Full House Resorts, Inc. is a

casino A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertai ...

developer and operator based in Summerlin South, Nevada. The company currently operates five casinos. It is known for the involvement of

Gulfstream Aerospace Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation is an American aircraft company and a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics. Gulfstream designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and services business jet aircraft. Gulfstream has produced more than 2,000 ...

founder

Allen Paulson Allen Eugene Paulson (April 22, 1922 – July 19, 2000) was an American businessman. Business career in aviation Born in Clinton, Iowa, Allen E. Paulson was on his own at age 13, supporting himself selling newspapers and doing janitorial wor ...

, who was CEO from 1994 to 2000, and former

Chrysler Stellantis North America (officially FCA US and formerly Chrysler ()) is one of the " Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is the American subsidiary of the multinational automotiv ...

chairman

Lee Iacocca Lido Anthony "Lee" Iacocca ( ; October 15, 1924 – July 2, 2019) was an American automobile executive best known for the development of the Ford Mustang, Continental Mark III, and Ford Pinto cars while at the Ford Motor Company in the 1960s, an ...

, who was a major investor in the company from 1995 to 2013. Dan Lee has served as CEO since late 2014.

History

Founding (1987–1995)

The company was incorporated in 1987 as Hour Corp., and changed its name to D.H.Z. Capital Corp. later that year. In 1992, the company changed its name to Full House Resorts and bought the Deadwood Gulch Resort, a hotel and casino in

Deadwood, South Dakota Deadwood (Lakota: ''Owáyasuta''; "To approve or confirm things") is a city that serves as county seat of Lawrence County, South Dakota, United States. It was named by early settlers after the dead trees found in its gulch. The city had i ...

. The resort was expanded in 1994 with an

RV park A recreational vehicle park (RV park) or caravan park is a place where people with recreational vehicles can stay overnight, or longer, in allotted spaces known as "sites" or "campsites". They are also referred to as campgrounds, though a true ...

and a family fun center, Gulches of Fun. By 1996, the company determined that Deadwood's remote location and low betting limits were too limiting, so the resort was put up for sale. It was sold it to a group of South Dakota businessmen in 1998 for $6 million. Full House made its

initial public offering An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investment ...

on the NASDAQ Small Cap Market in 1993, raising $8 million.

, founder of

, bought a 17.5 percent stake in the company in March 1994, and was named chairman and CEO in August. The Coquille Indian Tribe chose Full House in 1994 from fifteen potential investors to develop a casino in

North Bend, Oregon North Bend is a city in Coos County, Oregon, United States with a population of 9,695 as of the 2010 census.Branson, Missouri Branson is a city in the U.S. state of Missouri. Most of the city is situated in Taney County, with a small portion in the west extending into Stone County. Branson is in the Ozark Mountains. The community was named after Reuben Branson, postmas ...

from a company owned by former

chairman

, and Omega Properties, owned by John Fugazy and Full House director William McComas. During the talks, Full House learned that Iacocca and Omega were discussing four separate casino development projects with the

Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi The Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi (NHBP) is a federally-recognized tribe of Potawatomi in the United States. The tribe achieved federal recognition on December 19, 1995, and currently has approximately 1500 members. The Pine Creek Indi ...

, the

Torres-Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians The Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians is a federally recognized tribe of Cahuilla Indians, located in Imperial and Riverside counties in California.Delaware State Fairgrounds, and four organized Indian tribes in Michigan. To gain access to these projects, Full House bought Iacocca's company and Omega in 1995. Iacocca received a 12.2 percent stake in the company. With the four tribes in Michigan (

Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians The Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians ( oj, Gichi-wiikwedong Odaawaag miina ojibweg) is a federally recognized Native American tribe located in northwest Michigan on the Leelanau Peninsula. Sam McClellan is the current tribal ch ...

, Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa,

Hannahville Indian Community The Hannahville Indian Community is a federally recognized Potawatomi tribe residing in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, approximately west of Escanaba on a reservation. The reservation, at , lies mostly in Harris Township in eastern Menominee C ...

, and

Keweenaw Bay Indian Community The L'Anse Indian Reservation is the land base of the federally recognized Keweenaw Bay Indian Community ( oj, Gakiiwe’onaning) of the historic Lake Superior Band of Chippewa Indians. (The Keweenaw Bay Indian Community was defined in 1934 by ...

