July 2015 visitation down, but gambling revenue up for Tropicana Evansville

The casino reported gambling revenues of $10.9 million in July, up 2 percent from the same period a year earlier. It also reported 100,197 visitors, a decline of 4 percent from a year ago.

The numbers come from the Indiana Gaming Commission’s monthly casino revenue report, which was released on Monday. Among other things, the report details how many people visited Indiana’s casinos, how much each facility earned from gambling and how much each casino paid out in admissions and wagering taxes.

A representative of Tropicana Evansville could not be reached for comment Monday.

As compared with other Indiana casinos, Tropicana’s performance put it squarely in the middle of the pack.

Taken as a group, the state’s casinos reported $195.8 million in gambling revenue last month, up 4 percent from July 2014. They saw nearly 1.5 million visitors in July, a drop of 9 percent from a year ago.

The Ameristar casino in Northwestern Indiana posted the largest revenue gain, at 16 percent. The Majestic Star, also in Northwestern Indiana, posted the largest revenue loss, at 13 percent.

Only two of the state’s casinos — Belterra, in Southeastern Indiana; and Ameristar — posted admissions gains last month. Belterra posted a 1 percent gain, while Ameristar posted a 2 percent gain.

Meanwhile, the Majestic Star and Majestic Star II casinos both reported a 15 percent drop in visitation.

Tropicana’s major casino competitor is the French Lick Casino. French Lick posted $7.7 million in gambling revenue, up 14 percent from July 2014.

French Lick reported 79,841 visitors in July 2014 but its July 2015 visitor numbers are not available.

French Lick is no longer reporting visitation because the casino is no longer required to pay admission tax. The change was among a number of provisions included in the new state legislation that allows riverboat casinos to move their operations onto land. The legislation passed this spring and it went into effect July 1.