Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc. (Nasdaq: MCRI) (the "Company"), owner of the Atlantis Casino Resort in Reno, Nevada, today announced record second quarter net income, earnings per share, net revenues and EBITDA (1) and an all-time quarterly Company record casino revenues, but lower hotel revenues, for the three-month period ended June 30, 2005.

The Company reported net revenues of $35.0 million during the 2005 second quarter, a 6.9% increase from $32.7 million during the same period in 2004. The record net revenues were driven primarily by a 14.7% increase in casino revenues, which reached an all-time Company quarterly record of $24.0 million during the three months ended June 30, 2005. Hotel revenues, however, decreased 10.1% in the second quarter of 2005 compared to the second quarter of 2004, due primarily to the absence of a major bowling tournament in Reno in 2005 and lower than expected second quarter bookings at the adjacent Reno-Sparks Convention Center. Reno traditionally hosts major international and national bowling tournaments that bring thousands of bowlers to Reno and typically generate hotel and other business. Food and beverage revenues remained relatively unchanged at $9.4 million. Based on information provided by the Reno-Sparks Convention and Visitors Authority and advance bookings, the Company anticipates convention business for the remainder of 2005 to meet or exceed that of comparable periods in 2004. Other revenue centers improved 20.6% to $1.1 million during the quarter. The 6.9% increase in net revenues, combined with an increase of only 3.6% in operating costs and expenses, led to a 19.5% increase in income from operations for the three months ended June 30, 2005, as compared to the same period in 2004.

Net income for the 2005 second quarter was a record $5.2 million, or $0.27 per diluted share, a 19.3% increase from net income of $4.4 million, or $0.23 per diluted share, for the same period a year earlier. EBITDA (1), driven by improved margins, also reached a new second quarter record of $10.3 million, an 8.5% improvement over the $9.5 million EBITDA (1) in the 2004 second quarter. Excluding depreciation and amortization, the Company achieved 35.6% flow through of incremental net revenue to income from operations in the second quarter of 2005.

When asked about the Company’s second quarter performance, John Farahi, Monarch’s CEO and Co-Chairman, commented: "We are obviously pleased with our gaming and bottom line results, which continue to improve despite the absence of a major Reno area bowling tournament this year. Additionally, the Reno-Sparks Convention Center next door to our property experienced unexpectedly slow business during the quarter, which impacted not only our hotel occupancy, but also our food and beverage operations."

Mr. Farahi further commented: "I am proud of our management team for its successful efforts to contain costs while continuing to deliver superior service to our guests. Effective cost controls enabled us to apply more of our free cash flow toward ongoing and continuous upgrades and renovations to our property and continued reduction of our debt." The Company continued to rapidly pay down its outstanding bank debt during the 2005 second quarter to $19.9 million from $32.4 million at 2004 year end and $39.3 at June 30, 2004.