SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES	9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2015
SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES	NOTE 1. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES Basis of Presentation: Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc., (“Monarch” or “The Company”) was incorporated in 1993 and through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Golden Road Motor Inn, Inc., owns and operates the Atlantis Casino Resort Spa, a hotel/casino facility in Reno, Nevada (the “Atlantis”). Monarch’s wholly owned subsidiaries, High Desert Sunshine, Inc., Golden East, Inc. and Golden North, Inc., each own separate parcels of land located proximate to the Atlantis. Monarch’s wholly owned subsidiary Monarch Growth Inc. (“Monarch Growth”), formed in 2011, acquired Riviera Black Hawk, Inc., owner of the Riviera Black Hawk Casino on April 26, 2012. Riviera Black Hawk Casino was renamed Monarch Casino Black Hawk (“Monarch Black Hawk”) in October 2013. Monarch Growth also owns a parcel of land in Black Hawk, Colorado contiguous to the Monarch Casino Black Hawk. On October 22, 2014, the board of directors authorized a stock repurchase plan (the “Repurchase Plan”). Under the Repurchase Plan, the board of directors authorized a program to repurchase up to 3,000,000 shares of the Company’s common stock in the open market or in privately negotiated transactions from time to time, in compliance with Rule 10b-18 of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, subject to market conditions, applicable legal requirements and other factors. The Repurchase Plan does not obligate the Company to acquire any particular amount of common stock and the plan may be suspended at any time at our discretion, and it will continue until exhausted. The actual timing, number and value of shares repurchased under the Repurchase Program will be determined by management at its discretion and will depend on a number of factors, including the market price of the Company’s stock, general market economic conditions and applicable legal requirements. The Company has made no purchases under the Repurchase Plan. The unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Monarch and its subsidiaries. Intercompany balances and transactions are eliminated. Unless otherwise indicated, “Monarch,” “Company,” “we,” “our” and “us” refer to Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc. and its subsidiaries. Interim Financial Statements: The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles for interim financial information and with the instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and footnotes required by generally accepted accounting principles for complete financial statements. In the opinion of management of the Company, all adjustments considered necessary for a fair presentation are included. Operating results for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2015 are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the year ending December 31, 2015. The balance sheet at December 31, 2014 has been derived from the audited financial statements at that date, but does not include all of the information and footnotes required by U.S. generally accepted accounting principles for complete financial statements. For further information, refer to the consolidated financial statements and footnotes thereto included in the Company’s annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014. Fair Value of Financial Instruments: The estimated fair value of the Company’s financial instruments has been determined by the Company, using available market information and valuation methodologies. However, considerable judgment is required to develop the estimates of fair value; thus, the estimates provided herein are not necessarily indicative of the amounts that the Company could realize in a current market exchange. The carrying amounts of cash, receivables, accounts payable and accrued expenses approximate fair value because of the short-term nature of these instruments. Additionally, the carrying value of our long-term debt approximates fair value due to the variable nature of applicable interest rates and relative short-term maturity. Change in Accounting Estimate of Depreciable Life of Monarch Black Hawk Parking Structure: In December 2013, the Company began construction of a new parking structure at Monarch Black Hawk. Upon completion of that new structure, the Company plans to demolish the existing parking structure. At December 31, 2013, the existing parking structure had a net book value of approximately $4.8 million and a remaining depreciable life of approximately 37 years. The new parking structure was estimated to be completed on March 31, 2015. In accordance with ASC 250-10-45-17, effective January 1, 2014, the Company modified the estimated depreciable life of the existing parking structure to 15 months; the period from January 1, 2014 through the estimated demolition commencement date of March 31, 2015. As a result of this modification to the estimated depreciable life, depreciation expense of the existing parking structure increased by approximately $0.3 million per month (approximately $0.2 million net of tax). In July 2014, because of a delayed construction schedule, the Company revised the new parking structure completion date to December 31, 2015. At this time the Company modified the estimated depreciable life of the existing parking structure to 18 months, the period from July 1, 2014 through the revised estimated demolition commencement date of December 31, 2015 and adjusted the monthly depreciation expense. In October 2015, the general contractor notified the Company that further delay is expected and completion is now expected in the second quarter of 2016 at which point demolition of the existing structure will commence. At September 30, 2015, the existing parking structure had a net book value of approximately $0.4 million. Beginning in October 2015, the Company will reduce monthly depreciation expense to $0.04 million to reflect the revised depreciable life of the existing parking structure. For the three months ended September 30, 2015, the effect of the change in estimate was an increase of depreciation expense by $0.4 million, a decrease of net income by $0.3 million and a decrease of basic and diluted earnings per share by $0.02. For the nine months ended September 30, 2015, the effect of the change in estimate was an increase of depreciation expense by $1.4 million, a decrease of net income by $0.9 million and a decrease of basic and diluted earnings per share by $0.06. Segment Reporting: The accounting guidance for disclosures about segments of an enterprise and related information requires separate financial information to be disclosed for all operating segments of a business. The Company determined that two of the Company’s operating segments, Atlantis and Monarch Black Hawk, meet all of the aggregation criteria stipulated by ASC 280-10-50-11. The Company views each property as an operating segment and the two operating segments have been aggregated into one reporting segment.

