP guests were Chamonix’s strongest customer segment in June. “We’re seeing better guests visit and we’re seeing them return,” Fanger said.
Lee focused less on the gambling side and more on the experience. Chamonix’s former Mexican restaurant had been, by his own admission, a problem. “The food was so bad, Lewis and I joked about it,” he said. A new food-and-beverage manager overhauled the menu and the space, now operating as Don Juan’s, which Lee says has become a sought-after spot in Cripple Creek. “There’s nothing from Sysco. Everything’s homemade there.” Lee said he wants to apply that same philosophy to the steakhouse and coffee shop.
Full House is holding the line on expenses while growing revenue, Lee summarized, and refining marketing to be more efficient. For a company juggling two relatively young properties and a major permanent build still ahead, the message to investors was straightforward: there is plenty of work to do right here.
Is Full House Resorts looking to buy any of the casinos Churchill Downs is selling?
No. According to CEO Dan Lee and President Lewis Fanger on the Q2 earnings call, Full House has no plans to acquire additional casinos, citing the company's small size, existing debt, and the complexity of the two properties it is already running.
How did Full House's American Place casino perform in May 2026?
President Lewis Fanger reported a $12.7 million month for The Temporary at American Place in May 2026, which he described as a strong quarter of growth. He added that July was the property's second-best month on record.
What is Full House's goal for Chamonix's gambling revenue performance?
Fanger stated a goal of reaching $175 per gambling position per day over the next 18 months. He noted that the current figure is roughly half the $300-per-day average in nearby Black Hawk, Colorado, and about a quarter of what Monarch Black Hawk earns.
What will happen to the Waukegan temporary casino after it closes?
Full House received approval to operate the Waukegan temporary casino through February 2029. Rather than demolish it, the company plans to convert the structure into a trade-show and entertainment space for five years. CEO Dan Lee credited former casino executive Bill Richardson with the idea, noting the sprung structure would be the largest event center between Chicago and Milwaukee.