The opening of a new casino in south suburban Illinois last month appears not to have negatively affected in any significant way the earnings of Northwest Indiana's four casinos.
Data released Thursday by the Indiana Gaming Commission (IGC) show monthly year-over-year "win" — or revenue after paying successful bettors — increased in November at Ameristar Casino in East Chicago, Blue Chip Casino in Michigan City, and Hard Rock Casino Northern Indiana in Gary.
Only Horseshoe Casino in Hammond had less win last month compared to a year earlier. But Horseshoe's 5.7% decline in November was less than half the 11.7% year-over-year revenue drop the property saw in October, records show.
Wind Creek Chicago Southland opened its doors Nov. 11 in East Hazel Crest, just off Interstate 80/294 at the Halsted Street exit — about six miles west of the Illinois-Indiana border.
It attracted some 141,000 visitors and reaped $10.2 million in win during its 22 days in operation. That was higher attendance than any other Illinois gaming enterprise, except Rivers Casino in Des Plaines, and the fifth highest win in the state, even ahead of Bally's Casino in downtown Chicago, according to the Illinois Gaming Board.
However, Wind Creek's partial-month earnings were lower than the full-month earnings of each of the casinos in Northwest Indiana, even before the inevitable falloff in visitors and play in coming months once south suburbanites check it out and some decide to return to their longtime favorite gaming destinations on the Indiana side of the state line.
According to the IGC, Blue Chip notched $10.7 million in November win, a 9.4% increase relative to November 2023; Ameristar's win tallied $13.4 million, up 1.8% versus last year; while Horseshoe collected $21.6 million compared to $22.8 million a year ago.
Hard Rock, as usual, outpaced them all, and indeed every casino in Indiana for a 37th consecutive month, with $37.3 million in November win, up 0.3% on a year-over-year basis.
In fact, the Gary gaming, dining and entertainment destination single-handedly accounted for more than 18% of Indiana's $206 million in total casino win for November across 13 commercial casino properties.
Matt Schuffert, president of Hard Rock Casino Northern Indiana, said despite some nasty winter weather just before Thanksgiving, November was a very exciting month at Hard Rock and he's pleased to see the entire Northwest Indiana market performed the best it has in some time.
"Momentum continues to build as we get very close to our Hard Rock Million Dollar Giveaway, with the grand finale only a couple weeks away on Dec. 27," Schuffert said.
"We are excited to say goodbye to 2024 and welcome 2025 with the excitement everyone is accustomed to at Hard Rock. Rock band Filter is set to electrify the Hard Rock Café stage this New Year’s Eve at 11 p.m. The show is free, and fans can expect a mix of the band’s classic hits promising an unforgettable start to 2025."
Data show Indiana also set a new record online and retail sports wagering handle of $614.4 million last month, compared to $513.7 million in November 2023. The previous monthly record of $537.9 million was set in October 2024.
In total, Indiana in November collected $50.3 million in tax revenue from slot machine and table game play, and $6.5 million from settled sports wagers, according to the IGC.
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