Full House Resorts Starts Hotel Construction at Rising Star Casino Resort

By Adrian Maties, Associate Editor

Full House Resorts (NYSE MKT: FLL), an owner, developer and manager of gaming facilities, has announced that Rising Sun/Ohio County First Inc. (RSOCF) and the Rising Sun Regional Foundation Inc. (RSRF) have started work on a new 104-room hotel at its Rising Star Casino Resort in Rising Sun, Ind.

Formerly known as the Grand Victoria Casino, the Rising Star Casino was acquired in April 2011 by Full House Resorts for $43 million. HGMI Gaming was the previous owner. The casino already has a 201-room hotel operating at or near capacity the majority of the time. With hotel occupancy in the midwestern United States recovering from recession lows and the construction of a new casino and  racetracks in the region, company officials consider the upgrade necessary.

“With the Rising Star Casino Resort Hotel operating at or near capacity the majority of the time, the addition of a new 104-room hotel in the community will allow the Rising Star team to have access to accommodations for those customers that would like, but were unable, to stay overnight,” Andre Hilliou, chairman & CEO of Full House Resorts, said in a news release. ”The additional hotel rooms will also aid in protecting the future revenue stream of the city and foundation from an increasingly competitive marketplace.”

RSOCF will own the new hotel. RSRF, a nonprofit that gets funding from casino revenues, will loan it the money to finance the project. The development was announced more than a year ago, but construction was delayed due to zoning issues. City officials approved the project this summer. The new hotel will be built on land already owned by the company and is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2013. It will help make the community more competitive, retaining jobs in the area and adding new ones.

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Photo credits: https://www.facebook.com/risingstarcasino