NOTE 1. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Basis of Presentation:

Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc., (“Monarch” or “The Company”) was incorporated in 1993 and through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Golden Road Motor Inn, Inc., owns and operates the Atlantis Casino Resort Spa, a hotel/casino facility in Reno, Nevada (the “Atlantis”). Monarch’s wholly owned subsidiaries, High Desert Sunshine, Inc., Golden East, Inc. and Golden North, Inc., each own separate parcels of land located proximate to the Atlantis. Monarch’s wholly owned subsidiary Monarch Growth Inc. (“Monarch Growth”), formed in 2011, acquired Riviera Black Hawk, Inc., owner of the Riviera Black Hawk Casino on April 26, 2012. Riviera Black Hawk Casino was renamed Monarch Casino Black Hawk (“Monarch Black Hawk”) in October 2013. Monarch Growth also owns a parcel of land in Black Hawk, Colorado contiguous to the Monarch Casino Black Hawk.

On October 22, 2014, the board of directors authorized a stock repurchase plan (the “Repurchase Plan”). Under the Repurchase Plan, the board of directors authorized a program to repurchase up to 3,000,000 shares of the Company’s common stock in the open market or in privately negotiated transactions from time to time, in compliance with Rule 10b-18 of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, subject to market conditions, applicable legal requirements and other factors. The Repurchase Plan does not obligate the Company to acquire any particular amount of common stock and the plan may be suspended at any time at our discretion, and it will continue until exhausted. The actual timing, number and value of shares repurchased under the Repurchase Program will be determined by management at its discretion and will depend on a number of factors, including the market price of the Company’s stock, general market economic conditions and applicable legal requirements. The Company has made no purchases under the Repurchase Plan.

The unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Monarch and its subsidiaries. Intercompany balances and transactions are eliminated.

Unless otherwise indicated, “Monarch,” “Company,” “we,” “our” and “us” refer to Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc. and its subsidiaries.

Interim Financial Statements:

The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles for interim financial information and with the instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and footnotes required by generally accepted accounting principles for complete financial statements. In the opinion of management of the Company, all adjustments considered necessary for a fair presentation are included. Operating results for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2015 are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the year ending December 31, 2015.

The balance sheet at December 31, 2014 has been derived from the audited financial statements at that date, but does not include all of the information and footnotes required by U.S. generally accepted accounting principles for complete financial statements. For further information, refer to the consolidated financial statements and footnotes thereto included in the Company’s annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014.

Fair Value of Financial Instruments:

The estimated fair value of the Company’s financial instruments has been determined by the Company, using available market information and valuation methodologies. However, considerable judgment is required to develop the estimates of fair value; thus, the estimates provided herein are not necessarily indicative of the amounts that the Company could realize in a current market exchange.

The carrying amounts of cash, receivables, accounts payable and accrued expenses approximate fair value because of the short-term nature of these instruments. Additionally, the carrying value of our long-term debt approximates fair value due to the variable nature of applicable interest rates and relative short-term maturity.

Change in Accounting Estimate of Depreciable Life of Monarch Black Hawk Parking Structure:

In December 2013, the Company began construction of a new parking structure at Monarch Black Hawk. Upon completion of that new structure, the Company plans to demolish the existing parking structure. At December 31, 2013, the existing parking structure had a net book value of approximately $4.8 million and a remaining depreciable life of approximately 37 years. The new parking structure was estimated to be completed on March 31, 2015. In accordance with ASC 250-10-45-17, effective January 1, 2014, the Company modified the estimated depreciable life of the existing parking structure to 15 months; the period from January 1, 2014 through the estimated demolition commencement date of March 31, 2015. As a result of this modification to the estimated depreciable life, depreciation expense of the existing parking structure increased by approximately $0.3 million per month (approximately $0.2 million net of tax). In July 2014, because of a delayed construction schedule, the Company revised the new parking structure completion date to December 31, 2015. At this time the Company modified the estimated depreciable life of the existing parking structure to 18 months, the period from July 1, 2014 through the revised estimated demolition commencement date of December 31, 2015 and adjusted the monthly depreciation expense. In October 2015, the general contractor notified the Company that further delay is expected and completion is now expected in the second quarter of 2016 at which point demolition of the existing structure will commence. At September 30, 2015, the existing parking structure had a net book value of approximately $0.4 million. Beginning in October 2015, the Company will reduce monthly depreciation expense to $0.04 million to reflect the revised depreciable life of the existing parking structure.

For the three months ended September 30, 2015, the effect of the change in estimate was an increase of depreciation expense by $0.4 million, a decrease of net income by $0.3 million and a decrease of basic and diluted earnings per share by $0.02. For the nine months ended September 30, 2015, the effect of the change in estimate was an increase of depreciation expense by $1.4 million, a decrease of net income by $0.9 million and a decrease of basic and diluted earnings per share by $0.06.

Segment Reporting:

The accounting guidance for disclosures about segments of an enterprise and related information requires separate financial information to be disclosed for all operating segments of a business. The Company determined that two of the Company’s operating segments, Atlantis and Monarch Black Hawk, meet all of the aggregation criteria stipulated by ASC 280-10-50-11. The Company views each property as an operating segment and the two operating segments have been aggregated into one reporting segment.