EVANSVILLE —Casino Aztar saw fewer patrons and less revenue last month than a year ago, according to a state gaming commission report released Wednesday.
Aztar reported that 100,215 patrons passed through its turnstile in October, a drop of 6.2 percent as compared with the same month last year. That drop was milder than the statewide average. Counting all 13 of Indiana's casinos and racetrack casinos, total attendance last month stood at about 2 million, a drop of 9.2 percent from a year earlier.
The numbers come from the Indiana Gaming Commission's monthly revenue report, which includes details on how many people visited Indiana's casinos and how much they wagered, how much each property made in gaming revenue and how much each paid in taxes.
The report also showed that Aztar patrons dropped almost $5.3 million on table games, down 3.1 percent as compared with last year; and just over $86.1 million on electronic gaming machines, down 1.2 percent from last October.
Aztar's revenue from table games last month was almost $1.3 million, a drop of 6.7 percent as compared with a year ago.
Its revenue from electronic gaming was just more than $8.1 million, down 1.4 percent from last October.
The amount a casino keeps as gaming revenue represents a portion of what patrons wager, because most of the amount wagered is returned to patrons in winnings.
Ward Shaw, Aztar's general manager, said part of last month's decline can be attributed to a quirk of the calendar.
Aztar is busiest on weekends, Shaw said, and last month contained four Fridays as compared with a year ago, when October had five Fridays.
"Those kind of fluctuations in the calendar will make a difference," he said.
Shaw said he's heartened by the fact that Aztar had a stronger month than its closest competitors, which include French Lick Casino, Harrah's Metropolis in Illinois and Horseshoe Southern Indiana outside of Louisville, Ky.
French Lick and Horseshoe Southern Indiana also saw their numbers drop last month.
Last month, Aztar paid almost $2.2 million in admission and wagering taxes.