Northwest Indiana’s four casinos racked up an almost 47% increase in year-over-year revenues in October, with three of the casinos leading the state in different categories.
Ameristar in East Chicago, Blue Chip in Michigan City, Hard Rock Northern Indiana in Gary and Horseshoe Hammond together raked in a total of $97.27 million in revenues last month, compared to $66.40 million during the same month in 2020, according to the monthly report issued Friday by the Indiana Gaming Commission.
With both months having five Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, the main differences between the two months are the Hard Rock Northern Indiana casino replaced the two Majestic Star Casinos in Gary and last October was still in the center of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Region’s newest casino, Hard Rock, took in $32.37 million in revenues last month, $9.71 million of which was in table win, leading the state’s casinos in both categories. It took in $22.66 million in slot win.
Last year, the two Majestic Star Casinos together brought in a total of $11.46 million in revenues.
“We couldn’t be happier with our results thus far. Being the top revenue producer in the state in such a short time is truly testament to our team, our property and the Hard Rock brand. The experience and vibe of this property is exciting and energetic, and we hear that continuously from our guests,” the casino’s president, Matthew Schuffert., said.
He said the casino’s business levels continue to grow, particularly on the slot side.
“We continue to add new slot product to our floor, and will continue to add throughout the end of 2021, with over 150 more games on the way,” Schuffert said.
He said the casino currently has 1,484 slot machines, and the number will go up to 1,650 by the end of the year.
Horseshoe Hammond raked in $31.53 million in revenues compared to $25.99 million, a 21.3% increase. The casino’s $24.82 million in slot win was the highest among Indiana casinos and its $6.71 million in table win was the second highest.
Shannon McKellar, vice president, marketing, for Horseshoe Hammond, said October was another month of strong volumes in both tables and slots for the Indiana market.
As for Horseshoe, she said the casino continued to maintain the No. 1 position in the market for slot win, and saw strong visitation in October with five concerts, all of which were sold out or nearly sold out.
“The Venue at Horseshoe provides an intimate concert experience, said Senior Vice President and General Manager Kathryn Jenkins.
Ameristar brought in $20.75 million compared to $18.76 million, a 10.6% jump, while Blue Chip took in $12.62 million, up 23.8% from last October’s $10.19 million haul.
Blue Chip sports wagering tax was the highest in the state, at $903,023, while Ameristar’s was the second highest, at $830,358.
Blue Chip and Ameristar don’t comment on revenues.
Schuffert said entertainment also continues to be a driver of strong visitation at Hard Rock Northern Indiana. The casino has live entertainment every Friday and Saturday on its Hard Rock Café stage, and had its first concert in Hard Rock Live last week.
Karen Caffarini is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
