- Full House Resorts is based in Las Vegas and operates casinos in Indiana, Mississippi, Colorado and Nevada.
- In Colorado, they own Bronco Billy’s Casino & Hotel in Cripple Creek.
- They’ve recently announced ‘augmented’ plans for expansion at the Colorado property.
More than any other state in the US, Colorado has done an excellent job leveraging sports betting to grow the state’s gaming industry to the benefit of everyone involved. They’ve created an ecosystem where bettors have options unrivaled in any other state. Their regulatory framework also allows gaming companies to prosper and the entire state to enjoy a tangible economic benefit well beyond generating additional tax revenue. They’ve attracted investment, promoted the other amenities in the state and brought in jobs.
While many other US states care nothing about removing competitive barriers in their gaming industry, Colorado keeps on working to grow its scope and scale. In November 2020, state voters approved additional positive changes to state gaming regulations including the elimination of betting limits and allowing Colorado casinos to offer new table games, such as baccarat and pai gow poker. Among other things, this allows Colorado to compete at the same level as New Jersey, Nevada or any other major gaming state. More importantly, it’ll bring even more economic development to the state.
In late January 2021, Full House Resorts released their Q4 2020 earnings and announced that they had decided to ‘double down’ on a previously planned expansion at their Bronco Billy’s Hotel & Casino in Cripple Creek Colorado. In the call they directly credited the previously mentioned regulatory improvements as a catalyst for what they described as ‘augmented’ expansion plans. Sports betting has also been a winner for Full House–they’ve partnered with Churchill Downs Incorporated to offer retail betting at the property under the BetAmerica brand. CDI is transitioning their BetAmerica brand into their better known TwinSpires nameplate later this year and that will further enhance the retail product at Bronco Billy’s. More recently, they’ve partnered with Wynn Resorts’ interactive division to offer WynnBET’s mobile betting platform in Colorado. Full House also has a mobile betting partnership with SBK, the fixed odds sports betting division of UK based exchange wagering company Smarkets.
The original expansion planned called for upgraded dining and hospitality amenities along with 180 additional hotel rooms. That has since been increased to 300 new rooms and suites. Here’s the details of the expansion plans from a Full House Resorts press release:
Additionally, the Company announced today that its board of directors has approved an increase to the size of its planned expansion of Bronco Billy’s Casino and Hotel in Cripple Creek, Colorado. As previously noted, in November 2020, Colorado voters approved favorable changes to the state’s gaming laws, including the elimination of betting limits and allowing Colorado casinos to offer new table games, such as baccarat and pai gow poker. To reflect the new opportunity created by those changes, the Company has increased the size of its planned Cripple Creek expansion by 67% to approximately 300 luxury guest rooms and suites, from its previously planned 180 guest rooms. Such plans were approved by the Cripple Creek Historic Preservation Commission and Cripple Creek City Council. Final approval requires a second reading by the Cripple Creek City Council, which is scheduled for consideration on February 3. Other planned amenities for the expansion – including a new parking garage, meeting and entertainment space, outdoor rooftop pool, spa, and fine-dining restaurant – remain largely unchanged. The expected investment to complete the Cripple Creek expansion is $180 million, which the Company believes can be financed with debt. Assuming timely completion of such fundraising, the Company intends to build the Cripple Creek expansion in one phase, with completion expected in the fourth quarter of 2022.
Credit to Colorado for continually improving their regulatory environment for sports betting and casino gaming while so many other US states are bending over backwards to find new and unique ways to screw things up.
