Full House Resorts (FLL) Q3 2026 earnings review
Full House's Illinois casino keeps growing, but refinancing still waits
Full House Resorts, a regional US casino operator, earned more at its Chicago-area casino, but its debt problem stayed unsolved. American Place, that casino, had its best quarter ever. EBITDA, its profit before interest, tax and depreciation, dipped only because a one-time Colorado tax adjustment lifted last year's figure. Excluding it, EBITDA rose about 9% by our math.
| Revenue | $81.8 million +4.9% from a year ago |
|---|---|
| EBITDA (profit before interest, tax and depreciation), excluding one-offs | $14.6 million $14.8 million a year ago; about +9% without last year's tax benefit, by our math |
| Net loss | $8.6 million $7.7 million a year ago |
| Chamonix profit target for 2027 | New: $10–20 million no company-wide outlook |
⚖️ Verdict: 🔴 Bearish
The story got worse because the bond refinancing behind the permanent casino is still missing, though chief executive Daniel Lee had pointed to September. Finance chief Lewis Fanger blamed the Federal Reserve's rate rise. The good news: all three Midwest and South casinos earned more, but the new debt's cost will decide who keeps those gains.
The question now is whether Full House can refinance at a rate its casinos can carry. Markets may reopen within weeks, as Lee said they usually do, or a costly bond may follow as February 2028 nears. A signed bond, due before the credit line expires in November 2027, will settle it.
🐂 Bull Case
American Place Had Its Best Quarter Ever
American Place is the temporary casino Full House runs north of Chicago, while it plans a permanent building next door. Chief executive Daniel Lee said sales and profits there have beaten the prior year "in every quarter" since it opened in February 2023.
The streak held this quarter. Revenue at the casino rose 9.8% from a year ago and set a property record, the company said. Finance chief Lewis Fanger told investors that "American Place had the best quarter in its history". By our math, the casino now brings in about 43% of group sales, against 41% a year earlier.
This matters because American Place has to support the new debt and part of the permanent casino's cost. But its pace eased from 13.4% last quarter. Full House also leaves the casino's own profit out of its filings, so readers cannot check how much of the extra revenue Illinois's tiered gaming tax absorbs.
What to watch: American Place's fourth-quarter profit, which Fanger gives only on the earnings call early next year. If profit trails revenue by a wide gap, the tiered Illinois tax is taking much of the gain.
Rising Star and Silver Slipper Earned More
Midwest & South pairs American Place, the Chicago-area casino, with two older ones: Rising Star, near Cincinnati, and Silver Slipper, near New Orleans. Until now the older pair added little, so American Place carried the region.
This quarter all three casinos lifted their profit. Rising Star's revenue grew 10.0%, chief executive Daniel Lee said. At Silver Slipper, he said managers were "revising our marketing strategy and controlling departmental expenses". The gains came from lower overhead rather than from prices.
- Segment EBITDA (profit before interest, tax and depreciation): $13.6 million, up 18%
- EBITDA margin: 22.0%, against 19.8% a year ago
- Advertising, rent and insurance: 1.7 percentage points of revenue lower
What to watch: the segment margin in the fourth quarter, a slower season. A margin above last year's 20.1% would show that the Silver Slipper savings outlast the summer.
🐻 Bear Case
Full House Has Not Yet Replaced Its Bonds
Full House owes $450 million on bonds due in February 2028. It wants one package that replaces them and pays for the permanent American Place casino. Chief executive Daniel Lee said "we have 1 very important key thing left, and that is refinancing the existing bonds".
Lee called the overall financing mostly done. Finance chief Lewis Fanger said a new credit line and $315 million for construction are "essentially final and ready for signature". But by our math the old bonds are about half the package, so the open piece is the biggest.
Fanger said "our timing was unfortunate as the Fed raised rates just as our process was starting". Lenders to companies rated between B and CCC, where he places Full House, then pulled back.
Time is short. The company's credit line now falls due in November 2027. By our math, debt equals about 9 times a year of EBITDA, its profit before interest, tax and depreciation.
What to watch: the interest rate on the signed bond. A rate well above today's 8.25% would send much of American Place's gains to lenders rather than owners.
Chamonix Still Earns Little on $300 Million
Chamonix is Full House's newest casino hotel, in the Colorado mountain town of Cripple Creek. Chief executive Daniel Lee said the group has about $300 million in it. Finance chief Lewis Fanger said its most valuable players now visit more often.
The West segment holds Chamonix and the Grand Lodge casino at Lake Tahoe. Its EBITDA, or profit before interest, tax and depreciation, came to $1.0 million, against $3.2 million. Full House blamed a one-time gaming tax adjustment that helped last year. By our math, West gaming taxes went from 4.3% to 12.0% of segment revenue. Chamonix's own profit stayed out of the filing.
What to watch: Chamonix's own profit in the first half of 2027, once most cost cuts are in place. A result still near zero would mean the cuts did not fix the business.
