River Rock Entertainment Authority Announces Second 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 second quarter
operating results for the period ended June 30, 2009.

Second Quarter Operating Results for the Period Ended June 30, 2009

Net revenues for the second quarter were $31.1 million. Casino revenues totaled
$29.5 million and included slot revenue of $26.4 million and table games and
poker revenue of $3.1 million. Food, beverage and retail revenues were $1.5
million. Miscellaneous revenues were $0.3 million.

Operating expenses for the second quarter were $19.5 million. Operating expenses
consisted of casino expense of $3.9 million, food, beverage and retail expense
of $1.7 million, selling, general and administrative expense of $10.1 million,
depreciation expense of $2.4 million, gaming commission and surveillance expense
of $1.1 million and compact revenue sharing trust fund expense of $0.3 million.

EBITDA (1) for the second quarter of 2009 was $14.0 million, or 45% of net
revenues. Income from operations for the second quarter 2009 was $11.6 million
and represented 37% of net revenues. Interest expense for the second quarter
2009 was $5.2 million.

"We are clearly still seeing the effects of the industry-wide slowdown, but we
continue to be encouraged by the preliminary results from our 2009 operating
initiatives. We remain focused on increasing visitation through strategic
marketing and promotion. We also began a significant renovation project that
should draw customers as well as drive further efficiencies," 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 second quarter totaled $26.9
million. Net cash used in capital and related financing activities for the
second quarter totaled $18.4 million. Cash provided by investing activities
decreased to $31,800, from $0.8 million, for the three months ended June 30,
2009. Cash used in non-capital financing activities was $6.6 million, which
represented net distributions to the Tribe. Cash and cash equivalents net of
restricted cash at June 30, 2009 totaled $29.3 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
June 31,
2009 2008
(Dollars in Thousands)

Net Income before distributions to the Tribe $ 6,451,682 $ 5,961,511
Add back Interest $ 5,214,986 $ 5,216,674
Add back Depreciation & Amortization $ 2,381,411 $ 2,410,403

EBITDA $ 14,048,079 $ 13,588,588

(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 second quarter 2009
financial results at 5:00 PM ET today, August 17, 2009. The call can be accessed
live over the phone by dialing (888) 205-6786 or for international callers by
dialing (913) 312-6686. 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 August 24, 2009 by dialing (888)
203-1112; password 7899477.

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 1,200
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

ASSETS June 30, 2009 December 31, 2008
(Unaudited)

CURRENT ASSETS:
Cash and cash equivalents $ 29,269,883 $ 27,348,392
Accounts receivable 128,575 68,486
Inventories 142,971 169,022
Prepaid expenses and other current assets 1,175,599 1,238,195

Total current assets 30,717,028 28,824,095

RESTRICTED CASH 7,093,861 7,090,273

CAPITAL ASSETS:
Buildings and building improvements 130,389,175 130,357,841
Furniture, fixtures and equipment 32,568,125 34,143,554
Accumulated depreciation (55,386,307 ) (54,484,916 )
Construction in progress 51,863,013 45,599,195

Capital assets-net 159,434,006 155,615,674

DEPOSITS AND OTHER ASSETS 2,721,130 3,039,529

TOTAL ASSETS $ 199,966,025 $ 194,569,571

LIABILITIES AND NET ASSETS (DEFICIT)

CURRENT LIABILITIES:
Accounts payable $ 1,926,573 $ 3,045,712
Accrued liabilities 8,497,273 8,102,078
Current maturities of long-term debt 10,274 45,011

Total current liabilities 10,434,120 11,192,801

LONG-TERM DEBT - net of current maturities 199,213,087 199,045,924

COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

NET ASSETS (DEFICIT):
Invested in capital assets-net of related debt (39,789,355 ) (43,475,261 )
Restricted for capital projects 7,093,861 7,090,273
Unrestricted 23,014,312 20,715,834

Total net assets (deficit) (9,681,182 ) (15,669,154 )

TOTAL LIABILITIES AND NET ASSETS (DEFICIT) $ 199,966,025 $ 194,569,571

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

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

Three-Month Six-Month
Period Ended Period Ended
June 30, June 30,
2009 2008 2009 2008
OPERATING REVENUES:

Casino $ 29,469,018 $ 31,727,550 $ 59,421,534 $ 63,601,860
Food, beverage and retail 1,480,986 1,873,939 2,906,872 3,193,124
Other 333,529 154,114 462,365 302,666

Gross revenues 31,283,533 33,755,603 62,790,771 67,097,650

Promotional allowances (172,730 ) (97,419 ) (218,472 ) (267,258 )

Net revenues 31,110,803 33,658,184 62,572,299 66,830,392

OPERATING EXPENSES:
Casino 3,924,507 4,861,926 8,097,389 9,900,336
Food, beverage and retail 1,702,607 2,505,019 3,764,985 4,229,610
Selling, general and administrative 10,107,849 11,780,781 20,366,913 22,199,136
Depreciation 2,381,411 2,410,403 4,756,021 5,350,259
Gaming commission and surveillance expense 1,050,373 853,757 1,915,874 1,855,900
Compact revenue sharing trust fund 333,750 333,750 667,500 667,500
Gain on sale of assets (33,000 ) - (33,000 ) -

Total operating expenses 19,467,497 22,745,636 39,535,682 44,202,741

INCOME FROM OPERATIONS 11,643,306 10,912,548 23,036,617 22,627,651

NON-OPERATING EXPENSE-Net
Interest expense (5,214,986 ) (5,216,674 ) (10,430,486 ) (10,433,465 )
Interest income 23,362 266,145 31,800 754,621
Other income (expense) - net - (508 ) - (9,175 )

Non-operating expense-net (5,191,624 ) (4,951,037 ) (10,398,686 ) (9,688,019 )

INCOME BEFORE DISTRIBUTIONS TO TRIBE 6,451,682 5,961,511 12,637,931 12,939,632

DISTRIBUTIONS TO TRIBE (3,324,980 ) (4,263,688 ) (6,649,959 ) (7,386,088 )

NET INCOME AFTER DISTRIBUTIONS TO TRIBE 3,126,702 1,697,823 5,987,972 5,553,544

NET ASSETS (DEFICIT)-Beginning of period (12,807,884 ) (22,197,198 ) (15,669,154 ) (26,052,919 )

NET ASSETS (DEFICIT)-End of period $ (9,681,182 ) $ (20,499,375 ) $ (9,681,182 ) $ (20,499,375 )

ICR, LLC
Don Duffy, 203-682-8200

Copyright Business Wire 2009

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