Four Winds Casino Resort arrived in New Buffalo, Mich., in early August with much fanfare, but its effect on the five Northwest Indiana casinos was surprisingly small.
Overall, the five Northwest Indiana casinos' revenue was up last month by $1 million to $104.9 million, compared with $103.8 million in July 2006.
The only casino that appeared to suffer at all from the entry of Four Winds was Blue Chip Casino in Michigan City, its nearest competitor, which brought in $21.2 million in August. That is almost a $6 million drop from its July revenue of $27 million, and $3 million less than the $24.5 it took in the previous August.
Mike Smith, president of the Casino Association of Indiana, said most grand openings draw a huge influx of customers, many of whom will go to the other casinos after they had their fun at the new game in town. But with the numbers in Northwest Indiana essentially unchanged, Smith said it could take longer to see the effect.
"It may take a while for it all to play out to determine what the impact is going to be," Smith said.
Blue Chip officials declined to comment on their dwindling numbers, but Ed Feigenbaum, editor of Indiana Gaming Insight, said he doesn't expect Four Winds to have a long-term impact on Blue Chip. In fact, he was surprised that Blue Chip didn't take a bigger hit considering it only dropped $3 million from the previous August.
"In the short run, it is surprising considering what we were led to believe was a pretty strong opening at Four Winds," Feigenbaum said. "Looking forward, it won't be a tremendous hit to Blue Chip or Northwest Indiana."
Feigenbaum also credited Blue Chip for convincing its regular players to stay at the Michigan City casino rather than straying across state lines to Michigan. Promotions, mailings and strong marketing made Blue Chip very attractive, especially during Four Winds' opening week, he said.
Four Winds opened Aug. 2 and reported having about 20,000 people walk through its doors each day during the first week. Since it is a tribal casino, operated by the Pokagon Band of the Potawatomi Indians, Four Winds isn't required to post its revenue numbers. So its success so far is unknown.
Eric Bush, administrative manager for tribal gaming for the state of Michigan, said he heard that the casino did very well, but can't confirm the anecdotes with hard numbers. In addition, he said, even if it did well in August, its odds could change as gamblers get over the initial rush and move back to their favorite casinos.
"Right now, they're in their infancy and they're just getting started," Bush said. "You never know from a grand opening how it will work out."
Other Northwest Indiana casinos did well in August, adding to the speculation that Four Winds won't hurt as much as expected. Horseshoe Casino had $37.5 million in combined revenue, which is a $4.5 million increase from the same time last year. Resorts East Chicago had a $2 million increase from last August, to $28.1 million, and the Majestic Star casinos remained essentially the same, with Majestic Star posting $10 million in revenue and Majestic Star II taking in $8.8 million.