Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc. (Nasdaq: MCRI) (the "Company") today announced record net income, earnings per share, casino revenues, net revenues and EBITDA for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended December 31, 2003. For the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2003, net income improved 36.4% over the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2002, increasing from $1,298,636, or $0.14 per diluted share, to $1,771,073, or $0.19 per diluted share. This fourth quarter improvement was mainly due to a 26.0% reduction in interest and stockholder guarantee fee expenses over last year's fourth quarter due to reduced debt outstanding and lower applicable interest rates, and to a lesser increase in operating expenses relative to the increase in revenues. Casino revenues increased 7.5% in the 2003 fourth quarter over the same period last year. The increase in casino revenues was mainly driven by improvements in slot machine, Keno and poker room revenues. Fourth quarter hotel revenues also grew in 2003, increasing 2.2% over the 2002 fourth quarter. Food and Beverage revenues decreased 0.5% in the 2003 fourth quarter as compared to the 2002 fourth quarter, while other revenue centers increased 2.9% over the same period. Net revenues for the quarter ended December 31, 2003, were $28,263,822, a 4.8% increase over the $26,960,916 for the same period a year earlier. EBITDA (1) for the fourth quarter of 2003 saw a 16.5% improvement over the fourth quarter of 2002, increasing from $5,293,624 to $6,165,987.

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2003, net income increased 11.7% to $9,605,923, or $1.02 per diluted share, as compared to $8,603,346, or $0.90 per diluted share, for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2002. This improvement in net income is directly attributable to a 33.0% decrease in interest expense and related stockholder guarantee fee expenses in 2003 over 2002, which resulted from lower outstanding debt levels as well as lower applicable interest rates. The Company also reported record casino revenues of $74,955,744 for the year, an increase of 5.9% over the $70,772,939 in 2002. The increase in casino revenues for the year was mainly attributable to increases in slot machine, Keno and poker revenues. Hotel revenues also broke Company records during fiscal year 2003, increasing 4.6% over the 2002 fiscal year results. Food and beverage (2.5%) and other (8.5%) revenue centers also improved during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2003 over the fiscal year ended December 31, 2002. The increases in all revenue centers contributed to record net revenues for the 2003 fiscal year, increasing 4.4% over the 2002 fiscal year. EBITDA (1) improved 1.8% during the year ended December 31, 2003, as compared to the same period in 2002, increasing from $27,515,903 to $28,006,847. The Company achieved record EBITDA (1) despite having incurred litigation costs associated with its recently settled lawsuit against the City of Reno and other third parties, as well as an increased gaming tax rate imposed by the State of Nevada that took effect on August 1, 2003. The Company incurred approximately $505,000 for both of these expenses in 2003, without comparable expenses in 2002.

The Company also announced today that it expects to complete the refinancing of its bank credit facility that matures on June 30, 2004 by February 27, 2004.

John Farahi, Co-chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Monarch complimented the Atlantis team and the Company's product following the record results: "We achieved record numbers once again in a very competitive environment. I am particularly pleased with our fourth quarter results. Despite increased competition from California Native American casinos and increased gaming tax rates, our fourth quarter EBITDA (1) increased approximately 16.5% over the year 2002 fourth quarter."

Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc. also announced today that the Company's 2004 Annual Meeting of Stockholders will be held on Wednesday, May 26, 2004, at 10:00 a.m. local time, at the Company's Atlantis Casino Resort, 3800 South Virginia Street, Reno, Nevada 89502. The record date for stockholders entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting is Thursday, April 8, 2004.