), Full House proposed to build a $175 million casino in a vacated department store in Detroit. However, Governor

John Engler John Mathias Engler (born October 12, 1948) is an American businessman and politician who served as the 46th Governor of Michigan from 1991 to 2003. A member of the Republican Party, he later worked for Business Roundtable, where '' The Hill'' ...

decided in 1995 not to allow off-reservation Indian casinos, and Full House wrote the project off. Full House worked with the Torres-Martinez tribe of southern California to lobby the federal government for more land, to replace the half of the tribe's reservation that was permanently flooded by the

Salton Sea The Salton Sea is a shallow, landlocked, highly saline body of water in Riverside and Imperial counties at the southern end of the U.S. state of California. It lies on the San Andreas Fault within the Salton Trough that stretches to the Gulf ...

. By 2001, little progress had been made with the land, or with signing a compact with the state to allow a casino, so the tribe's members voted to terminate the contract with Full House. The company invoked

arbitration Arbitration is a form of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) that resolves disputes outside the judiciary courts. The dispute will be decided by one or more persons (the 'arbitrators', 'arbiters' or 'arbitral tribunal'), which renders the ' ...

and ultimately received a $1 million settlement from the tribe. In December 1995, the firm entered into a partnership with lottery equipment manufacturer Gtech, under which all of Full House's existing and future projects, except for Deadwood Gulch, would be pursued as joint ventures. The alliance lasted until April 2001, when Full House bought out Gtech's interests for $1.8 million. In May 1996, the Delaware project came to fruition with the opening of Midway Slots & Simulcast, a casino with 500

video lottery terminals A video lottery terminal (VLT), also sometimes known as a video gaming terminal (VGT), video slots, or the video lottery, is a type of electronic gambling machine. They are typically operated by a region's lottery, and situated at licensed establis ...

and a racebook, at Harrington Raceway at the state fairgrounds in Harrington. Full House developed the casino at a cost of $11 million, and received a 15-year contract to operate it for a percentage of revenues. The firm's involvement ended when the agreement expired in 2011. The proposed Nottawaseppi Huron casino in

Battle Creek, Michigan Battle Creek is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan, in northwest Calhoun County, at the confluence of the Kalamazoo and Battle Creek rivers. It is the principal city of the Battle Creek, Michigan Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), which enco ...

was delayed by years of litigation by anti-gaming activists. The $375-million

FireKeepers Casino FireKeepers Casino Hotel is a casino and hotel in Emmett Charter Township, Michigan, between Battle Creek and Marshall. It is owned and operated by the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi. Construction began May 7, 2008, and the casino opened ...

finally opened in 2009, as a joint venture with real estate developer Robert Mathewson. Full House and Mathewson were to manage the casino for seven years, receiving 26% of net income, but the Nottawaseppi Huron bought out the agreement in 2012 for $97.5 million and took over management of the casino.

Gregg Giuffria & Hard Rock Biloxi (1997–2000)

In 1997, former rock musician Gregg Giuffria and casino architect Paul Steelman conceived the idea of building a

Hard Rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest h ...

hotel and dockside casino in

Biloxi, Mississippi Biloxi ( ; ) is a city in and one of two county seats of Harrison County, Mississippi, United States (the other being the adjacent city of Gulfport). The 2010 United States Census recorded the population as 44,054 and in 2019 the estimated popu ...

. Giuffria, a friend of Iacocca, approached McComas and Iacocca with the idea. After they negotiated an agreement with the

Rank Group The Rank Group is a gambling company based in the United Kingdom. Rank was involved in the cinema and motion picture industry until 2006, and continues to use the Gongman logo originally used by the Rank Organisation's film distribution subsidi ...

, owner of the Hard Rock trademark, Iacocca joined the Full House board of directors, and Giuffria was named president of the company in 1998. The project was organized as a joint venture between Full House and Paulson, with Paulson providing a boat, the former Treasure Bay casino barge. A seven-acre site next to the Beau Rivage casino was secured for the $250- to 300-million development. Giuffria resigned from Full House in 2000, but the company pressed forward with the Hard Rock. By 2002, though, financing had not been found, the options to purchase the land had lapsed, and Full House dropped the project. The Hard Rock Biloxi was ultimately opened in 2007 by a company co-owned by Giuffria. At Giuffria's urging, the company moved its headquarters from

Del Mar, California Del Mar (; Spanish for "Of the Sea") is a beach town in San Diego County, California, located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean. Established in 1885 as a seaside resort, the city incorporated in 1959. The Del Mar Horse Races are hosted on the De ...

to Las Vegas in 1998.

