River Rock Entertainment Authority Announces First Quarter 2009 Financial Results

GEYSERVILLE, Calif.--(Business Wire)--
The River Rock Entertainment Authority (the "Authority"), the operator of the
River Rock Casino in Sonoma County, California, today announced first quarter
operating results for the period ended March 31, 2009.

First Quarter Operating Results for the Period Ended March 31, 2009

Net revenues for the first quarter ended March 31, 2009 were $31.5 million.
Casino revenues totaled $30.0 million and included slot revenue of $27.0 million
and table games and poker revenue of $3.0 million. Food, beverage and retail
revenues were $1.4 million.

Operating expenses for the first quarter ended March 31, 2009 were $20.1
million. Operating expenses consisted of casino expense of $4.2 million, food,
beverage and retail expense of $2.1 million, selling, general and administrative
expense of $10.3 million, depreciation expense of $2.4 million, gaming
commission and surveillance expense of $0.9 million and compact revenue sharing
trust fund expense of $0.3 million.

EBITDA (1) for the first quarter of 2009 was $13.8 million, or 44% of net
revenues. Income from operations for the first quarter 2009 was $11.4 million
and represented 36% of net revenues. Interest expense for the first quarter 2009
was $5.2 million.

"We are encouraged by the preliminary results from our 2009 operating
initiatives. We continue to remain focused on increasing visitation through
strategic marketing and promotion. We also continue to manage our costs
carefully, as SG&A expenses decreased 11 percent from the fourth quarter of
2008," stated John Cirrincione, Chief Operating Officer and acting General
Manager of the River Rock Casino.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

Net cash provided by operating activities for the first quarter totaled $12.7
million. Net cash used in capital and related financing activities for the first
quarter totaled $3.9 million. Cash provided by investing activities decreased to
$8,438, from $0.5 million, for the three months ended March 31, 2009. Cash used
in non-capital financing activities was $3.3 million, which represented net
distributions to the Tribe. Cash and cash equivalents net of restricted cash at
March 31, 2009 totaled $32.8 million.

Current cash balances and operating cash flow are expected to provide the
Authority with sufficient resources to meet its existing debt obligations,
current budgeted capital expenditure requirements and distributions to the
Tribe.

"EBITDA" is income before distributions to the Tribe plus interest, taxes,
depreciation and amortization. EBITDA should not be construed as an alternative
to operating income, as an indicator of the Authority`s operating performance,
or as an alternative to cash flows from operating activities, as a measure of
liquidity, or as any other measure determined in accordance with generally
accepted accounting principles (GAAP). Moreover, our calculations of EBITDA may
not be comparable to that reported by other companies. EBITDA is a basis upon
which we assess our liquidity and because certain covenants in the Indenture for
our $200 million senior notes are tied to similar measures. EBITDA also presents
useful information regarding our ability to service and incur indebtedness.
EBITDA does not take into account our debt service requirements, and
accordingly, is not necessarily indicative of amounts that may be available for
debt service.

The following table is the calculation of EBITDA for the periods indicated (in
thousands):

Three-Months Ended
March 31,
2009 2008
(Dollars in Thousands)

Net Income before distributions to the Tribe $ 6,186,249 $ 6,978,121
Add back Interest $ 5,215,500 $ 5,216,791
Add back Depreciation & Amortization $ 2,374,610 $ 2,939,856

EBITDA $ 13,776,359 $ 15,134,768

(1) EBITDA provides a metric to analyze our operations that should be considered
with both our GAAP results and the reconciliation to net cash provided by
operating activities.EBITDA is presented solely as a supplemental disclosure
because the Authority believes it provides a more complete understanding of our
business, it may be used by investors to assess the operating performance of the
business in comparison to other operators in the gaming industry and the
Authority uses EBITDA as a benchmark to evaluate its own performance in
comparison to its competitors.

Conference Call

The Authority will host a conference call to discuss first quarter 2009
financial results at 1:00 PM ET today, May 18, 2009. The call can be accessed
live over the phone by dialing 888-278-8459 or for international callers by
dialing 913-905-1086. To access the webcast, please visit
www.riverrockcasino.com and click on `Contact Us` and then `Investor Relations.`
A replay of the call will be available until May 25, 2009 by dialing
888-203-1112; password 7246609.

River Rock Entertainment Authority

We are a governmental instrumentality of the Dry Creek Rancheria Band of Pomo
Indians, a federally recognized self-governing Indian tribe. The Tribe has 976
enrolled members and approximately 75-acre reservation in Sonoma County,
California. We own and operate the River Rock Casino, a gaming and entertainment
facility which is located on the Tribe`s reservation and overlooks the scenic
Alexander Valley, approximately 75 miles north of San Francisco, California. The
River Rock Casino features 35,500 square feet of gaming space containing 1,571
Class III slot and video poker gaming machines, 22 table games, as well as a
full-service restaurant.

