FORM 4 Check this box if no longer subject to Section 16. Form 4 or Form 5 obligations may continue. See Instruction 1(b).

UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP OF SECURITIES Filed pursuant to Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, Section 17(a) of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 or Section 30(h) of the Investment Company Act of 1940

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1. Name and Address of Reporting Person * FARAHI BEN   2. Issuer Name and Ticker or Trading Symbol MONARCH CASINO & RESORT INC [mcri] 5. Relationship of Reporting Person(s) to Issuer (Check all applicable) __X__ Director __X__ 10% Owner __X__ Officer (give title below) _____ Other (specify below) CFO (Last) (First) (Middle) MONARCH CASINO & RESORT INC, 1175 MOANA LANE SUITE 200 3. Date of Earliest Transaction (Month/Day/Year) 03/23/2006 (Street) RENO, NV 89509 4. If Amendment, Date Original Filed(Month/Day/Year) 6. Individual or Joint/Group Filing(Check Applicable Line) _X_ Form filed by One Reporting Person ___ Form filed by More than One Reporting Person (City) (State) (Zip) Table I - Non-Derivative Securities Acquired, Disposed of, or Beneficially Owned

1.Title of Security (Instr. 3) 2. Transaction Date (Month/Day/Year) 2A. Deemed Execution Date, if any (Month/Day/Year) 3. Transaction Code (Instr. 8) 4. Securities Acquired (A) or Disposed of (D) (Instr. 3, 4 and 5) 5. Amount of Securities Beneficially Owned Following Reported Transaction(s) (Instr. 3 and 4) 6. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 4) 7. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 4) Code V Amount (A) or (D) Price Common stock 03/23/2006   S   2,500 D $ 28 2,426,654 D   Common stock 03/24/2006   S   38,500 D $ 28.1707 2,426,654 D   Common stock               2,426,654 D   Common stock               941,232 I Trustee of the Jila Farahi Trust (1)

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Table II - Derivative Securities Acquired, Disposed of, or Beneficially Owned
(e.g., puts, calls, warrants, options, convertible securities)

1. Title of Derivative Security (Instr. 3)

2. Conversion or Exercise Price of Derivative Security

3. Transaction Date (Month/Day/Year)

3A. Deemed Execution Date, if any (Month/Day/Year)

4. Transaction Code (Instr. 8)

5. Number of Derivative Securities Acquired (A) or Disposed of (D) (Instr. 3, 4, and 5)

6. Date Exercisable and Expiration Date (Month/Day/Year)

7. Title and Amount of Underlying Securities (Instr. 3 and 4)

8. Price of Derivative Security (Instr. 5)

9. Number of Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned Following Reported Transaction(s) (Instr. 4)

10. Ownership Form of Derivative Security: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 4)

11. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 4)

Code

V

(A)

(D)

Date Exercisable

Expiration Date

Title

Amount or Number of Shares

Option / right to buy

$ 11.685

(2)

10/21/2014

Common stock

100,000

33,332

D

Option / right to buy

$ 18.06

(3)

10/21/2015

Common stock

10,000

33,332

D

Reporting Owners

Reporting Owner Name / Address	Relationships
	Director	10% Owner	Officer	Other
FARAHI BEN MONARCH CASINO & RESORT INC 1175 MOANA LANE SUITE 200 RENO, NV 89509	X	X	CFO

Signatures

Ben Farahi		03/24/2006
**Signature of Reporting Person		Date

Explanation of Responses:

*	If the form is filed by more than one reporting person, see Instruction 4(b)(v).
**	Intentional misstatements or omissions of facts constitute Federal Criminal Violations. See 18 U.S.C. 1001 and 15 U.S.C. 78ff(a).
(1)	Mr. Ben Farahi owns an additional 941,232 shares of shared voting power common stock of Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc. ("Monarch") listed under the Jila Farahi Trust. Mr. Ben Farahi is a trustee of the Jila Farahi Trust. Jila Farahi is the sister of Ben Farahi but is not a director, officer or 10% owner of Monarch.
(2)	On October 21, 2004, Mr. Ben Farahi was granted an option pursuant to the Company's 1993 Executive Long-Term Incentive Plan, as amended, to purchase 100,000 shares of the Company's common stock at $11.685 per share. The shares vest as follows: 33,332 shares vested on October 21, 2005; 33,334 shares vest on October 21, 2006; 33,334 shares vest on October 21, 2007.
(3)	On October 21, 2005, Mr. Ben Farahi was granted an option pursuant to the Company's 1993 Executive Long-Term Incentive Plan, as amended, to purchase 10,000 shares of the Company's common stock at $18.06 per share. All the options under this award vest on October 21, 2008.

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