Post-Allen Paulson (2000–2014)

After Paulson's death in 2000, Full House put itself up for sale. In July 2003, the

Morongo Band of Mission Indians The Morongo Band of Mission Indians is a federally recognized tribe in California, United States. The main tribal groups are Cahuilla and Serrano. Tribal members also include Cupeño, Luiseño, and Chemehuevi Indians. Although many tribes in Ca ...

in California agreed to acquire the company for $20.1 million, but a tribal ballot to approve the purchase failed later that year, and the deal was canceled. Instead, Paulson's son, Michael, took over as chairman, and the company began a strategy of expansion. In 2005, Full House reached development agreements with two tribes in New Mexico. The Manuelito Chapter of the

Navajo Nation The Navajo Nation ( nv, Naabeehó Bináhásdzo), also known as Navajoland, is a Native Americans in the United States, Native American Indian reservation, reservation in the United States. It occupies portions of northeastern Arizona, northwe ...

selected the company from eleven applicants to develop and manage a casino, four miles west of Gallup. With the Nambé Pueblo of New Mexico, the company agreed to develop a casino and hotel on tribal land fifteen miles north of Santa Fe, in exchange for thirty percent of net revenues for the first seven years. The Navajo project was dropped in 2007, when the tribe decided to proceed without a gaming developer. Market conditions, including the opening of a large casino by the nearby Pueblo of Pojoaque, led the Nambé to drop their arrangement in 2008, instead pursuing plans for a smaller gaming operation to be managed by the tribe itself. Also in 2005, the company entered an agreement with the Northern Cheyenne Nation to develop a $10- to 15-million casino in

Lame Deer, Montana Lame Deer (Meaveʼhoʼeno in Cheyenne) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Rosebud County, Montana, United States. The community is named after Miniconjou Lakota chief Lame Deer, who was killed by the U.S. Army in 1877 under a flag of truce sou ...

. By 2010, financing difficulties forced Full House to write off the $728,000 it had spent, though it said it would continue to pursue the project. In February 2007, the company bought Stockman's Casino, an casino in

Fallon, Nevada Fallon is a city in Churchill County in the U.S. state of Nevada. The population was 9,327 at time of the 2020 census. Fallon is the county seat of Churchill County and is located in the Lahontan Valley. History The community was first populat ...

, along with its 98-room

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hotel, from James Peters for $25.5 million. It sold the hotel a year later for $7.2 million, deciding that it was not important for driving customers to the casino. In 2011, Full House entered into a three-year management agreement with the Pueblo of Pojoaque to oversee its Buffalo Thunder and Cities of Gold casinos, for $100,000 a month plus success fees based on financial targets. The company earned $5.4 million under the contract before it expired in September 2014, and the tribe resumed self-management of the casinos. Also in 2011, the company purchased two casinos from HGMI Gaming, a

Hyatt Hyatt Hotels Corporation, commonly known as Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, is an American multinational hospitality company headquartered in the Riverside Plaza area of Chicago that manages and franchises luxury and business hotels, resorts, and vacat ...

affiliate owned by the

Pritzker family The Pritzker family is an American family engaged in entrepreneurship and philanthropy, and one of the wealthiest families in the United States of America (staying in the top 10 of ''Forbes'' magazine's "America's Richest Families" list since the ...

. It bought the assets of the Grand Lodge Casino at the Hyatt Regency hotel in

Incline Village, Nevada Incline Village is a census-designated place (CDP) on the north shore of Lake Tahoe in Washoe County, Nevada, United States. The population was 8,777 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Reno− Sparks Metropolitan Statistical Area. Until the 2 ...

for $700,000, and leased the space for $125,000 a month for an initial five-year term, keeping all profits. It also bought the Grand Victoria

riverboat casino A riverboat casino is a type of casino on a riverboat found in several states in the United States with frontage on the Mississippi River and its tributaries, or along the Gulf Coast. Several states authorized this type of casino in order to en ...

and hotel in

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for $43 million, and renamed it as the Rising Star Casino Resort. In October 2012, Full House acquired the Silver Slipper Casino in Lakeshore, Mississippi for $70 million, with plans to potentially add a hotel. An analyst stated the company would likely continue acquiring properties with earnings in the $10− to 15-million range. The company partnered in 2013 with the Keeneland Association in a plan to buy Thunder Ridge Raceway, a

harness racing Harness racing is a form of horse racing in which the horses race at a specific gait (a trot or a pace). They usually pull a two-wheeled cart called a sulky, or spider, or chariot occupied by a driver. In Europe, and less frequently in Austral ...

track in

Prestonburg, Kentucky Prestonsburg is a small home rule-class city in and the county seat of Floyd County, Kentucky, United States. It is in the eastern part of the state in the valley of the Big Sandy River. The population was 3,255 at the time of the 2010 cens ...

