Northwest Indiana's five casinos saw their two-month streak of improved year-over-year revenues snapped in February.
The casinos took in a total of $79.35 million in revenues last month compared to $80.25 million in February 2014, a 1.3 percent drop.
Dan Nita, senior vice president and general manager of Horseshoe Hammond, said he wasn't surprised at the numbers.
"There's continued pressure that won't subside," Nita said of the video gaming terminals located in bars, truck stops and other locations in Illinois.
He said those machines are hurting slot business in the Illinois and Indiana Chicagoland area. He said the casinos in northern Illinois took a 5.1 percent hit in revenues last month compared to the previous February, and the overall Chicago area market, including Indiana, saw revenues drop a total of 3.2 percent.
While February was said to be the coldest February in years in the Chicago area, it had less snow than the previous February.
Ameristar in East Chicago showed the only gain, a slight increase from $18.27 million in February 2014 to $18.53 million last month.
Blue Chip Casino in Michigan City dropped from $11.86 million last February to $11.51 million. Horseshoe Hammond was flat, going from $36.06 million last February to $36.03 million. Majestic Star I in Gary went from $8.03 million to $7.63 million, while Majestic Star II in Gary dropped from $6.03 million to $5.65 million.
Ed Feigenbaum, editor of Indiana Gaming Insight, called the numbers disappointing overall.
"Weather or no weather, you had gas prices going down and lower unemployment," Feigenbaum said.
He said people appear to be conservative in their spending, possibly paying down their credit card debt and using less money for discretionary spending.
Feigenbaum said only Ameristar and one racino showed year-over-year revenue gains last month.
Looking at legislative proposals in both Illinois and Indiana, Nita expressed concerns on both sides of the border.
He said truck stops in Illinois want to increase their number of allowed video gaming terminals from five to 10. In Indiana, he's unhappy with the proposal to allow land-based casinos, which he has said benefits some casinos while hurting others, including Horseshoe Hammond, which have made substantial investments in their properties.