(Rising Sun, Ind.) – After it was put up for sale earlier this year, Grand Victoria Casino and Resort in Rising Sun will finally have a new owner.

Grand Victoria Casino in Rising Sun file photo

The riverboat is being sold to Las Vegas-based Full House Resorts for $43 million.

“This property is perfectly sized to complement our current business and we believe the transaction will create long-term shareholder value,” said Andre M. Hilliou, Chairman and CEO of Full House, in a statement. “Under the leadership of HGMI Gaming, Inc., the property is well-run and well-maintained. The current property management is very strong; however, we believe that we can leverage our knowledge and proven track record of managing properties catering to local customers in competitive environments to further improve the profitability of the Grand Victoria, and we expect to see immediate returns on our investment.”

The deal is expected to close in early 2011, according to a press release from Full House.

So far, there is neither an indication of how the sale may affect staff at the casino nor what Full House’s long-term plans are.

Though it was southeast Indiana’s first riverboat in 1996, Grand Victoria became geographically sandwiched between two other riverboats in Lawrenceburg and Switzerland County.

Grand Victoria has struggled in recent years to attract gamblers to Rising Sun. In August, the casino posted $9.01 million in revenue – about 15.7 percent of the market share of southeast Indiana’s three riverboats.

Full House owns one other casino in Fallon, Nevada and has a management agreement for another casino at Battle Creek, Michigan.

City of Rising Sun Mayor Bill Marksberry expects to release a statement later Monday.

LINKS:

Full House Resorts - http://www.fullhouseresorts.com/

Grand Victoria Casino - http://www.grandvictoria.com/en/