Forward-Looking Statements

This release contains certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of
the Unites States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Whenever you
read a statement that is not simply a statement of historical fact (such as when
we describe what we "believe," "expect" or "anticipate" will occur and other
similar statements), you must remember that our expectations may not be correct,
even though we believe they are reasonable. We do not guarantee that the
transactions and events described in this press release will happen as described
(or that they will happen at all). You should read this press release completely
and with the understanding that actual future results may be materially
different from what we expect. We will not update these forward-looking
statements, even though our situation will change in the future.

Whether actual results will conform to our expectations and predictions is
subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including:

* Our financial performance
* Our dependence on a single gaming site
* Our levels of leverage and ability to meet our debt service and other
obligations
* General local, domestic and global economic conditions
* Changes in federal or state tax laws or regulations, including the Compact
* Maintenance of licenses required under gaming laws and regulations and
construction permits and approvals required under applicable laws and
regulations; and
* Development of new competitive gaming properties.

RIVER ROCK ENTERTAINMENT AUTHORITY
(A Governmental Instrumentality of the Dry Creek Rancheria Band of Pomo Indians)

CONDENSED BALANCE SHEETS
(Unaudited)

ASSETS March 31, 2009 December 31, 2008

CURRENT ASSETS:
Cash and cash equivalents $ 32,815,274 $ 27,348,392
Restricted cash-current - -
Accounts receivable 265,506 68,486
Inventories 143,818 169,022
Prepaid expenses and other current assets 1,038,435 1,238,195

Total current assets 34,263,034 28,824,095

RESTRICTED CASH 7,092,020 7,090,273

CAPITAL ASSETS:
Buildings and building improvements 130,378,197 130,357,841
Furniture, fixtures and equipment 36,054,207 34,143,554
Accumulated depreciation (56,859,526 ) (54,484,916 )
Construction in progress 47,576,240 45,599,195

Capital assets-net 157,149,119 155,615,674

DEPOSITS AND OTHER ASSETS 2,735,810 3,039,529

TOTAL ASSETS $ 201,239,983 $ 194,569,571
.
LIABILITIES AND NET ASSETS (DEFICIT)

CURRENT LIABILITIES:
Accounts payable:
Trade $ 2,124,359 $ 3,045,712
Accrued liabilities 12,770,653 8,102,078
Current maturities of long-term debt 24,079 45,011

Total current liabilities 14,919,091 11,192,801

LONG-TERM DEBT - net of current maturities 199,128,774 199,045,924

COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

NET ASSETS (DEFICIT):
Invested in capital assets-net of related debt (42,003,735 ) (43,475,261 )
Restricted for capital projects 7,092,020 7,090,273
Unrestricted 22,103,831 20,715,834

Total net assets (deficit) (12,807,884 ) (15,669,154 )

TOTAL LIABILITIES AND NET ASSETS (DEFICIT) $ 201,239,982 $ 194,569,571

RIVER ROCK ENTERTAINMENT AUTHORITY
(A Governmental Instrumentality of the Dry Creek Rancheria Band of Pomo Indians)

STATEMENTS OF REVENUES, EXPENSES AND CHANGES IN NET ASSETS (DEFICIT)
(Unaudited)

Three-Month
Period Ended
March 31,
2009 2008

OPERATING REVENUES:

Casino $ 29,952,516 $ 31,874,310
Food, beverage and retail 1,425,886 1,319,185
Other 128,836 148,552

Gross revenues 31,507,239 33,342,047

Promotional allowances (45,742 ) (169,839 )

Net revenues 31,461,497 33,172,208

OPERATING EXPENSES:
Casino 4,172,882 5,038,410
Food, beverage and retail 2,062,378 1,724,591
Selling, general and administrative 10,259,064 10,418,355
Depreciation 2,374,610 2,939,856
Credit enhancement fee - -
Gaming commission and surveillance expense 865,501 1,002,143
Compact revenue sharing trust fund 333,750 333,750

Total operating expenses 20,068,186 21,457,105

INCOME FROM OPERATIONS 11,393,311 11,715,103

NON-OPERATING EXPENSE-Net
Interest expense (5,215,500 ) (5,216,791 )
Interest income 8,438 488,476
Other income (expense) - net - (8,667 )

Non-operating expense-net (5,207,062 ) (4,736,982 )

INCOME BEFORE DISTRIBUTIONS TO TRIBE 6,186,249 6,978,121

DISTRIBUTIONS TO TRIBE (3,324,979 ) (3,122,400 )

NET INCOME AFTER DISTRIBUTIONS TO TRIBE 2,861,270 3,855,721

NET ASSETS (DEFICIT)-Beginning of period (15,669,154 ) (26,052,919 )

NET ASSETS (DEFICIT)-End of period $ (12,807,884 ) $ (22,197,198 )

ICR, LLC
Don Duffy, 203-682-8200

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