An unfavorable calendar combined with some lucky winners resulted in a slow start for area casinos in 2017.
According to the monthly revenue report released Wednesday by the Indiana Gaming Commission, the region's five casinos together raked in $74.89 million in revenues in January, a 5.1 percent drop from the $79.19 million they brought in the previous January.
Illinois casinos' revenues dipped by the same percentage and all five casinos in Northwest Indiana faced similar declines.
"Horseshoe fared better than the rest here, with only a 4.2 percent decline," said Dan Nita, senior vice president and general manager of the Hammond casino.
Ameristar Casino in East Chicago took in $17.09 million, compared to $18.69 million during the same month the previous year. Blue Chip Casino in Michigan City generated $12 million in revenues compared to $12.55 million, Horseshoe Hammond raked in $33.8 million compared to $35.11 million,
Majestic Star I Casino took in $7.27 million, a slight dip from the $7.35 million it generated the previous January. Majestic Star II Casino brought in $4.83 million compared to $5.48 million.
Matthew Schuffert, vice president and general manager of Ameristar, said January's numbers weren't a big surprise to him, given the fact that there were one less Friday and Saturday than in January 2015.
The casinos are busiest on those two days of the week.
He added that there were several lucky winners at both the table games and slot machines last month, including one gamer who won $200,000 on a video poker machine.
Nita said one Horseshoe Hammond guest won a $100,000 jackpot in a poker game.
"There's a little softness here and in Illinois. The big driver is the calendar," Nita said.
He said February will be a challenge as well, with one less day in the calendar than last year.
On the positive side, Schuffert said he's happy with the growth Ameristar is having with its table games and in admissions.
"There was a trend in prior years of a strong decline in year-over-year admissions, (Our admissions) were down slightly over last January, but the good news is people are getting out," Schuffert said.
He said Ameristar regained its No. 2 position among casinos in Indiana in attendance.
According to IGC, Ameristar had 185,882 individuals go through its turnstiles last month, compared to 189,001 the previous January.
He said Horseshoe Hammond ranked No. 1 in attendance, with 283,751 gamers going through its turnstiles, and Blue Chip Casino came in third, with 168,0268.
Karen Caffarini is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
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