Times Staff and wire reports
Indiana's riverboat casinos are feeling the sinking effects of an economic downturn, and Northwest Indiana's casinos are not immune.
During the months between September and April, gambling revenues at the state's 11 casinos declined for the first time in 13 years of riverboat wagering. The state's casino industry has never experienced more than two consecutive months of year-over-year declines, The Courier-Journal of Louisville, Ky., reported in a Monday story.
Revenues also declined during the first five months of this year by about $54 million, or 5 percent from the same period a year ago, according to Indiana Gaming Commission reports. Admissions also dropped during the period by nearly 7 percent.
Northwest Indiana's casinos face the same unforgiving economic picture that troubles gaming statewide, said Ed Feigenbaum, an Indiana gaming expert. Industry experts -- and gamblers -- say the weak economy, soaring gasoline prices and rampant job layoffs are pushing many to wager less or stay away from the boats.
"It's not just a question of cutting back. It becomes a question of cutting out," Feigenbaum said.
In the face of forbidding economic news, several Northwest Indiana casinos are continuing expansion projects. Hammond's Horseshoe Casino and the Blue Chip Casino Hotel in Michigan City are both expanding. Feigenbaum noted that expansion plans were formulated in different financial times, and the casinos have already dumped money into those projects.
The Blue Chip's fortunes have been affected by new competition, the economy and project construction, said David Strow, spokesman for Boyd Gaming, the casino's parent company. Still, the company is moving "full-steam" on the expansion, Strow said.
"We remain as optimistic as ever on the long-term prospects for Blue Chip," he said.
Former casinogoer Nancy McIntosh, 61, of Okolona, Ky., frequented Caesars Indiana until losing her job nearly two years ago. She put the brakes on her casino visits.
"I used to go every week, but those days are over," McIntosh said. "It's so expensive."
Caesars Indiana, about 25 miles west of Louisville, posted some of the worst numbers among the state's Ohio River casinos. Gross revenues declined $12.6 million and admissions dropped by 208,000 between January and May, compared with the same period last year.
But Caesars executives cite reasons other than the economy, including fewer slot machines in operation during renovations for next month's re-branding of Caesars as a Horseshoe Casino and Hotel.
A four-day shutdown in late March because of high water on the Ohio River also cut profits.
Feigenbaum, who edits a gaming newsletter in Indiana, said the overall decline in Indiana mirrors broader trends in the industry and runs counter to a belief that casinos are immune from economic cycles.
"We're finding out that isn't the case," he said.
Gambling analysts at Deutsche Bank this month also warned investors that energy prices are hurting casino profits in larger gambling destinations and regional markets such as Indiana and Iowa.
Gas prices have eaten into the cash customers can spend on leisure activities, the report said, and crude-oil prices are forcing airlines to cut low-cost flights to gaming destinations such as Las Vegas.