. The partners proposed to move the racing license to a new

Quarter Horse The American Quarter Horse, or Quarter Horse, is an American breed of horse that excels at sprinting short distances. Its name is derived from its ability to outrun other horse breeds in races of a quarter mile or less; some have been clocked at s ...

track to be built in Corbin. The purchase was contingent on the formal legalization of slot machine-like

Instant Racing Instant Racing, known generically as historical race wagering, is an electronic gambling system that allows players to bet on replays of Horse racing, horse races or Dog racing, dog races that have already been run. Some Instant Racing terminals re ...

devices, at least 300 of which would operate at the new track. In March 2014, Full House agreed to acquire the Fitz Casino in

Tunica Resorts, Mississippi Tunica Resorts, formerly known as Robinsonville until 2005,

from Majestic Star Casino for $62 million. Two months later, however, Full House said it would back out of the deal, citing financing difficulties.

Dan Lee era (2014–present)

In October 2014, a group of

activist shareholder An activist shareholder is a shareholder who uses an equity stake in a corporation to put pressure on its management. A fairly small stake (less than 10% of outstanding shares) may be enough to launch a successful campaign. In comparison, a full t ...

s, led by former CEO of

Pinnacle Entertainment Pinnacle Entertainment, Inc. was an American gambling and hospitality company. It was acquired by Penn National Gaming in 2018. At the time of acquisition, it operated sixteen casino properties, located in Colorado, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Missi ...

Dan Lee, launched a

proxy fight A proxy fight, proxy contest or proxy battle (sometimes even called a proxy war) is an unfriendly contest for the control over an organization. The event usually occurs when a corporation's stockholders develop opposition to some aspect of the corp ...

, accusing Full House's management of going on a "reckless buying binge". Lee soon drew the support of the Paulson family. The company responded by putting itself up for sale. The fight ended in a settlement in December 2014, with Lee appointed as CEO of Full House. During the proxy contest, Full House was sidelined from the Thunder Ridge project, after the Kentucky Racing Commission expressed concerns about Full House and Keeneland decided to pursue the purchase alone. In 2015, Full House proposed building a $650-million mixed-use project anchored by a casino, on a site near the

Indianapolis International Airport Indianapolis International Airport is an international airport located seven miles (11 km) southwest of downtown Indianapolis in Marion County, Indiana, United States. It is owned and operated by the Indianapolis Airport Authority. The F ...

. The proposal was rejected by the airport authority. In May 2016, Full House purchased Bronco Billy's casino in

Cripple Creek, Colorado Cripple Creek is a statutory city that is the county seat of Teller County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 1,155 at the 2020 United States Census. Cripple Creek is a former gold mining camp located southwest of Colorado Sprin ...

for approximately $30 million. The company revealed a proposal in August 2018 to build La Posada del Llano, a racetrack, casino, and hotel near

Clovis, New Mexico Clovis is a city in and the county seat of Curry County, New Mexico. The city had a population of 37,775 as of the 2010 census, and a 2019 estimated population of 38,319. Clovis is located in the New Mexico portion of the Llano Estacado, in the ...

. In 2021, Full House began construction of Chamonix Casino Hotel, a $200-million property next to Bronco Billy's. The company also renewed its effort to expand in Indiana, submitting a bid to build a casino in

Terre Haute Terre Haute ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Vigo County, Indiana, United States, about 5 miles east of the state's western border with Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 60,785 and its metropolitan area had a ...

, to be named American Place.

Properties

Full House operates seven properties and two of which are under construction:

Former properties

Casinos developed or previously operated by Full House include: *Buffalo Thunder Casino —

Santa Fe, New Mexico Santa Fe ( ; , Spanish for 'Holy Faith'; tew, Oghá P'o'oge, Tewa for 'white shell water place'; tiw, Hulp'ó'ona, label=Tiwa language, Northern Tiwa; nv, Yootó, Navajo for 'bead + water place') is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. ...

*Cities of Gold Casino — Santa Fe, New Mexico *Deadwood Gulch Resort —

—

* Midway Slots & Simulcast —

Harrington, Delaware Harrington is a city in Kent County, Delaware, United States. It is part of the Dover, Delaware Metropolitan Statistical Area. Harrington hosts the annual Delaware State Fair each July. The population was 3,562 at the 2010 census. History Harr ...

*The Mill Casino & Hotel —

North Bend, Oregon North Bend is a city in Coos County, Oregon, United States with a population of 9,695 as of the 2010 census.Gambling companies of the United States Companies based in Spring Valley, Nevada Companies listed on the Nasdaq