Full House Resorts and Gaming Entertainment Michigan, LLC Announces Hiring of R. Bruce McKee as General Manager of FireKeepers Casino
LAS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Full House Resorts (AMEX: FLL) and its 50%-owned joint venture Gaming Entertainment Michigan, LLC (GEM) announced today that it has hired R. Bruce McKee to be the General Manager of FireKeepers Casino, located near Battle Creek, Michigan. Mr. McKee will join the FireKeepers team contingent upon licensing and approval by the National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC).
Mr. McKee has spent the past seven years as President of Gaming Entertainment Delaware (GED) - a joint venture between the Company and Harrington Raceway Inc. (HRI) - where he has also acted as General Manager of the venture's Harrington Raceway and Casino located in Harrington, Delaware. He recently oversaw an expansion to improve the customer experience, consisting of additional gaming devices and a gourmet restaurant, which resulted in increased earnings. Prior to joining GED, Mr. McKee worked for ten years at Trump Hotels and Casino Resorts, Inc., in a variety of positions including General Manager of Trump's Kansas City and Indiana properties, Chief Operating Officer of Trump Castle and Trump Taj Mahal casinos and Chief Financial Officer of Trump Hotels and Casino. Mr. McKee is a CPA and received his MBA from Golden Gate University in San Francisco.
"With the success he brought to Harrington Raceway and Casino in Delaware, it was an easy decision to bring Bruce on board," said Full House Chief Executive Officer Andre Hilliou. "We are confident that Bruce's extensive experience developing and managing casinos makes him the ideal person to make FireKeepers Casino a success in the Great Lakes region."
GEM received approval for its gaming management contract on December 14, 2007, from the NIGC, which was the final federal approval needed for the project. Design efforts are well underway and Clark Construction Company, an experienced construction manager, has been engaged with a guaranteed maximum price construction contract in place. FireKeepers Casino is expected to have approximately 3,200 gaming positions, a variety of dining venues and 2,500 parking spaces - inclusive of a 2,078 space enclosed parking garage - and is slated to break ground early this year. The casino will be located at Exit 104 of Interstate 94, the primary interstate highway between Chicago and Detroit. GEM will receive a management fee for seven years.
About Full House Resorts, Inc.
Full House owns, develops and manages gaming facilities. Full House owns the Stockman's Casino in Fallon, Nevada which has 8,400 square feet of gaming space with approximately 260 gaming machines, four table games and a keno game. The casino has a bar, a fine dining restaurant and a coffee shop. Full House also receives a guaranteed fee from the operation of Harrington Raceway and Casino, formerly Midway Slots and Simulcast at the Delaware State Fairgrounds in Harrington, Delaware. Harrington Raceway and Casino recently opened an expansion and is remodeling its original building which will result in a total of 2,000 gaming devices, a buffet, gourmet Steak House, other food and beverage outlets and an entertainment lounge. Full House also has a management agreement with the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi Indians for the development and management of a first-class casino with 2,500 gaming devices, 90 table games and 20 poker tables in the Battle Creek, Michigan area, which is currently in development. In addition, Full House has been working with the Nambe Pueblo of New Mexico for the development of a casino and with the Northern Cheyenne Nation of Montana for the development and management of a 27,000 square foot gaming facility. Further information about Full House can be viewed on its web site at www.fullhouseresorts.com.
Forward-looking Statements
Some of the statements made in this release are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based upon Full House's current expectations and projections about future events and generally relate to Full House's plans, objectives and expectations for Full House's business. Although Full House's management believes that the plans and objectives expressed in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, the outcome of such plans, objectives and expectations involve risks and uncertainties including without limitation, regulatory approvals, financing sources and terms, integration of acquisitions, competition and business conditions in the gaming industry. Additional information concerning potential factors that could affect Full House's financial condition and results of operations is included in the reports Full House files with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including, but not limited to, its Form 10-KSB for the most recently ended fiscal year.
For the foregoing reasons, readers and investors are cautioned that there also can be no assurance that the outcomes expressed in Full House's forward-looking statements included in this release and otherwise will prove to be accurate. In light of the significant uncertainties inherent in such forward-looking statements, the inclusion of such information should not be regarded as a representation or warranty by Full House or any other person that Full House's objectives and plans will be achieved in any specified time frame, if at all. Full House does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements or to announce revisions to any forward-looking statements.
Source: Full House Resorts
Released February 25, 2008