EAST CHICAGO | Ameristar Casino has handed out termination notices to all 69 hotel housekeepers and laundry workers at its 290-room hotel.
An outside contractor, Southeast Cleaning, of Pompano Beach, Fla., is scheduled to take over all housekeeping and laundry duties at the hotel Thursday, according to Ameristar spokesman Reginald Dotson.
All of the employees laid off were encouraged to apply for other current job openings at the casino or with Southeast Cleaning, Dotson said. A severance package was offered to the terminated employees, he said.
"We continue to look at all facets of our operation to manage our business effectively," Dotson said. "And Southeast Cleaning is a leading company in housekeeping management."
The terminated employees are non-union, Dotson said. In October 2010, Unite Here Local 1, the union representing more than 200 employees at Ameristar, reached a new contract with the casino after a bitter labor dispute.
Ameristar now employs 1,236 people in East Chicago, Dotson said. In July 2010, the casino laid off 50 non-union employees.
Ameristar has been hard hit by the closure two years ago of the Cline Avenue Bridge, which provided the main gateway to the gaming boat. After a year of revenue declines the casino's take has begun to stabilize this year.
But overall casino revenues in Indiana and the Northwest corner of the state are falling. Total revenues at Northwest Indiana casinos dropped to $89.3 million in October, a decline of 4.75 percent from one year ago. It was the sixth straight month region casino revenues have fallen on a year-to-year basis.
Jobs in Indiana's gaming industry dropped to new lows in September, with 500 jobs lost in the previous year, according to Indiana Department of Workforce data compiled by the newsletter Indiana Gaming Insight. The gaming industry currently employs 13,100 people statewide, its lowest level this century.