Earnings for Northwest Indiana’s casinos are starting to show signs inflationary pressures are impacting the amount spent by gamers and revenue earned, according to figures reported in the Indiana Gaming Commission’s June revenue report.
Two of Northwest Indiana’s casinos continue to be the state’s top producers, though a slight dip in earnings among the three casinos in the region is noticeable in the reports.
Hard Rock Northern Indiana again was the top earning casino in the state brining in $33.1 million for the month of June, according to the IGC monthly report. The figure is down from earnings of $36.3 million in May and $38.2 million in April, but up from earnings reported in June 2021 of $25.9 million.
Horseshoe Casino Hammond remains the second top grossing casino in the state posting earnings of $28.3 million in June. The figure is down from the $28.9 million in May and $31.4 million in April. Horseshoe posted earnings of $34.5 million in June 2021, about $6.2 million higher than this year, according to IGC reports.
At Ameristar Casino East Chicago, June earnings were reported at $16.2 million, down a little from May’s $17.5 million and April’s $18.9 million and about 62% below the casino’s reported earnings of $25.9 million in June 2021.
Matt Schuffert, president of Hard Rock Casino Northern Indiana, said June marked the fourth largest month in revenue since the casino’s opening in May 2021. This is the second full June the Hard Rock has operated. The June 2022 earnings surpassed June 2021, which came in at $25.9 million, according to the IGC.
“We are very happy with the results,” Schuffert said. June historically is the slowest month for gaming in this market. April, May and June show a natural progression as business falls off before picking up again in July, he said. The remainder of the year typically is very strong until the holiday shopping season gets underway.
June’s numbers represent strong growth over June 2021, but it is difficult to tell what that means for long-term trends at Hard Rock since the casino is so new, he said. Schuffert said 2021 was a difficult year to gauge in itself due to the lingering impact of the pandemic caused by COVID-19 and the impact of pandemic-related stimulus payments received by most Americans.
He said inflation and high gas prices may be impacting a certain segment of the casino’s customer base more than others, possibly limiting the number of trips they make to the venue.
“I’m sure it’s hurting our business to a certain degree, but it’s hard to quantify,” Schuffert said.
Table games continue to drive the business at the local casinos. About $225.2 million was wagered at Hard Rock Northern Indiana’s 79 table games resulting in revenue of $10.6 million for the casino in June. Horseshoe Hammond’s 119 table games were the source of $216.6 million in wagers resulting in revenue of $22.3 million in June. At Ameristar, its 47 table games brought in about $141.6 million in wagers for revenues of $3 million for the casino.
Representatives from Horseshoe Casino Hammond and Ameristar Casino did not respond to a request for comment.
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