More green for NWI casinos

As the leaves on the trees change to reds and oranges, most Northwest Indiana casinos are seeing more green.

All but one of the area riverboats posted revenue gains in October, compared to last month and one year ago, according to figures released Monday by the Indiana Gaming Commission. Northwest Indiana casinos took in $99.76 million, the most since July, when their combined revenue was $102.99 million.

This is a "good sign," said Ed Feigenbaum, the publisher of Indianapolis-based Indiana Gaming Insight newsletter.

"Any time in a time of economic downturn that you see your revenues go up or even maintain the status quo, it's a big surprise," Feigenbaum said.

"October typically is down. We see a drop in revenue from September to October. This is real positive."

Horseshoe Casino Hammond again led the pack with a gain of nearly 9 percent over September and 7 percent more than October 2008. Gary's Majestic Star II showed a small increase in October, but was down compared with this time in 2008.

Majestic Star I was the sole casino posting revenues that were less than last month and October 2008.

Attendance figures for the first three quarters of 2009 are up at all Northwest Indiana casinos compared with the same period in 2008. In January, casino visits totaled 973,399, the lowest monthly total of the year. From February through October, the five area riverboats had combined attendance of more than 1 million each month.

In 2008, four months -- March, May, August and October -- saw 1 million or more visits to Northwest Indiana casinos.

Feigenbaum said Horseshoe Hammond consistently tops the state's revenue and attendance figures. In fact, he said, in the first nine months of 2009, Horseshoe accounted for 843,000 of the 846,000 admissions increase. Horseshoe also posts monthly revenues of more than $40 million, the highest of any of Indiana's 13 casinos.

The win-per-admission rate, however, is down at casinos across the state for the first three quarters of the year, Feigenbaum said.

"That means the casinos are keeping less (money) per patron," he said. "Either patrons are luckier, or they're not spending as much as they used to. We'll never really know that answer."

OCTOBER 2009 CASINO REVENUES

CASINO OCTOBER REVENUE % change from SEPT 2009 % CHANGE from Oct. 2008

Ameristar $22.67 million up 8.4 percent up 4.2 percent

Blue Chip $15.40 million up 9.6 percent up 6.4 percent

Horseshoe $45.47 million up 8.8 percent up 6.8 percent

Majestic Star I $8.25 million down 4.8 percent down 15.4 percent

Majestic Star II $7.97 million up .33 percent down 2.3 percent

Combined $99.76 million up 7 percent up 3.38 percent