By Michelle L. Quinn, Post-Tribune correspondent
Indiana's gaming industry is finally back in the black, but Northwest Indiana's five casinos won't be able to rest on their laurels just yet.
A couple of long weekends helped propel revenues upward around the state over the last three months, said Gaming INSight editor Ed Feigenbaum. Turnstile counts are once again above 200,000, which provide "a psychological threshold of sorts."
Better paying slots also have been part of the plan for two region casinos, Blue Chip in Michigan City and Majestic Star II.
Feigenbaum said Blue Chip has been No. 1 in slots for the last three months with a 92.38 percent payout rate, compared with 91 percent for the rest of the state.
Majestic Star II's payout rate is at 91.71 percent.
The opening of the state's first two land-based casinos --Hoosier Park Indiana Racing and Casino in Anderson on June 2 and Indiana Live Casino in Shelbyville on Monday -- may have a large impact on gaming vessels, but it remains to be seen how much slots-only gaming will cannibalize the market. Both are certainly doing a lot of marketing.
"Indiana Live, for example, is raffling a Mercedes Smart Car and gas cards, and will be holding four straight days of concerts with groups like Vertical Horizon and Blood, Sweat and Tears," Feigenbaum said. "They're making it easy, that's for sure, and they're marketing across generations."
Total revenues for Northwest Indiana's casinos reached $106 million last month, down 3.2 percent from $109.5 million for the same period last year. Horseshoe Casino in Hammond increased its revenues 6.4 percent, to $39.9 million over last year, and Resorts enjoyed a $28.9 million month, up 14.7 percent over last year.
"Resorts has had a pretty impressive six months, starting with their rebranding. It'll be interesting to see if they can keep up with the momentum when the mother of all boats (the new Horseshoe casino) arrives in August," Feigenbaum said. "They might have issues."
Blue Chip saw $17.2 million in revenues in May, while the Majestic Star properties combined brought in $20 million.