Revenues and attendance at all five casinos in Northwest Indiana slipped in May compared to the same month the previous year, which casino operators attributed to fewer weekend days and lucky table game players.
"Everyone expected the market to go down compared to (the previous) May, when we had five full weekends," said Matt Schuffert, senior vice president and general manager of Ameristar Casino in East Chicago.
Dan Nita, senior vice president and general manager of Horseshoe Hammond, said Illinois casinos saw about a 4.7 percent drop in year-over-year revenues in May and the Chicagoland market declined 7.6 percent.
"Last month (April) was fortuitous to us, this month was negative," Nita said of the calendar.
The five Northwest Indiana casinos together took in a total of $79.33 million in revenues in May, a 10 percent drop from the $88.24 million they raked in the previous May.
Ameristar Casino took in $18.25 million in May, compared to $21.34 million in May 2015, a 14 percent decline, while Blue Chip Casino in Michigan City brought in $13.56 million in revenues compared to $14.11 million the previous May, a 4 percent drop.
Horseshoe Hammond raked in $34 million compared to $38.2 million, an 11 percent drop, Majestic Star I Casino in Gary took in $7.75 million in revenues compared to $8.21 million, an almost 6 percent decline, and Majestic Star II Casino in Gary brought in $5.77 million compared to $6.38 million, about a 10 percent drop.
Barry Cregan, senior vice president and general manager of Majestic Star Casinos in Gary, said the month started strong and ended weak.
Schuffert said there was some softness over the Memorial Day weekend, which he said was probably due to the warm, sunny weather. But Dan Nita, senior vice president and general manager of Horseshoe Hammond, said that casino ended the month on a strong note, probably due to a marketing campaign tied to its 20th anniversary celebration underway.
"The party started early on Memorial Day Sunday, when we gave away a new Cadillac," Nita said.
All three general managers said there were some lucky table game winners at their casinos last month, which affected revenues.
Looking on the bright side, Schuffert said Ameristar's table business continues to grow, with table volume up 7 percent year over year.
"Year to date in 2016 we're up nearly 4 percent overall compared to last year, and in 15 of the last 18 months we've had year-over-year growth," Schuffert said.