Interest Costs Widened the Net Loss
Full House loses money under standard accounting because interest exceeds its operating profit. Operating income climbed 29% this quarter, yet the net loss widened to $8.6 million. Net interest expense did more damage: it rose 17%.
Most of that increase involves no cash. Full House owes Illinois a license fee for American Place, its casino near Chicago, and schedule changes to that fee added "$2.1 million of additional imputed interest", the filing said.
The charge costs no cash today, but the fee will. Payments on the $57.1 million total start in 2027, the same year the permanent casino needs construction money.
What to watch: the final payment schedule, which Illinois has not yet fixed. A heavy first installment would add to cash needs while Full House builds the permanent casino.
Risks this quarter didn't answer
Five standing risks got no decisive new figures in the results or the filing. Each line below names the reading that would move it.
- Building the permanent casino near Chicago: Lee said there is "Very little work at the site"; a start date or a new estimate against the $302 million budget would move it.
- Grand Lodge at Lake Tahoe: the hotel owner's renovation runs to late 2027 and cut sales again; the owner may also end the lease early during a major renovation.
- Sports betting partners: segment revenue fell 7% with two active betting websites; losing the Illinois partner would hurt most.
- Illinois tax tiers: the rate climbs as American Place earns more; the casino's own margin, given only on calls, would show the effect.
- New nearby casinos: Lee said a Kenosha, Wisconsin, casino looks less likely after the election, but no regulator ruled on it.
👓 Other Themes
Chamonix Starts About $8 Million of Cost Cuts
Finance chief Lewis Fanger said Full House has started about $8 million of cost cuts at Chamonix, its Colorado casino hotel. The target is more than $10 million of profit gains. Chamonix dropped room service and midweek steakhouse hours, and it is taking housekeeping and laundry in-house. Marketing shifts to "more targeted and efficient digital marketing channels". Lee, the chief executive, is in talks with hotel chains about a loyalty tie-up.
A Wildfire Kept Colorado Visitors Away in July
Full House said nearby wildfires hurt visits to its Colorado casinos in July. Chief executive Daniel Lee said revenue there had run 10% to 12% ahead before July, then came in flat or slightly down. September returned to growth. In October a hurricane flooded the road to Silver Slipper, in Mississippi, for a day or two without damage. Lee also said a proposed Colorado gaming tax rise would barely affect the group.
💲 Other KPIs
Overhead took a smaller share of sales. Selling, general and administrative costs, which cover marketing, rent and office staff, came to 34.7% of revenue, against 35.7% a year ago. The ratio has stayed in a narrow band for five quarters, so the Chamonix cuts have not reached it yet.
Shareholders' equity, what remains after subtracting all liabilities from assets, fell below zero this year. It went from $2.5 million in December to a deficit of $21.4 million, because each quarterly net loss reduces it. A year ago it stood at $14.2 million. The deficit uses no cash, but lenders weigh it.
The cash drain narrowed to $5.2 million in the first nine months, from $15.4 million a year earlier. Lower investment explains most of the change, because Chamonix's construction is over. Capital spending dropped to $4.6 million. Cash on hand fell to $30.7 million from $40.7 million in December.
🔮 Guidance
New. Chief executive Daniel Lee said Chamonix should earn $10–20 million before interest, tax and depreciation next year, from cost cuts at today's revenue. By our math, the middle of that range means a margin near 31% on 2025 sales. The property lost money in each quarter it reported this year, and earlier targets for it fell short.
Unchanged. Lee still expects the permanent casino near Chicago to open about two years from now. Full House said most building will wait until it secures the money. Illinois lets the temporary casino run until February 2029, so a few months of slack remain if the bond deal slips again.
Unchanged. Full House still expects the Hyatt at Lake Tahoe, which houses Grand Lodge, to finish its new cottage suites, main restaurant and meeting rooms in late 2027. Until then the work keeps cutting the casino's sales, which slid again this quarter.
❓ Key Questions
When will Full House sign its new bond?
The old bonds fall due in February 2028, and the credit line in November 2027. The rate on a new bond decides how much of American Place's growth stays with shareholders.
How much did American Place earn this quarter?
Full House reported a revenue record but no profit figure for the casino. Without it, readers cannot tell whether Illinois's tiered gaming tax is shrinking the margin as sales climb.
What did Chamonix earn in the third quarter?
Summer is Cripple Creek's busiest season, and Chamonix earned $2.1 million a year ago. The West total mixes it with Grand Lodge, so the new cost plan has no clean starting point.
When is the first Illinois license fee payment due?
Payments start in 2027, but the schedule is not final. A heavy early installment would compete with construction for cash.
Will site work start before the new bond closes?
Lee said the next stage of site work costs about $5 million, and Full House has the cash. Starting early saves time but uses money the company may need if the bond deal drags.