Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc. (Nasdaq: MCRI) today announced record second quarter net income, earnings per share, casino revenue, hotel revenue and net revenue results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2003. The Company reported net income of $2,331,109, or $0.25 per share (diluted), an increase of approximately 3.5% from the $2,252,166 net income, or $0.24 per share (diluted), for the same period last year. Each of the Company's revenue centers experienced gains during the three months ended June 30, 2003 over the three months ended June 30, 2002: Casino revenue was $18,614,452, a 4.5% increase from $17,817,343; Hotel revenue increased 11.8% from $4,927,946 to $5,507,037; Food and Beverage, $8,736,201, and Other, $993,048, revenue centers increased 4.3% and 5.8%, respectively. Net revenue for the current three-month period was $29,079,050, an increase of 5.2% when compared to $27,628,872 for the second quarter ended June 30, 2002. EBITDA (1) for the current three-month period was $6,927,868, a decrease of 5.6% from the $7,334,969 EBITDA during the same period in 2002. Although net revenue increased, the decrease in EBITDA was primarily due to lower hold percentages at our table games and to higher marketing and promotional costs as well as costs of litigation against the City of Reno and other third parties.

John Farahi, Co-chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Monarch commented on the results: "Despite experiencing factors that negatively impacted our cash flow, we again achieved record second quarter net income, earnings per share, casino revenue, hotel revenue and net revenue of which we are very proud. In addition, we continued to significantly reduce our debt load which, combined with lower interest rates, resulted in a marked reduction in interest expense." The Company incurred 34.4% less interest expense during the second quarter of 2003 compared to the second quarter of 2002, while reducing its debt outstanding by $13.1 million over the same period from $66.3 million to $53.2 million, and by $7.0 million since December 31, 2002. Mr. Farahi concluded, "We are pleased with our improving results and are confident with the direction in which the Company is heading. I would like to thank the entire Atlantis team for their effective efforts, as well as the continued loyalty of our guests."