By the numbers
Northwest Indiana's casinos saw gambling revenue shrink nearly 7 percent in June as compared to a year ago. Overall gaming revenue was $71 million for the month. For the first six months of 2016, gaming revenue was $486.2 million, down about 1.6 percent from the first half of 2015.
June 2016
Ameristar: $16.4 million, down 9.1 percent
Blue Chip: $12.5 million, down 0.8 percent
Horseshoe: $29.2 million, down 10.8 percent
Majestic Star I and II: $12.9 million, up 0.1 percent
Source: Indiana Gaming Commission
Northwest Indiana's casinos had a second rough month in a row in June as overall gaming revenue dropped 6.9 percent compared to the same month a year ago.
The casinos' gambling operations won them about $71 million last month; a year ago their win was $76.2 million, according to the Indiana Gaming Commission's monthly revenue report.
"A bit of softness, unfortunately," said Dan Nita, Horseshoe Casino general manager.
"June's always a tough month," said Matt Schuffert, Ameristar Casino general manager. "A lot of graduations, a lot of vacations, a lot of weddings — a lot of other things for folks to do."
June's warm, dry weather only enhanced that, Schuffert said.
The largest casinos saw the largest drops: Horseshoe was down 10.8 percent year-over year to $29.2 million and Ameristar was down 9.1 percent to $16.4 million.
Michigan City's Blue Chip came close to breaking even, down just 0.8 percent to $12.5 million. And the two Majestic Star boats in Gary's Buffington Harbor were the month's only winners, rising a slight 0.1 percent, remaining at a rounded $12.9 million.
Table games continue to show the highest proportional revenue drops for area casinos, down 14.9 percent year-over-year, compared to slot machines' 4.8 percent decline. Table games made up about 19 percent of revenue in June.
For Ameristar, a drop in the casino's table-game win came despite a significant increase in the amount of money customers wagered. "We had a lot of folks leaving here pretty happy," Schuffert said.
Nita said Horseshoe had some big winners, too, including one customer who arrived at the blackjack tables with $4,000 and left with $290,000.
Horseshoe was also impacted by a power-outage on June 26 — the day it celebrated its 20th anniversary, Nita said.
June's attendance showed a decline comparable to the drop in gaming revenue. The casinos combined for 767,955 total admissions in June, down 6.7 percent from last June's 823,219.
In the first half of 2016, the casinos earned a total of $486.2 million in gaming revenue, down 1.6 percent from the first half of 2015, when they won $494.2 million.
Year-over-year revenue was up for the months of January, February and April this year, and down in March, May and June.
Statewide, the 13 gaming establishments earned a win of about $170.5 million in June, down about 2.7 percent from last year's $175.2 million. Chicago-area casinos on the Illinois side of the border were down 5.9 percent, Nita said.
In June, the Northwest Indiana casinos paid a combined $25.8 million in wagering and admissions taxes.
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